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Three Gorges Dam causing problems, says China

China’s showcase hydro-engineering project, the Three Gorges Dam, could become an environmental catastrophe unless remedial action is taken, the state media reported on Wednesday.

In an unusually blunt public assessment, officials warned that landslips and pollution were among the “hidden dangers” facing the world’s biggest hydro-electric plant.

Upstream water quality has deteriorated because the flow is now too slow to flush pollution out of the river system.

Li Chunming, the Vice-Governor of Hubei, reportedly said that tributaries were being affected by more frequent outbreaks of algae.

According to Xinhua, the rising volume of water in the reservoir behind the dam has eroded river banks along 91 stretches of the Yangtze, triggering landslips. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2007

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