[Vipvlad]

Jul 23, 2010
Floods put pressure on Dam



The dam's water level could reach a new high of 150 yards (137 metres) on Friday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The dam's maximum capacity is 175 yards. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

BEIJING - RECORD-HIGH water levels at China's massive Three Gorges Dam have called into question Beijing's claims that the world's largest hydroelectric project could withstand a 10,000-year flood. The dam's water level could reach a new high of 150 yards (137 metres) on Friday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The dam's maximum capacity is 175 yards.

China has for years promoted the Three Gorges Dam as the best way to end centuries of floods along the Yangtze River basin and dismissed complaints about the enormous environmental impact of the US$23 billion (S$32 billion) reservoir that has displaced more than 1.4 million people.

Seven years ago, Chinese officials boasted that the Three Gorges Dam could withstand the floods so severe they come only once every 10,000 years. But as the current flooding shows no sign of waning, officials warn that its capacity is limited.

Zhao Yunfa, deputy director of the China Three Gorges Corporation's dispatch center, said this week that the dam's capacity can only withstand floods that reach up to 3 million cubic feet (83,700 cubic metres) per second - only about 18 per cent more than the dam's record water flow on Tuesday, the China Daily newspaper reported. 'The dam's flood control capacity is not unlimited,' Mr Zhao told the newspaper. -- AP