The plunge pool of the Baihetan Hydropower Station in southwest China officially restarted operation on Friday after a first four-month check. 

The plunge pool is a vital facility for a dam project to discharge flooding and dissipate energy, playing a crucial role in stabilizing the riverbed behind the dam. 

The Baihetan Dam plunge pool is the largest inverted-arch-style plunge pool in the world, with an area equivalent to six and a half football fields. 

The pool can form a 48-meter-deep "water cushion" able to hold 2.19 million cubic meters of water, equivalent to the total storage capacity of more than 1,000 standard swimming pools. 

The plunge pool was put into operation in May 2020, and it started to drain water for the first check in December 2021. 

"During its operation, the plunge pool was long scoured by high-speed water flows, which could damage the pool body, so regular checks are necessary. It needs to be checked on time. The result of this check indicated that there was basically no erosion damage and abnormal structural damage in the concrete of the pool. The bottom slabs of the foundation pit are smooth and flat without cracks and the passage at the bottom of the dam is watertight without any leakage, meaning that the plunge pool of the Baihetan Hydropower Station has passed the long-term operating test with high quality," said Pei Lei, an engineer with the Baihetan Project Construction Department of China Three Gorges Cooperation. 

Since the first group of units started operation on June 28, 2020, the Baihetan Hydropower Station has produced over 23 billion kwh of clean energy.

(Source: CCTV Plus)