By Vivian Ni
May 25 – Following a recent power shortage scare, the most serious drought in 50 years has again drawn Chinese people's attention to areas along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Faced with the public's questions on causes of the various natural disasters within the Yangtze basin over the past few years, the Chinese government has admitted for the first time that its massive Three Gorges Dam project carries some responsibility for the environmental changes.
While the lower reaches of the Yangtze River covering eight provinces of both Central and Southern China are usually considered to be an area with relatively abundant water resources, the weather seems to be changing here. According to Chinanews.com, rainfall in the region has decreased significantly since last November to the lowest amount in 60 years.
Almost every province in the region has reported severe drought hits. Jiangxi Province's Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake located on the southern banks of the Yangtze, has shrunk to 1,326 square kilometers – its smallest size since satellite recording began and a two-thirds decrease from its normal surface area of 3,585 square kilometers.
The city of Yichang in Hubei Province, where the world's largest hydropower project the Three Gorges Dam stands, is seeing 49 small-scale reservoirs operating below stagnant water levels and having difficulty irrigating some 204,666.7 hectares of farmland. Not far from Yichang, another famous Yangtze-generated freshwater lake, Hong Lake is also suffering ecological damage with large areas of wetland at the bottom of the lake going dry and cracked. The lake usually covers 348 square kilometers in Hubei's Jingzhou City.
Even China's economic center Shanghai, the city that is all the way down at the mouth of the Yangtze, has heard the alarm of the large-scale water deficiency. The drinking water safety in the city has been threatened by salt tides since May 17, which happens when the altitude of rivers goes below sea level. The Shanghai-based newspaper Dongfang Daily says that since the water discharge from the upper Yangtze has almost been reduced by half recently, Shanghai may expect another round of salt tides next month, which brings up the salinity level of tap water and threatens the freshwater supply.
Some media have claimed that the Three Gorges Dam is behind the severe drought conditions that threaten millions of people. Instead of denying such accusations, as it has always done in the past, the Chinese government has for the first time acknowledged the drawbacks of the Three Gorges Project in a recent statement. It admitted the project, although having worked well to prevent floods and generate power, has caused serious problems to the environment, shipping, agricultural irrigation and water supplies in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
The country's most critical hydropower project, while approved in 1992 with 67 percent of votes in favor, was already predicted to cause multiple ecological and social issues even before construction began. It relocated 1.24 million local residents and has witnessed an evident increase in severe environmental conditions around the region after the dam started to store water. Cao Guojing, chief of China Three Gorges Corporation (the dam's managing body), pointed out that the 175-meter-high reservoir, which greatly pressures its surrounding lands and raises underground water levels, will increase the prevalence of potential geological disasters such as earthquakes and landslides.
The extensive media reporting on the drought, together with the criticism against the Three Gorges Dam, dragged down the stock price of China Yangtze Power Co.,Ltd by 6 percent on May 23 only. The company currently owns six power generating sets of the Three Gorges Project and manages all of its power generation.
The recent power shortage may have worsened the drought as well, according to research conducted by journalists at Beijing News (Xin Jing Bao). Many small-scale power stations that try to store more water from the Yangtze for power generation have reduced the flow of precious freshwater to cities in the area.
China's State Council has ordered the Three Gorges reservoir to discharge more water to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, hoping such measures will help alleviate the conditions of those parched lands. From May 20 to May 23, around 600 million cubic meters of water have been discharged from the dam. However, experts warn of the emergence of new risks around the upper reaches of the river, since the rapid decrease in the Three Gorges Reservoir's water levels over a short period could elevate the potential risks of landslides.
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Source: 2point6billion.com - Foreign Direct Investment in Asia
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