The effect of the Changjiang River on water regimes of its tributary Lake East Dongting

The blocking or reversing effect of the downstream trunk river on its tributary lakes is an essential aspect of river-lake hydraulics. To measure how and the extent to which a trunk river can influence its tributary lakes, we made a case study in Changjiang River and one of its tributary lakes, Lake East Dongting (Lake ED) during a 35-year study period (1980–2014). Specifically, we investigated Lake ED’s discharge ability into Changjiang River using stage-discharge relationship curves, and hence the changes of the lake discharge ability under different hydrologic conditions of the Changjiang River. The results show that (1) the Changjiang River does exert a huge impact on the water regimes of Lake ED. And this impact varies seasonally. A variation of 3000 m3/s in Changjiang River’s runoff would change the lake water level by about 1.1 m in dry seasons, by 0.4 m in wet seasons, and by 0.6 m during severe summer floods. (2) Changes in the Changjiang River runoff triggered by the Three Gorges Dam since 2003 have led to dramatic water regime variations in Lake ED. Other factors, including reduction of lake inflow and the lake bed erosion, also exacerbated the water regime variations in Lake ED.