(December 28, 2008) The biggest potential disaster, Pearce reports, was averted at the Zipingpu dam, just 17 kilometres from the quake’s epicenter. “Holding back more than a cubic kilometer of water … the hydroelectric dam was the largest of a new, cheap design with a rock core and concrete face. As the tight valley sides juddered, the structure was squeezed and ended up 18 centimeters downstream, and 70 cm lower. … The concrete was ripped apart but the core of the dam survived.”
Chinese scientists talk about the Zipingpu reservoir-triggered earthquake
(December 15, 2008) Top Chinese scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have dismissed the possibility that the Zipingpu dam reservoir could have induced China’s devastating 2008 earthquake, complaining that the media has been “incessantly questioning the wisdom of building more and more hydro dams in earthquake-prone southwest China” in the wake of last year’s quake.
Beijing officials downplay Three Gorges landslide threat
(December 4, 2008) In a delayed response to two major landslides in the Three Gorges reservoir last month, officials in Beijing now say the slides pose no danger to local residents or shipping, and that natural factors triggered the landslides, not the filling of the Three Gorges dam’s reservoir.
Three Gorges farmers should shun fertilizer, US scientists say
(October 29, 2008) Farmers should cut back on fertilizers during a flood season that can last as long as six months to help mitigate ecological damage in China’s Three Gorges Dam region, according to US scientists quoted by Bloomberg.
Major landslides hit Three Gorges region
(December 1, 2008) On November 29, a major landslide hit Wu Gorge, one of the deepest canyons upstream of the Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze River, Xinhua reported on December 1.
26 Three Gorges turbines in operation
(October 31, 2008) The last turbine generator on the right bank of China’s Three Gorges hydroelectric project was officially put into commercial operation on Oct 30, Xinhua reports.
Integrated analysis of stress and regional seismicity by surface loading: a case study of the Zipingpu reservoir
(December 1, 2008) Probe International provides a partial translation of a Chinese geological case study of the Zipingpu reservoir authored by scientists from the government’s China Earthquake Administration. The study concluded that the 320 million tonnes of water in the Zipingpu reservoir had “clearly affected local seismicity” in the region and that, "it is worthwhile to further study if the effect played a role in triggering the Wenchuan earthquake."
FEATURE: Three Gorges dam authority suspends reservoir filling
(November 27, 2008) Mountains of floating garbage, geological problems, and stranded cargo ships prompted China’s Three Gorges dam authority to suspend filling the dam’s reservoir to its final height last month, according to the popular magazine South Weekend (Nanfang Zhoumo).
Earthquake jolts Three Gorges region
(November 23, 2008) An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale jolted Zigui County in central China’s Hubei Province at 4:01 p.m. Saturday, the National Seismic Network reported.
Chinese dams accused of flooding the region
(November 14, 2008) Many of the 300 representatives at a recent forum in Bangkok have blamed Chinese authorities for releasing water from three hydropower dams on the Mekong River in August, which devastated hundreds of communities downstream.
China: Dam casts long shadow over idyllic valley
(November 3, 2008) A controversial plan to dam China’s upper Yangtze in order to redirect water to central Yunnan and its capital Kunming may be a Trojan Horse for the cascade of dams proposed for the area including famed Tiger Leaping Gorge, but postponed due to unprecedented protests from the press and public in 2004.
China to build giant hydropower station on Jinsha River
(September 10, 2002) China announces that construction will start soon on the Xiluodu dam upstream of the Three Gorges project.
How to look at China
(September 10, 2002) ‘How China’s ruling Communist Party manages the environmental, social, economic and political tensions converging on such places as Tiger Leaping Gorge … will be the most important story determining China’s near-term political stability.’
Sichuan grapples with hydropower dilemma
(September 10, 2002) ‘Experts like Chen Guojie of the China Academy of Sciences have expressed their concern about the "rampant" overdevelopment of the rivers in China’s southwestern regions.’
Archeologists battle time to save relics in canals’ paths
(September 8, 2002) All but a few key archeological projects in China have been halted, so their staff can rescue relics in the path of the south-north water-diversion project.
Probe International 