The Three Gorges Dam has started releasing more water downstream during the Yangtze River’s dry winter season.

The move aims to ensure water supplies and river traffic safety on the middle and lower reaches of the river, said the China Three Gorges Project Corporation, the developer and operator of the dam.

The reservoir is expected to release 22.2bn cubic meters of water into the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze during the dry winter and spring seasons.

The water level of the reservoir reached its designed maximum capacity of 175 meters by the end of October last year.