Ray Devlin
Upstream of the Three Gorges Dam
This view shows the upstream face of the dam, and the entrance to the huge ship lock.
The Three Gorges Dam is the largest dam on earth, generating 18.2 MW of energy, and is 1.2miles wide along the crest. It is a concrete gravity wall dam and there is much speculation and debate within the industry if the limestone foundations are fit to do the job of resisting the huge forces exerted upon them. Still a wonder of the modern world.
The Three Gorges Project has seen over 1.3 million people re-located, from conditions of poverty to relative levels of comfort. Not all Chinese citizens wanted to move, obviously, but many saw it as a way to escape the desperately poor living conditions they had. Almost entirely new cities had to be built higher up on the steep banks of the resevoir, including new bridges and erosion control. The entire project cost only $30b. This seems like a ludicrously low price given the scale of the project. However, Chinese building practises and environmental controls do not hamper projects the way they do in Europe and USA. Having seen the construction first hand, you have to worry about safety and environmental damage such a project costs. However, China will save huge sums of money - and in fact already has, by eliminating devastating flooding on the Yangzi with the Dam and by selling of the energy created by the hydro plant. The project submerges 13 cities, 140 towns, 1352 villages, 600 factories, and 1200 archeological projects. An engineering marvel, but fundamentally flawed project.
Upstream of the Three Gorges Dam
This view shows the upstream face of the dam, and the entrance to the huge ship lock.
The Three Gorges Dam is the largest dam on earth, generating 18.2 MW of energy, and is 1.2miles wide along the crest. It is a concrete gravity wall dam and there is much speculation and debate within the industry if the limestone foundations are fit to do the job of resisting the huge forces exerted upon them. Still a wonder of the modern world.
The Three Gorges Project has seen over 1.3 million people re-located, from conditions of poverty to relative levels of comfort. Not all Chinese citizens wanted to move, obviously, but many saw it as a way to escape the desperately poor living conditions they had. Almost entirely new cities had to be built higher up on the steep banks of the resevoir, including new bridges and erosion control. The entire project cost only $30b. This seems like a ludicrously low price given the scale of the project. However, Chinese building practises and environmental controls do not hamper projects the way they do in Europe and USA. Having seen the construction first hand, you have to worry about safety and environmental damage such a project costs. However, China will save huge sums of money - and in fact already has, by eliminating devastating flooding on the Yangzi with the Dam and by selling of the energy created by the hydro plant. The project submerges 13 cities, 140 towns, 1352 villages, 600 factories, and 1200 archeological projects. An engineering marvel, but fundamentally flawed project.