Saturday 12 January 2013

Hard Engineering Case Study: Three Gorges Dam

Name: Three Gorges Dam
Location: Yangtze River in China
What's Special About It: Largest Hard Engineering Project ever undertaken on a river
Size: 2.3km long and 100m high

Positives J
Negatives L
-Will be used to generate hydroelectric energy for central and eastern China including the city of Shanghai, home to 13 million people

-Environmentally friendly as it produces renewable energy

-It is replacing coal power stations which produce lots of pollution, use up fossil fuels and contribute to climate change

-It will reduce the risk of flooding for 15 million people
-High cost (£25 billion to build)

-Led to the resettlement of 1.2 million people to new cities like Wushan

-Fishermen were ordered to leave and now can’t make a living

-Amount of sediment transported by the river has fallen by 50% leading to increased rates of erosion further downstream

-Sediment which accumulates behind the dam will require dredging, which is expensive and requires lots of energy

-Led to more afforestation being needed to reduce the amount of sediment going into the reservoir

-Increased likelihood of landslides which has damaged houses

-Generated resentment

-Because the river is slower the effluence going into it can’t float away

-Cultural monuments have been lost including the Zhang Fei Temple

-New houses are only partially subsidised by the government

-Species like the White flag dolphin will have their habitats disrupted

  

11 comments:

  1. OMG I just found your blog, and I think it's saved my life! All this stuff seems so helpful and I know I'll be using it. Just wondering, will I need any more detail than that for my case studies?

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  2. thanks for the helpful information

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  3. thanks for the helpful information

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  4. LFC FOR THE EUROPA LEAGUE!!! AM I RIGHT BOYS

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  5. why is afforestation a bad thing. Should it not be on the good side, as they are trying to reduce the amount of sediment which in turn will cost them less and they will have to dredge less as well!

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