China is struggling to find a solution on how to treat the huge
amount of floating debris, which is clogging up the Three Gorges
Reservoir.
Cao Guangjing, deputy general manager of the China Yangtze River
Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, said: "We are trying
to find an efficient method to develop and use this floating
flotsam, but so far we have made little progress."
According to Zhang Weige, director of the department responsible
for monitoring debris in the reservoir, about 1,000 tons of
floating debris had been collected since Sept. 20 when the water
level began to rise to 156 meters from 135 meters.
The floating debris consists of plant roots, straw, rotten
leaves, branches and both household and industrial refuse.
Currently, most of the debris is being salvaged and dumped on land
higher than 175 meters - the final height of the dam - where it is
either burned or buried. But this is not a viable long-term
solution.
"The floating debris doesn't contain much flammable content, nor
is it economical to use them to generate electricity," said Feng
Zhengpeng, director of the administrative department with the China
Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation.
"Also, the land will sustain permanent damage if the flotsam is
buried," said Feng. "There seems to be no good way of handling this
situation."
China has built or plans to build about 200 trash disposal
grounds in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, in addition to three
holes created in the dam for discharging debris.
About 200,000 cubic meters of floating debris flow into the
mainstream of the Yangtze during a normal year.
"However, the flow of water has slowed down since the Three
Gorges Dam was built," said Feng.
"The debris has affected shipping and power generation," said
Feng, "and the problem has grown even worse since 2003 when the
water level of the Three Gorges reservoir began to rise."
The dam's developers have entrusted local authorities along the
reservoir in Chongqing Municipality and Hubei Province to clean up the mainstream of
the Yangtze and the upstream tributaries. It has also allocated an
annual sum of 7.5 million yuan (about US$937,500) to the Three
Gorges Bureau of the Yangtze River Hydrological Bureau for
monitoring flotsam cleanup results.
The developer has also spent 30 million yuan (US$3.79 million)
on a ship specifically designed to collect debris, with a capacity
of 300 cubic meters. The ship will soon be put into service.
About 1.16 million people have been relocated since construction
of the Three Gorges Project began in 1993. The project consists of
a dam?that is 2,309 meters wide and 185 meters high,
twenty-six 700,000-kw power generators that will line the two banks
of the river, as well as a five-tier and dual-track ship lock.
When completed in 2009, the reservoir of the 203.9 billion yuan
project (US$25.5 billion) will have a capacity of 39.3 billion
cubic meters and 84.7 billion kwh of electricity will be produced
annually.
Workers have completed the dam, the 14 generating units on the
northern bank and most of the ship lock system, which is in
service. Construction of the 12 generating units on the southern
bank of the river is underway.
(Xinhua News Agency October 22, 2006)