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Problems Caused by Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam Project, presently the world's largest hydropower project, began and finished under the watchful eye of the Chinese people as well as with interest from abroad.

The exciting news of finishing the last step of each concrete cast of Yangtze Three Gorges dam cheered people up.

However, many problems still cannot be changed, which have accompanied the project from the proposal to the finish. The main problems are as the following:

Sediment Problem

Sediment problem is always a heavy emphasis on the discussion of the Three Gorges Project. It is measured that the river sediment concentration of the upper stream is about 1.2kg per cubic meter. The total sediment passing the dam site is above five hundred million a year. Before the Three Gorges Project, the mud and sand deposited largely in Jingjiang River, which has lifted the water level and menaced the safety of Jianghan (Yangtze River and Hanjiang River) Plain and Dongting Lake Plain. After the finish of the project, the silt must deposit in the dam and the end of the reservoir due to the backwater. Especially the large-sized pebbles, hard to be discharged, they will extend to the upper stream and influence further to Chongqing City. This fact arouses people's worry about the sediment problem in the Three Gorges.

Environmental Problem

The Three Gorges Project has a great influence on the environment and ecology of the reservoir area and the Yangtze River. The biggest concern is the pollution of the reservoir. After the water storage, due to the steady state of the fluent, the contaminant cannot down rush in time and store up in the reservoir, which would deteriorate water quality and cause refuse floating, and probably trigger the epidemic. At present, some towns have started collecting potable water in other area, and while a great number of migrants are opening up the wasteland, the soil erosion and water pollution are growing in intensity.

According to the operational experience of Gezhouba hydropower station, the Three Gorges Project would furiously challenge the surrounding ecology. Because of the dam, fishes cannot normally pass the Three Gorges, and thus their living habits and heredity will change. After the finish of the water storage, over 560 kinds of land rare plants will be flooded. Experts have to transplant certain varieties which do not distribute over other places.

Migration Problem

Migration problem is the biggest difficult point of the Three Gorges Dam Project. The fund for migration covers 45% of the total investment. After the water storage, about 129 cities and towns including Wanxian and Fuling are flooded. The migrants surpass 1200,000, relating to 20 cities and counties in Hubei and Chongqing. They were allocated to Hubei (outside the reservoir area), Chongqing (outside the reservoir area), Anhui, Hunan, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Fujian and Guangdong provinces to make a living.

Besides, many migrants are building their new homes around the Three Gorges dam area. But the current situation is that though the infrastructure construction is rapid, the industry develops slowly, a great number of enterprises went bankrupt, the unemployment rate is high and the income of peasants falls, which has brought a lot of social problems.

Sceneries Loss

Sceneries Change after Three Gorges Dam

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