How does the Three Gorges Dam affect the environment?
6 min read
Asked by: Carolyn Ramirez
The dam will flood some animal and plant habitats, while leaving others high and dry. Pollution in the water will make it impossible for many fish to survive. Three Gorges threatens more than 400 plant species, including the Chinese dove tree and dawn redwood, as well as a number of fish and the rare Baiji dolphin.
What impact does the Three Gorges Dam have on the environment?
As the dam decreases flooding downstream, it will fragment the network of lakes around the middle as well as lower the Yangtze’s water level, making it difficult for the fish to survive. The project has already contributed to the decline of the baiji dolphin, which is so rare that it is considered functionally extinct.
What are the negative effects of the Three Gorges Dam?
List of Cons for the Three Gorges Dam
- It has increased water pollution levels. …
- It has created a human migration problem. …
- The Three Gorges Dam has changed the landscape. …
- Local infrastructure struggles with the dam’s total capacity. …
- It has been known to trigger earthquakes.
Does the Three Gorges Dam cause pollution?
Massive wastewater discharge, the primary source of water pollution in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, along the Yangtze River adversely affects the water resources and the sustainable development of both the Three Gorges Reservoir Area and the entire Yangtze River Basin [4,5].
What is the environmental impact of a dam?
Dams store water, provide renewable energy and prevent floods. Unfortunately, they also worsen the impact of climate change. They release greenhouse gases, destroy carbon sinks in wetlands and oceans, deprive ecosystems of nutrients, destroy habitats, increase sea levels, waste water and displace poor communities.
How did the 3 Gorges dam change the landscape of China?
The dam has also had a serious geological impact. Chinese officials and experts admitted at a forum in 2007 that the Three Gorges Dam had caused an array of ecological ills, including more frequent landslides, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported at the time.
What are the causes and effects of water pollution in China?
China’s water supply has been contaminated by the dumping of toxic human and industrial waste. Pollution-induced algae blooms cause the surface of China’s lakes to turn a bright green, but greater problems may lurk beneath the surface; groundwater in 90 percent of China’s cities is contaminated.
What are the pros and cons of the 3 Gorges dam?
List of Pros of the Three Gorges Dam
- It powers up a huge country. …
- It offers 18 nuclear power plants. …
- It is a sustainable source of energy. …
- It is a renewable form of energy. …
- It helps with flood control. …
- It is eco-friendly. …
- It serves as an income-generating project. …
- It helps with cruise ship navigation.
What are the negative effects of the Three Gorges Dam project in China?
Dam construction has played significant roles in flood control, irrigation, navigation, and energy supply; however, the enormous negative effects, such as landslides, ecological problems, and water quality decline, could surpass positive gains.
Why is the Three Gorges Dam unsustainable?
Another unsustainable thing about this dam is that it ruined the gorgeous view of the Three-Gorges and significantly changed the ecology there. The 600 kilometers (373 mi) long reservoir flooded some 1,300 archaeological sites and altered the appearance of the Three Gorges as the water level rose over 600 feet (180 m).
What are the positive and negative effects of the Three Gorges Dam project in China?
Dam construction has played significant roles in flood control, irrigation, navigation, and energy supply; however, the enormous negative effects, such as landslides, ecological problems, and water quality decline, could surpass positive gains.
What are the social impacts of the Three Gorges Dam?
Consequences Downstream
The Chinese Three Gorges Dam included the flooding of 13 cities, 140 towns and 1,350 villages as well as numerous sites of cultural, historic and religious heritage. As a result, 1.3 million inhabitants were relocated, many from rural areas to cities (DTK 2002; International Rivers 2008a).
What are the benefits of the Three Gorges Dam?
On one hand, the benefits of the Three Gorges Dam are flood control, power generation, navigation, aquaculture, tourism, ecological protection, environmental purification, development-oriented resettlement, transfer of water from southern China to northern China, and water supply and irrigation.
What are the pros and cons of the Three Gorges Dam quizlet?
Terms in this set (13)
- Stopped water. Pro.
- Conducts electricity. Pro.
- Creates more jobs. Pro.
- Saving lives. Pro.
- Can hold floods. Pro.
- City floods. Con.
- Forced to evacuate. Con.
- No good soil. Con.
Is the Three Gorges Dam sustainable?
In 1954, floods drowned over 33,000 people, and left the city of Wuhan under water for 3 months. The dam controls the flow of water. At drier times of year, downstream from the dam the river level is falling low. Dam provides cheap hydroelectricity, no fossil fuels are burned so there is no carbon dioxide is produced.
How much energy will be produced by the Three Gorges Dam?
The Three Gorges Dam has a generating capacity of 22,500 megawatts (MW) compared to 14,000 MW for the Itaipu Dam.
What solutions have been suggested to reduce the negative effects of the dam on the environment?
As a long-term measure, watershed management involving soil conservation and catchment restoration can reduce erosion and sediment inflow to the reservoir. Operational options, such as flushing, sluicing, dredging, and hydro suctioning can reduce sediment deposit in the reservoir.
How does the Three Gorges Dam produce electricity?
Each main water turbine has a capacity of 700 MW. Coupling the dam’s 32 main turbines with two smaller generators (50 MW each) to power the plant itself, the total electric generating capacity of the dam is 22,500 MW. The last major component of the project, the ship lift, was completed in December 2015.
How did the Three Gorges Dam affect transportation?
The dam has made the river deeper and slower, allowing for easier navigation – especially upstream – for cargo and passenger vessels. The limiting factor for cargo, however, is the capacity of a five-step lock and a soon-to-be-completed ship lift to transport vessels across the 181-metre high dam.
What is the deepest dam in the world?
the Parker Dam
The deepest dam in the world is widely considered to be the Parker Dam on the Lower Colorado Basin. Built with 380,000 cubic yards (290,531 cubic meters) of concrete, the dam has a height of 320 feet (98m), 73% of which is below the original river bed. Only around 85 feet (26m) of the dam’s structure is visible.
What renewable energy sources does the Three Gorges Dam use?
The Three Gorges Dam Project (TGP) is one of the world’s biggest hydropower complex projects, located in the Xilingxia Gorge, one of the three gorges of the Yangtze River, in Hubei province, China.
Does Three Gorges Dam slow Earth’s rotation?
When the Three Gorges Dam was built, 39 trillion kilograms of water from the Yangtze River built up behind it to 175 meters above sea level. This altered the Earth’s moment of inertia changed ever so slightly, causing the rotation to move more slowly.
How much coal does the Three Gorges Dam save?
around 50 million tons
Intended to help reduce China’s energy reliance on burning coal, the energy from Three Gorges Dam is able to replace around 50 million tons of coal that otherwise would have been burned.
