Scribd
Upload
29 views2 pages

Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam, China's largest hydropower project, was completed in 2012 at a cost of $28.6 billion, aimed at flood control and electricity generation. Despite its capacity to intercept significant floodwater, the dam's limited reservoir size has raised concerns about its effectiveness during severe flooding events. The project has faced controversy due to its environmental impact and the displacement of local communities, leading to complaints about inadequate compensation and loss of livelihoods.

Uploaded by

chowaihlaing82
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
29 views2 pages

Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam, China's largest hydropower project, was completed in 2012 at a cost of $28.6 billion, aimed at flood control and electricity generation. Despite its capacity to intercept significant floodwater, the dam's limited reservoir size has raised concerns about its effectiveness during severe flooding events. The project has faced controversy due to its environmental impact and the displacement of local communities, leading to complaints about inadequate compensation and loss of livelihoods.

Uploaded by

chowaihlaing82
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Three Gorges Dam: A Symbol of National Pride and Flood Control

• The Three Gorges Dam, China's largest hydropower project, was built in 1994 to generate
electricity and protect the country's longest river.
• The project cost 200 billion yuan ($28.6 billion) and took nearly two decades to build.
• The dam's efficacy has been questioned due to the Yangtze River's heaviest average rainfall in
nearly 60 years, causing overflow and causing economic losses.
• Despite the challenges, Chinese authorities claim the dam intercepted 18.2 billion cubic meters
of potential floodwater and reduced the speed and extent of water level rises.
• The dam is visible to the naked eye from space and is part of a hydropower plant with a
generating capacity of 22,500 megawatts.
• The dam traps rainwater in a reservoir and controls its release through its sluice gates.
• The reservoir's water level is kept at a maximum of 175 meters during the dry season and
gradually lowered to accommodate incoming floodwaters.

Chinese Dam's Water Storage Capacity and Flood Control Challenges

• The Three Gorges Dam in China has a storage capacity of 22 billion cubic meters, enough to
hold nearly 9 million Olympic-size swimming pools of water.
• During a flood, over 244 billion cubic meters of water can pass through the dam in two months,
twice the volume of the Dead Sea.
• The dam's reservoir can only handle about 9% of this amount, making it difficult to control
floods.
• The dam's capacity can only hold back water for a certain amount of time, as it has to make
room for new rains.
• Three flood waves have already hit the dam, with the dam opening its sluice gates multiple
times since late June.
• The company running the dam denied this, claiming it helped delay and stagger the floodwaters
reaching downstream.
• The dam's reservoir is too small to significantly reduce downstream discharge during severe
flood.
• The problem is not the dam's design, but the expectation that the dam can solve all the
problems of flooding on the Yangtze.
The Three Gorges Dam Controversy in China

• The Three Gorges Dam was envisioned by Sun Yat-sen in 1919 to improve navigation and
provide hydropower.
• The project was initiated by Chiang Kai-shek in the 1940s, with American engineer John L.
Savage and Chinese engineers sent to the US for training.
• The project was abandoned during the Chinese Civil War and was endorsed by Chairman Mao
Zedong after the Chinese Communist Party took power.
• Deng Xiaoping reintroduced the idea in the late 1970s, but faced opposition from hydrologists,
intellectuals, and environmentalists due to its human and environmental costs.
• The dam was approved by the National People’s Congress (NPC) in 1992, but about one-third
of the delegates refused to endorse it.
• The dam's controversial aspect is its enormous cost for villagers who had lived on the river
banks for centuries.
• The dam displaced more people than the three largest Chinese dams before it combined,
leading to complaints about inadequate compensation, lack of farmland and jobs, and reduced
living wages.

You might also like