The water level of Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake, is nearing its lowest record in history due to little rainfall in the past two months, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The water level at the Xingzi hydrological station, which represents that of the lake, was 7.89 meters at 8 a.m. Tuesday, approaching the lowest 7.11 meters recorded in 2004, according to the Poyang Lake Hydrological Bureau in eastern Jiangxi Province.

The water level at the Duchang hydrological station was 8.57 meters on Tuesday, 0.05 meter below the recorded lowest level at this station, the bureau said.

The lake's low water level has caused drinking water shortages for residents near the lake and affected industrial production. Local authorities are "taking all kinds of measures" to deal with the situation.

Jiangxi has seen the least rainfall from mid-September since 1960, local meteorological station said.

The average rainfall in Jiangxi was just 37 millimeters from Sept. 15 through the end of November, down 77 percent from the same period in previous years.

Poyang Lake covers an area of 3,583 square kilometers with an average water depth of 8.4 meters. It is fed by five rivers inside Jiangxi Province and empties into the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China's longest river and the third longest in the world.

(Xinhua News Agency December 5, 2007)