Practice and Prospect of Efficient Utilization and Operation of Water Resources in Three Gorges Reservoir

The Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) is located in the transitional zone between the upper and middle reaches of the mainstream Yangtze River and has strong storage regulation capacity. Since its operation, it has achieved significant comprehensive benefits and has played a prominent role in flood control, power generation, navigation, and water resources utilization in the basin. With the successive completion and operation of several giant reservoirs in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the in-depth implementation of the national high-quality development strategy, the operation of the TGR is facing a more complex hydrometeorological environment and higher multi-objective requirements. Meanwhile, the construction and operation of the upstream reservoir system have significantly altered the inflow and sediment regime of the TGR, increasing the complexity of its operation and regulation. This paper reviews the status and comprehensive utilization demands of water resources of the TGR, summarizes the achievements of water resources utilization optimization and operation practices over the years, and analyzes the comprehensive utilization benefits of water resources from the aspects of flood control, power generation, navigation, ecology, and water resources utilization. By integrating medium- and long-term hydrological forecasting results, promoting potential exploitation and efficiency enhancement of the TGR is an inevitable approach to further improving the comprehensive utilization benefits of water resources. Under the new requirements of adhering to the simultaneous prevention and control of droughts and floods and strengthening cross-regional allocation and regulation of water resources between wet and dry conditions, measures are proposed to further tap the potential and enhance efficiency of the TGR, including accelerating the construction of the “three lines of defense” for rainfall and flood monitoring and forecasting, strengthening research on the unified joint operation of key reservoir systems in the Yangtze River basin under extreme inflow conditions, and promoting the development of the Digital Twin Three Gorges system.