1. China: Three Gorges Project
Economic Development and the Environment: CHINA and the Three Gorges Project
Economic Development and the Environment: CHINA and the Three Gorges Project
Source: National Geographic
Patrick Buckley Geography Western Washington University
China: Three Gorges Project

2. China: Three Gorges Project
Intro Video
China: Three Gorges Project

5. China: Three Gorges Project
May 20, 2011
China Admits Problems With Three Gorges Dam Nytimes.com
BEIJING — The Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectric project and a symbol of China’s confidence in risky technological solutions, is troubled by urgent pollution and geologic problems, a high-level government body acknowledged Thursday.
China: Three Gorges Project

6. In China with WWU Students
Dr. Buckley and daughter in Beijing with Western Students
China: Three Gorges Project

7. II. The Three Gorges Project
Brief History and Geography
Proposed Benefits
Expected Impacts
Current Problems
China: Three Gorges Project

8. China: Three Gorges Project
Location
China: Three Gorges Project

9. China: Three Gorges Project
Satellite View
China: Three Gorges Project

10. China: Three Gorges Project
Geography
Source: National Geographic
China: Three Gorges Project

11. China: Three Gorges Project
History
Early 20th century -- Pres. Sun Yat-sen and U.S. Army Corps explore possibilities
Post liberation -- Mao offers to trade leadership role for engineer’s cap
1980’s Li Peng’s wife champion’s the cause
1994 construction started in earnest despite strong opposition
China: Three Gorges Project

12. China: Three Gorges Project
Dam Specifications
Dam Crest m (about 55 stories high)
Dam Length 2,000m (about 1.2 miles long)
Pool Length 632 km(as long as Lake Superior)
Generation Capacity 18,200 MW (about 18 nukes or % of current need in China)
Displaced People +1.2 million
Navigation 10,000 dwt ships (Great Lakes take up to 30,000dwt ships or a dozen barges on the Mississippi River)
China: Three Gorges Project

13. China: Three Gorges Project
Construction Process
Coffer Dam
Lock construction
June 2002
China: Three Gorges Project

14. China: Three Gorges Project
Relative Size of Three Gorges Project
Source: National Geographic
China: Three Gorges Project

15. China: Three Gorges Project
Issues
Flooding and why dams might be good
Hydro electricity and paying for the dam
Tourism and the value of the Gorges
Transportation value of the dam
Question of relocation and political dissent
Danger of dam collapse
Possible silting problems
China: Three Gorges Project

16. China: Three Gorges Project
Flooding 1998
Periphery dike of Jiujiang technologic development district was burst at 11 a.m. on Augest 7th,of which the width is 60m. Source: ttp://webclub.kcom.ne.jp/ma/telesign/sub3.htm#section2
Taming rivers In 1998, after three months of torrential rains, floods on the Yangtze river claimed 3,650 lives and caused more than US $30 billion in damage.  Chinese officials acknowledge that deforestation and poor logging practices led to erosion of the river’s banks and silt accumulation, and were major factors behind this disaster. Prior to 1950, the Yangtze flooded on average every six years. By the 1980s, there was a large flood every two years – an alarming trend that continued through the 1990s.  Source: China Review
China: Three Gorges Project

17. China: Three Gorges Project
The submerged Development Area in Jiujiang August 11th,1998 Source:
China: Three Gorges Project

18. Satellite Image of Poyang-Lake area during the flood.(7.26.1998)
The Black blue color represents water bodies before the flood, red represents flood area, pink represents water logging soil area, green represents normal vegetation.
China: Three Gorges Project

19. China: Three Gorges Project
Proposed Benefits
1. Flood Control -- doubtful given 1998/99 flood events and recent 2010 flood
2. Clean Hydro Power
questions of cost/efficiency
Imbalance between production cost and sale price ($8 100kw versus $3 100kw)
3. Navigation -- ocean shipping to Chongqing
4. Water storage and diversion -- questionable given alternative proposals
China: Three Gorges Project

20. China: Three Gorges Project
Expected Impacts
1. Environmental -- Loss of land, habitat, and “clean” water
2. Human -- Loss of livelihoods and towns
3. Financial -- huge gamble with limited development capital – may not pay for itself
4. Cultural impacts -- loss of artifacts
5. Tourist impacts -- unknown
China: Three Gorges Project

21. China: Three Gorges Project
Source: National Geographic
Ghost City before and after innudation
China: Three Gorges Project

22. China: Three Gorges Project
Source: National Geographic
Land is scarce, precious, and rich -- no replacement
China: Three Gorges Project

23. China: Three Gorges Project
Source: National Geographic
Clean Water is already in very short supply
China: Three Gorges Project

24. China: Three Gorges Project
Relocation Development?
Source: National Geographic
China: Three Gorges Project

25. China: Three Gorges Project
Source: National Geographic
Most relocation is from urbanized areas and when possible the new town takes shape above the old
China: Three Gorges Project

26. China: Three Gorges Project
Change is always painful
Source: National Geographic
China: Three Gorges Project

27. China: Three Gorges Project
This is the world’s largest construction project costing between 20 and 80 billion dollars -- it is visible from outer space
Source: National Geographic
China: Three Gorges Project

28. China: Three Gorges Project
Boatman on the mini-gorges -- this tourism has been lost
Source: National Geographic
China: Three Gorges Project

29. China: Three Gorges Project
Before the dam was closed, note the air quality as a signal.
China: Three Gorges Project
Source: National Geographic

30. Areas of Special Concern
Sedimentation
Water quality in the reservoir
Geologic stability of the dam and reservoir
Off the record reactions to the project
China: Three Gorges Project

31. China: Three Gorges Project
1. Sedimentation
China: Three Gorges Project

32. China’s Scientists Take these issues very seriously
China: Three Gorges Project

33. China: Three Gorges Project
Sedimentation
Production of Sediment
Deforestation
Post 1998 “ban” on logging
Will tourism be milder?
Resettlement on higher/steeper slopes
Increased use of marginal land
Deforestation Burnt trees in Yunnan, China.
China: Three Gorges Project

34. China: Three Gorges Project
Sediment Transport
Rivers create dynamic equilibriums
Based on source material, velocity & flow
Think of this as a gravel freight train
Dams decrease velocity locally
Deposition results (same number of “full trains” entering reservoir but release their load, sediment left behind)
Need periodic flushing
Works locally & on fine silts and sand
Deltas build at entrances to reservoir
Issues of distance from dam and gravel
China: Three Gorges Project

35. China: Three Gorges Project
Results above Dam
Storage capacity lost above dam especially in tributaries and mouth of reservoir
Surprisingly Flood hazard increases above dam on tributaries
ChongQing and upstream areas threatened
China: Three Gorges Project

36. China: Three Gorges Project
Results at Dam
Sediment piles up in reservoir
Less Power Generation capacity
Three issues impacted
Value of dam declines
Life Expectancy decreases
Ability to pay for dam becomes speculative
China: Three Gorges Project

37. China: Three Gorges Project
Results below Dam
“Hungry” river robs levies
Estuary starves – delta retreats
Places like Wuhon face weaker dikes and higher protection costs
Shanghai slowly “sinking”
into the China Sea (New Orleans Syndrome)
China: Three Gorges Project

38. Possible Mitigation Impacts
More upstream interception dams
Currently under construction
Dredging required to keep channels open
Periodic flushing of reservoir decreases hydro-power potential
Higher maintenance costs down stream
Loss of coastal land
$$$$$$...”a billion here, a billion there and pretty soon you’re talking real money.”
Sen Everett Dirkson
China: Three Gorges Project

39. China: Three Gorges Project
2. Water Quality
                       
Research Review Water Pollution and Human Health in China
Changhua Wu,1 Crescencia Maurer,1 Yi Wang,2 Shouzheng Xue,3 and Devra Lee Davis1
1World Resources Institute, Washington, DC USA 2National Conditions Analysis Group, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 3School of Public Health, Shanghai Medical University, Shanghai, China
Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 107, Number 4, April 1999
Introduction
Rapid Industrialization
Urbanization
Intensification and Modernization of Agriculture
Conclusions and Recommendations
China: Three Gorges Project

40. China: Three Gorges Project
Water Quality Grades
Water Grades
Natural Reserves pristine water
Class 1 drinking water
Class 2 drinking water available for swimming
Industrial use and recreation where there is no bodily contact
Agricultural use
Below 5 – don’t touch it
China: Three Gorges Project

41. China: Three Gorges Project
Water Quality
Money for water treatment robbed for dam building
Gezhoba dam’s reservoir already considered poor quality
Water Quality throughout China is threatened
China: Three Gorges Project

42. China: Three Gorges Project
Water Quality Map
Click on Map to go to web site
China: Three Gorges Project

43. China: Three Gorges Project
3. Geologic Stability
As early as 1997 stability problems were experienced in building the ship canal
Cracks reported in dam in January 2002
Real concern “tidal” waves in reservoir
Teton Dam Collapse 1976 in Idaho, USA
China: Three Gorges Project

44. China: Three Gorges Project
4. Off the Record
This is the “Olympics” of the engineering world
Hard to find scientists that really support the project
Is this the CCP’s Great Wall?
China: Three Gorges Project

45. III. Concluding Thougts
China wants what we have
This is a big stakes gamble both politically and financially
What is it worth to you as an American to protect the environment -- Chinese already take buses, bike, and even walk. Do you???
China: Three Gorges Project

46. Back to the May 20th Article and others
Government admits some of following problems
Pollution in the reservoir needs addressing
Some dams around cities to keep pollution out
Climate and current drought seen as a result of the dam
Dam won’t prevent flood damage but will help mediate
Geological problems especially sluffing still need to be addressed
China: Three Gorges Project

47. China: Three Gorges Project
Cont.
Regional water tables effected by dam level and releases
Drinking water quality effected by dam
May be increased risk of earthquakes from weight of reservoir.
Admission that displaced re-locatees may not recover to previous income before 2020 (and numbers continue to grow)
China: Three Gorges Project

48. China: Three Gorges Project
Cont.
Environmental extinctions and spread of pests is becoming more prominent
True price tag of project still unknown
Hydro power potential still unknown
Ability to transfer water from south to north still unknown
China: Three Gorges Project

49. China: Three Gorges Project
Three Gorges pose environmental, health risk: Scientist Thu Apr 27, :35 AM ET Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse
Rising pollution levels in China's Three Gorges reservoir are increasing the risk of an ecological and public health disaster, a leading national scientist says.
"After water started to accumulate in the reservoir, the flow rate of the (Yangtze) river dropped, resulting in a decreased ability of the river to clean itself," the China Business Times quoted environmental expert Shu Weiqun as saying.
"Because of this, the reservoir area, with its 31 million people, has become a high ecological and public health risk area."
Shu, a professor at the environment and sanitation research institute of the People's Liberation Army's Third Medical Hospital, was last week awarded a national environmental protection award for his research into the water quality of the Three Gorges reservoir.
The award reflects the central government's determination to ensure the water remains clean in the 600-kilometer-long (372-mile) reservoir behind the controversial Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric project, the paper said.
The award has also given Shu a platform to air his concerns over pollution levels in the reservoir.
Since water began accumulating in the reservoir in 2003, the government has invested more than four billion yuan (500 million dollars) for at least one water treatment plant in every county surrounding the body of water, the paper said.
"But at present only 20 percent of the polluted water (flowing into the reservoir) is being treated," Shu said.
Shu also said that state water quality standards were far from adequate, as they only required the monitoring of 35 items, including only four known organic pollutants.
The professor said he had discovered 101 organic pollutants in the reservoir.
Shu urged increased spending on pollution controls and water treatment plants, higher water quality standards for the reservoir and a pollution control law to cover the entire Yangtze river basin, it said.
China is expected to announce the completion of the construction phase of the dam in the coming weeks, although the last set of power generators will not go on line for two more years.
China: Three Gorges Project

50. China: Three Gorges Project
NY Times
China: Three Gorges Project

51. China: Three Gorges Project
Reference
Pictures from: Zich, Arthur and Bob Sacha “China’s Three Gorges”, National Geographic, vol. 192, no. 3, pp
Breaking Information
And multiple web sites
China: Three Gorges Project

52. China: Three Gorges Project
Want More Information?
Look at a past syllabus/reading list via my web page
Want to travel there??? Keep in contact
China: Three Gorges Project

53. China: Three Gorges Project
Study Tours to China
Summer Quarter
4 Weeks Prep at WWU
3 Weeks in China
Traveled with Chinese Students
Organized Mini-Conference
Worked in Pairs for local interview
Cost around $3000
China: Three Gorges Project