The Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest water control and hydropower project which spans the Yangtze River, started on Monday to reduce water discharge with a full-capacity storage test.

The China Three Gorges Project Corporation said the water level in the dam will reach 175 meters by the end of October at the earliest.

The company on Monday morning monitored the water level in the dam at 159 meters. The water discharged through the sluice gate and flowed at 19,000 cubic meters per second.