BIRLA INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY
a
Presentation
on
The Three Gorges Dam
By
Grandhi Sai Bhaskar
(BE/10650/2013)

What Is It?
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam that
spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping,
located in the Yiling District of Yichang, in Hubei
province, China.
It is the world's largest electricity-generating plant
of any kind, and second in production.

Details Of Three Gorges

Dam
Location: Sandouping, Yiling, Hubei, China
Purpose: Multipurpose Project (Power, Flood control,
Navigation).
Owner(s): China Yangtze Power.
Dam And Spillways
Type of Dam: Gravity Dam.
Impounds: Yangtze River.
Spillway Capacity: 116,000 cubic metre.
Reservoir
Total Capacity: 39.3 Cub.Km.
Catchment Area: 1,00,000 Sq.Km.

Composition And
Dimensions
Three Gorges dam is a Gravity type of dam.
Made of concrete and steel, the dam is 2,335m (7,661ft.)
long and the top of the dam is 185m (607ft.) above sea
level.
When the water level is at its maximum of 175m (574ft.)
above sea level, which is 110m (361ft.) higher than the
river level downstream, the dam reservoir is on average
about 660km (410mi.) in length and 1.12km (3,675ft.) in
width.

Economics
The government estimated that the Three Gorges Dam project
would cost 180billion yuan (US$22.5billion).By the end of 2008,
spending had reached 148.365billion yuan, among which
64.613billion yuan was spent on construction, 68.557billion yuan
on relocating affected residents, and 15.195billion yuan on
financing. It is estimated that the construction cost will be
recovered when the dam has generated 1,000 terawatt-hours
(3,600PJ) of electricity, yielding 250billion yuan. Full cost recovery
is expected to occur ten years after the dam starts full operation.
As of December 20, 2013, the full cost of the Three Gorges Dam
project has been recovered.

River flow rate

Power output

Environmental Impact
Emissions
According to the National Development and Reform
Commission of China, 366grams of coal would produce 1kWh of
electricity during 2006.
Erosion and sedimentation
At current levels, 80% of the land in the area is
experiencing erosion, depositing about 40million tons ofsedimentinto
theYangtzeannually.
Earthquakes and landslides
Erosion in the reservoir, induced by rising water, causes frequent
majorlandslidesthat have led to noticeable disturbance in the reservoir
surface, including two incidents in May 2009 when somewhere between
20,000 and 50,000 cubic metres (26,000 and 65,000cuyd) of material
plunged into the flooded Wuxia Gorge of theWu River.Also, in the first
four months of 2010, there were 97 significant landslides.

Cont...
Floods, agriculture, industry
An important function of the dam is to control flooding, which is a major problem for the seasonal
river of the Yangtze.
The reservoir's flood storage capacity is 22 cubic kilometres (18,000,000acreft). This capacity will
reduce the frequency of major downstream flooding from once every ten years to once every
100years. The dam is expected to minimize the effect of even a "super" flood.
In 1998 a flood in the same areacaused billions of dollars in damage; 2,039km 2(787sqmi) of
farm land were flooded. The flood affected more than 2.3million people, killing 1,526.In early
August 2009, the largest flood in five years passed through the dam site. The dam limited the
water flow to less than 40,000 cubic metres (52,000cuyd) per second, raising the upstream water
level from 145.13metres on August 1, 2009, to 152.88 on August 8, 2009. 4.27 cubic kilometres of
flood water were captured and the river flow was cut by as much as 15,000 cubic metres per
second.[55]

Cont...

Since the filling of the reservoir in 2003, the Three

Gorges Dam has supplied an extra 11cubic
kilometres of fresh water to downstream cities and
farms during the dry season.[101]
During the2010 South China floods, in July, inflows at
the Three Gorges Dam reached a peak of 70,000m3/s
(2,500,000cuft./s), exceeding the peak during
the1998 Yangtze River Floods. The dam's reservoir
rose nearly 3m (9.8ft) in 24 hours and reduced the
outflow to 40,000m3/s (1,400,000cuft/s) in
discharges downstream, effectively alleviating serious
impacts on the middle and lower river.[102][103]

Navigating the dam

The dam is provided with
1. Ship Locks
2. Ship Lift
3. Portage railways

Relocation of residents
As of June 2008, China relocated 1.24million residents (ending withGaoyangin
Hubei Province) as 13 cities, 140 towns and 1350 villages either flooded or
were partially flooded by the reservoir [A_2-M:CR3-1HP:S-15],about 1.5% of
the province's 60.3million andChongqingMunicipality's 31.44million
population.[126]About 140,000residents were relocated to other provinces.[127]
Relocation was completed on July 22, 2008.[124]Some 2007 reports claimed that
Chongqing Municipality will encourage an additional fourmillion people to
move away from the dam to the main urban area of Chongqing by
2020.However, the municipal government explained that the relocation is due
to urbanization, rather than the dam, and people involved included other areas
of the municipality.[131]
Allegedly, funds for relocating 13,000 farmers around Gaoyang disappeared
after being sent to the local government, leaving residents without
compensation.[132]

Power Generation:
Nameplate Capacity: 22,500 MW.
Average generation: 87 TWh.
Turbines: 32*700 MW
2*50 MW Francis Type turbines.
Highest Recorded Annual production of electricity
is 98.8 TWh in 2014

Controversy
The Chinese state regards the project as a
historic engineering, social and economic
success, with the design of state-of-the-art large
turbines, and a move toward limiting greenhouse
gas emissions.
However, the dam flooded archaeological and
cultural sites and displaced some 1.3million
people, and is causing significant ecological
changes, including an increased risk of landslides.
The dam has been a controversial topic both in
China and abroad.

Facts

2 km long and 100m high.

The lake is over 600 km long.
Over 1m people have been moved (resettled) to make way for
the dam and lake.
The Yangtze river provides 66% of Chinas rice and contains 4M
people.
The Yangtze drains 1.8 M km2 and discharges 700 km3 of water
annually.
Over 700 million tons of sediment are deposited into the Yangtze
annually, making it the fourth largest sediment carrier in the
world. Experts believe that this sediment will build up behind the
dam, with only an unproven system of sluice gates to release it.

Cont

Over 360 million people live within the

watershed of the Yangtze River. If the one in
one thousand chance of a dam collapse
occured, the millions of people who live
downstream would be endangered.

Advantages
Flood Control.
Chinese officials note that the dam will relieve the danger of
flooding.
Emissions reduction.
Another advantage of the dam is to reduce emissions of
sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide.
China is enforcing tight rules aimed at preventing
construction work from causing environmental pollution, while
advanced facilities are being installed to treat construction
waste.

Disadvantages
Relocation.
Chinese officials estimate that the reservoir will partially or completely
inundate 2 cities, 11 counties, 140 towns, 326 townships, and 1351 villages.
About 23800 hectares, more than 1.1 million people will have to be
resettled.
It will threaten the river's wildlife.
The dam will alter the natural environment, and therefore, an almost
infinite number of species will be affected by the project.
The Three Gorges project will submerge some of China's most famous
historical scenery and tourist sites.
The weight of millions of tons of water behind a dam can increase the
chances of an earthquake.
The dam will disrupt heavy silt flows in the river.
It could cause rapid silt build-up in the reservoir, creating an imbalance
upstream, and depriving agricultural land and fish downstream of essential
nutrients.

Pros Vs Cons
Supporters say the benefits of the project far outweigh the
costs.
The principal advantage of the project is to generate power
to keep pace with China's economic growth.
It is estimated that China's power output must rise by 8
percent annually to keep pace with 6 percent annual
increase in gross national product.
In practical term, that means the nation's total 1990 power
capacity of 130 GW must grow to 580 GW by the year 2015.
Yes it reached to 1505GW by 2014

Full View of Three Gorges Dam

Thats All
Thank you