China's largest freshwater shrinks

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INTRO

China's largest freshwater lake, Poyang Lake in eastern Jiangxi Province, has recently seen a sharp decrease of water level to a record low of only 7.93 meters.

Due to the lake's prolonged dry seasons in recent years, an escalating water shortage has caused drinking water scarcity, crippled the local fishing industry, and threatened the lake's ecology.

China Report takes you to the scene.

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Endless grassland, grazing sheep and purplish-red flowers, this is not grassland of Northern China, it's the dry lakebed of Poyang Lake in eastern China.

SOUNDBITE(CHINESE): Mr Fu, Photographer:

"This is knotweed flower, a kind of wild plants. It also appeared in the year before, but it didn't appear last year, because the water level is not too low last year. But the drought area is the largest this year than previously."

As the Poyang lake water level drops, an ancient stone bridge, which was built in the Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644), is also rarely reappeared.

The bridge, once connected two lakeside counties Duchang and Xingzi, was referred to as "China's longest lake stone bridge". The bridge would only show up by extremely low water level of Poyang Lake.

In early November, Poyang was reduced to streams, with some parts of its vast lake bed becoming pasture or sand after the lake's annual dry season arrived on Oct. 19.

According to local Hydrographic bureau, the lake water has started to ebb earlier. Between 2003 and 2013, the average date when the lake entered its dry season was Oct. 27, 52 days earlier than the average recorded between 1952 and 2002.

Yu Xiaoqiu, general manager of a water works facility in Duchang County, has acutely felt the growing hardship of supplying water to the county's 150,000 residents.

SOUNDBITE(CHINESE): YU XIAOQIU, head of Duchang County Waterworks

"Since 2003, the water level is very, very low. The lowest water level reached 7.92 meters in 2012. However this year, the low water level was two months earlier than usually. We suffered a lot for drinking water shortages."

As the water level drops quickly, the plant has to set up extra equipment to pump water from the lake. This year they used seven water pumps, compared to the four or five used several years ago. But, even so, if there is no effective rainfall subsequently, they should go further to fetch water.

SOUNDBITE(CHINESE): YU XIAOQIU, the head of waterworks in Duchang County,

"The water level was high before, we never need to use the pumps to get water. But now our company has to take 7 temporary pumps to fetch water 80 meters closer to the lake center."

Statistics from local government showed more than one million people living around Poyang have been suffering drinking water shortages since late October. Some counties have had to suspend industrial water use to ensure supplies to residents.

The prolonged dry season has also endangered the livelihoods of local fishermen, as September and October used to be the natural "golden period" for fishing.

They expected their income this year to plummet by 80 percent compared with several years ago, and some have made a career switch.

SOUNDBITE(CHINESE): XIONG QIN, Fisherwoman

We have fished for several months since September, but we earned little, even not enough for daily life... Many people did not fish anymore and they went out to seek another job."

Moreover, humans are not the only victims. Poyang lake is the largest wintering habitat for migratory birds. Every autumn or winter, as many as 600,000 to 700,000 migratory birds gather here. However, they are also affected by the lingering drought.

SOUNDBITE(CHINESE): LI CHUNRU, migratory bird protector

"The lingering drought has killed a growing number of bottom-dwelling lake creatures, such as shellfish and snails. It means less food for the lake's migratory birds, such as white stork, white faced heron, and other several kinds of cranes. There' s no food for them, they are not coming anymore. they have to seek some other places."

As China's largest freshwater lake, the world's important wetlands, Poyang lake has experienced 10 years' water shortage. Many experts think the extreme weather and the upstream reservoir should be responsible for the water shortage in Poyang lake.

Fed by five major rivers in Jiangxi, Poyang is located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with the lake's discharges accounting for about 15 percent of the Yangtze's annual runoff.