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The outstanding features of the Yellow River are less water and more sediment. From 2000 till now, the natural runoff of the Yellow River has decreased by 20% but the water withdrawal has been increasing. In recent 10 years, the surface water utilization rate of the middle reaches from Toudaoguai to Huayuankou of the whole river has reached to 60% and 80% respectively, thus water shortage has become the biggest problem of the Yellow River Basin. Since the water-saving potential is limited, and it would make longer unhealthy reaches if we transfer part of the water rights from the people around the lower reaches to the people around upper and middle reaches, this paper suggested to build the West Route Project of the South-to-North Water Transfer as soon as possible and build carry-over storage reservoirs to improve the runoff supplying ability during dry years. From 2000 to 2019, the sediment load of the Yellow River was only 0.245 billion t, the sediment pressure had been eased. But if we restore the sediment intercepted by dams, we would find that the actual produced sediment of the Loess Plateau should be 0.564 billion t, which is far beyond the riverbed’s bearing capacity of the lower Yellow River. In the future, the sediment production load would be decreased to 0.4-0.5 billion t if the vegetation and terrace grow to its ideal coverage. But the vegetation of the Loess Plateau is easy to deteriorate when disturbed by human and livestock. The sediment load of the Yellow River would rebound to 0.67-0.71 billion t even if the vegetation has merely deteriorate to the level of the year 2010. Therefore, this paper agreed to plan and design the key water and sediment regulation projects according to the present low sediment level temporarily, but we must reserve enough room for rebuilding to meet the future challenge of sediment rebounding. In order to control the sediment load at the low level and to maintain the Yellow River safety, preserving the current vegetation should be the first countermeasure taken in Loess Plateau and the measures of controlling gully-bank and riverside-bank erosion should be improved in the No. 5 sub-region of gullied rolling loess area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yellow River key reservoir projects bear on the big picture. The practices of planning, construction, operation and management of these key reservoir projects promote continually the deepening of the understanding of the governance of the Yellow River. Based on the planning and construction backgrounds of the Sanmenxia Reservoir and the Xiaolangdi Reservoir in the middle reaches of the Yellow River and their operation and management practices, this paper briefly reviewed the progress from practice to cognition to practice and cognition again, as well as the development and evolution of river harnessing thought through it. Based on the problems and challenges faced by the Yellow River management in the new era, this paper suggests to speed up the development of the Guxian key reservoir project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]