Society

Stopping the flood of painful memories

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-10-14 16:32

JIUJIANG, Jiangxi – "It is like a water faucet," -a villager in Jiangxi province who lives along the bank of the Yangtze River said to describe the Three Gorges Dam.

Guo Peiru, 62, a resident in Binjiang village, Yongan town, Jiujiang city, was speaking on how the dam is helping to stabilize the flood situation in the region.

In his memory, he has experienced several floods, especially the 1998 which left profound memories.

"The water wave was so big, along with a flowing sound," Guo recalled. He said he even lived on the dike for more than 60 days. The dam breaking in 1998 was a painful memory for all Jiujiang locals.

Twelve years later, though the flood was still menacing, Guo felt his life was not affected by it too much.

Guo's living depends on crops and vegetables, and this year his farm was not submerged by water. "The income is around 10,000 yuan per year, and it will not be expected to sharply change in 2010," Guo said.

Compared with the locals' approval of the Three Gorges Dam, the local government still has more questions even after the dam completion.

"Though the dam has made a good effect on flood control, the new arising problems should also be paid attention to," Deng Xizhu, director of Jiujiang city flood control office said.

According to Deng, the Three Gorges Dam could reduce the flood peak which will mitigate the pressure on the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River, but it also has changed the natural pattern of the flood flowing.

"The downriver will keep a high water level in a longer period," Deng thought it was a big challenge for Poyang Lake and other lakes in Jiujiang.

Thought-provoking is that Jiujiang is not the only case, there are several cities also facing the changing situation.

Jingzhou is a key flood control city along the Yangtze River, which Jingjiang River flows through it. There is a proverb that says, "for ten thousand mile Yangtze River, the dangerous part is Jingjiang River."

The three gorges project is a fundamental solution for flooding in Jingjiang, Wang Jingquan, an expert in The Yangtze River Water Resources Committee said.

"The dam has the flood-control capacity of 22.1 billion cubic meters, which is equivalent to the flow of the four Jingjiang River flood diversion zone." Cao Guangjing, China Three Gorges Corp's chairman, said.

Geng Jicheng, director of the Jingzhou water conservancy bureau, admitted the huge flood control benefit of the dam, although the new challenge has become a new topic for Jingzhou.

"The Jingjiang River reach, which in the lower part of Three Gorges Dam, is affected by the clear water release seriously." Geng worried the new dangers.

River degradation downstream of the reservoir is a universal problem in the world, not only for Three Gorges, an expert explained.

"But it is not only the problem of the river channel change, the related environmental problems we are also concerned about." Duan Fangjin, the Party secretary of Yueyang city water resources bureau told China Daily about his concerns on the Dongting Lake wetland in Yueyang, Hunan province.

Dongting Lake is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan province. It is a flood-basin of the Yangtze River; hence the lake's size depending on the season.

Because the dam's flood control, it has reduced the amplitude of the Dongting Lake water level, which affects plant growth in Dongting Lake wetland.

"The area of wetland is in a state of shrink at present, and we have to control it." Duan said the wetland is the habitat of migratory birds during southward migration but now the birds could not forage enough food there.

"For food shortage, a large number of migratory birds can only fly to the rice fields to get food. As less food and normal food chain changes, many birds die due to lack of food or digestive disease." Local media Morning Herald reported.

Compared with some negative impact, Zhou Changjun, head of Gongan County, Hubei province, thought his county ushered in a new destiny.

Gong'an, an inland county along the south bank of Yangtze River, is located in the Jingjiang River flood diversion area. Its economic development is limited by the flood for years.

However, after the construction of Three Gorges Project, this developing county started to develop in a high speed.

"Last year the county attracted 3 billion yuan in investment from many large enterprises, such as COFCO. This will greatly accelerate the development of local economy." Zhou deemed the funds as powerful evidence of the benefits of the Three Gorges Dam's flood control for it has made the flood diversion area much safer than before.

As The Yangtze River Water Resources Committee reported on Sept 20, the dam has stopped more than 230 billion cubic meters of storing flood since this June, which effectively eased the pressure on the Yangtze River flood control area.

"Three Gorges reservoir and river flood control in the lower reaches has reduced at least 38 billion yuan of loss until now," the Committee said.