New Risks Emerge At Giant Three Gorges Dam

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In China, New Risks Emerge At Giant Three Gorges Dam

By Shai Oster

Word Count: 2,165

MIAOHE VILLAGE, China -- China's vaunted engineering marvel, the Three Gorges Dam, drew fierce criticism during its construction for uprooting more than a million people and manhandling the Yangtze River basin. Now, a year after completion, the project has new problems -- including landslides, water pollution and suggestions that the dam could contribute to the very flooding it was built to prevent.

Geologists say the massive weight of water behind the Three Gorges Dam has begun to erode the Yangtze's steep shores at several spots. That, along with frequent fluctuations in water levels, has triggered a series of landslides and ...

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Trouble at Three Gorges

China's most vaunted engineering marvel, the Three Gorges Dam, is suffering a series of unforeseen problems, raising new doubts about the project -- and the country's efforts to control its environment.

Shai Oster

Construction on the Three Gorges Dam began in 1994, and the reservoir behind it began filling up in June 2003, though the dam wasn't finished until June 2006. It's not yet fully operational, but when it is -- later this year -- it will hold five trillion gallons of water and produce more than 18,000 megawatts of electricity, 20 times more power than the Hoover Dam.

Shai Oster

The first sign of trouble from the engineering project, which cost at least $22 billion and forced the relocation of 1.3 million people, came just two weeks after the dam began filling with water. As water levels marched steadily upward on the Yangtze River, the slopes of the valley began to erode, and large sections gave way, falling into the water.

Shai Oster

The road to Miaohe village, some 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) from the dam, shows signs of a recent landslide. Even before the Three Gorges Dam was built, this area was prone to landslides.

Shai Oster

But more weakening as the dam continues to fill and water levels are adjusted during the rainy season has triggered landslides and badly weakened the ground under places like Miaohe. The shifting ground has cracked walls in houses, including that of Du Cenyong, left. He has sold all his pigs to try to raise money to rebuild his home elsewhere.

Shai Oster

Other villagers are working to build new homes about a kilometer away, where they've been told the land is more stable.

Shai Oster

A traditional grave lies alone in the terraced fields of the evacuated village.

Shai Oster

Like many other Miaohe residents, Han Qingxi, left, is living in a lean-to inside a muddy tunnel while he builds his new house. "This all started happening right after they began damming the river," he says. "They say it's safer here."

Shai Oster

The dam's problems extend beyond the weakening ground. Scientists warn that the Three Gorges Reservoir is quickly filling up with pollution from factories, fertilizer runoff and untreated sewage, fostering toxic algae blooms that are threatening downstream water s