This time it's in China and this time it's with a new project - the Three Gorges Dam, which happens to house the largest hydroelectric dam in the world.
The dam was finished in May of last year. But, already London geologists have found that only 75% - not 100% - of the riverbanks upstream from the dam are truly stable. 3% of the banks are already falling, 7% are quite likely to fall soon and 15% may have problems. Erosion caused by the sheer weight of the water behind the dam as well as frequent fluctuation of the water has caused landslides.
Further, the industrialization and urbanization along the river has generated an unbelievable amount of raw sewage which has collected in the reservoir rather than move downstream. This is not the only construction project in trouble. Some have estimated that there are 85,000 reservoirs with serious structural problems.
1 comment:
I remember reading about this project a few years ago. I was saddened by the number of historical sites that were to be drowned - like the cliff burial sites.
I don't find myself surprised there are problems. China seems to have this do first-fix later attitude.
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