Blog Prompt
Q: Discuss about the socio-economic impact caused by the Three Gorges Dam.

Good morning everybody.I am honoured to be here to talk to you about the socio-economic effect caused by the Three Gorges Dam.

According to The National Development and Reform Commission of China, it takes 366 grams of coal to generate 1 kWh of electricity in China.therefore, the Three Gorges Dam will potentially reduce the coal consumption by 31 million tonnes per year, cutting the emission of 100 million tonnes of greenhouse gas,millions of tonnes of dust, 1 million tonnes of sulfur dioxide, 370 thousand tonnes of nitric oxide, 10 thousand tonnes of carbon monoxide and a significant amount of mercury into the atmosphere.The elimination of the fossil fuel also reduces the energy consumption in mining, washing and transporting about 31 million tonnes of coal from northern China to the load centre in south and east China.

Since the dam started generating power on July 10, 2003, total power production is equivalent to 84 million tonnes of standard coal and reduces carbon dioxide emission by 190 million tonnes, sulfur dioxide by 2.29 million tonnes and hydroxides by 980,000 tonnes.

From 2004 to 2007 there were total of 198 million tonnes of goods passed through the Three Gorges Dam ship locks. The freight capacity of the river increased 6 times and the cost of shipping reduced by 25%, compared to previous years, which reduces carbon dioxide emission by 630,000 tonnes. Comparing to highway transportation, the amount of fuel that Three Gorges Dam project saved between the year of 2004 and 2007 is equivalent to 4,100,000 tonnes of standard coal. Thus it reduces carbon dioxide emission by 10 million tonnes.

Since the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, many waste water treatment plants have been completed to reduce the water pollution from the large populated city Chongqing and the suburban area around it. According to the ministry of environmental protection of PRC, until April 2007, there were more than 50 waste water treatment plants installed and the total capacity reached 1.84 million tonnes per day. More than 65% of the waste water is treated before being dumped into the Three Gorges Dam reservoir. About 32 land sites deposit were completed and could handle 7664.5 tonnes of solid waste every day.

The most significant function of the dam is to control flooding, which is a major problem of a seasonal river like the Yangtze. Millions of people live downstream of the dam, and many large and important cities like Wuhan, Nanjing and Shanghai lie next to the river. Plenty of farm land and the most important industrial area of China are built beside the river.The reservoir's flood storage capacity is 22 km3.This capacity will reduce the frequency of major downstream flooding from once every 10 years to once every 100 years. With the dam, it is expected that major floods can be controlled. If a "super" flood comes, the dam is expected to minimize its effect.

Thank you.