China - Sudden Rise In Water Level At Three Gorges Dam

China announces abrupt increase in water at dam
By Geoffrey York

BEIJING - "In a sign of unexpected problems at the massive Three Gorges Dam, the Chinese government has announced a sudden rise in the level of the stagnant reservoir above the dam, causing more environmental damage and forcing more people to abandon their homes.

The reservoir had reached a height of 135 metres after the controversial dam went into operation in June. It was scheduled to remain at that level until 2006, when it would rise a further 21 metres. Instead, the Chinese authorities have announced that the reservoir will rise a further four metres by the end of October, almost three years ahead of schedule.

EDIT

Many polluted sites along the riverbank have not yet been cleaned up because the reservoir was supposed to remain at 135 metres for the next three years, but now those will be flooded. Environmentalists have said that the dam is creating the world's largest cesspool.

EDIT

Victor Shih, a political scientist at Northwestern University in Illinois who has studied the financing of the dam project, said the most likely explanation for the unexpected rise is the silting process, which he says is loccurring much more rapidly than predicted. He said the dam's estimated cost has more than doubled, while the silting is expected to reduce the amount of power it generates. The dam an reservoir are being raised to ensure that the project remains financially viable, he said, since Chinese lenders have invested so much money in it."

EDIT/END

Toronto Globe & Mail

F_____g great news! I recall reading an article somewhere that stress cracks are already showing up in the damn's structure. Oh well, happy swimming!

china, developing.
sort of.

When it was still in the planning stages the enviromentalists warned about these types of problems and were basically told to eff off.

And guess what. Who were among the major backers of this project back in the planning stages? A CANADIAN engineering firm and the CANADIAN government lusting after a share of the the big construction contracts that would be involved once the plans were approved.

Project promoters in China claim the 185-meter high dam and its 600-kilometer-long reservoir will stop catastrophic flooding in the Yangtze Valley, provide developing industries with 13,000 MW of electricity, and dramatically improve river navigation.
To no ones' surprise, the Canadian engineering consortium that has conducted the project's feasibility study wants the dam approved. Since the construction contract would pour billions of dollars into Canada's foreign-aid-dependent engineering giants, the Canadian government has also supported the project. It not only paid for the $14 million feasibility study, but also agreed with China to keep the controversial results secret.

Dam opponents fear that the Chinese will soon approve the $10-12 billion project based on a study that favors construction and still lacks analysis of the project's massive environmental and resettlement impacts. Environmental groups led by Probe International in Toronto are stepping up public pressure on the Chinese and Canadian governments to put the project on hold until the study has been completed and released for public review. Gráinne Ryder of Probe International has provided WRR with this overview of the story and an action alert.

www.nextcity.com/ProbeInternational/ThreeGorges/newsarchive/secrets.htm

However, it looks like the Canadain gov't backed out of contributing to the project once it was finally approved.

Just after the NPC approved the Three Gorges Dam, CIDA announced in Canada’s Parliament that it would provide no more money for the project. Although the official explanation for withholding CIDA funds was budgetary restrictions, observers put forth the view that CIDA had buckled under widespread criticism over its participation in the project.

www.threegorgesprobe.org/pi/documents/three_gorges/Damming3G/ch01.html