Fangbian Reservoir

Construction and scale

According to the Lishui District government's reply to a people's congress proposal, Fangbian Reservoir was begun in September 1958 and completed for storage in November 1959. The capacity figures given in the reply are: total capacity 49 million cubic metres, flood-control capacity 26.44 million, useful capacity 20.84 million, and dead capacity 1.72 million.

The district website's "Natural Resources" page describes the district's reservoirs only in general terms, and this entry takes the reply as authoritative for those fields.

Which capacity is meant

Reservoir capacity is reckoned in several ways, and this entry states which measure each figure belongs to. Total capacity is the whole volume of storage below the reservoir's highest water level; flood-control capacity is the volume available for detaining floodwater; useful capacity is the volume available for beneficial regulation; dead capacity is the volume below the dead water level. The four are not interchangeable, and "capacity" must not be written without naming the measure.

The nature of the figures, and what is to be added

The figures above follow the wording of the reply; where they differ from the water authority's formal annual report, the annual report prevails. Still to be added: the watercourse on which the reservoir stands and its catchment, its engineering grade, the type and length of its dam, its design flood standard, the extent of its irrigation district, and the dates and content of successive reinforcement works.