ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND CONCEPT DURING CONSTRUCTION ... Management and Concept... · ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND CONCEPT DURING ... ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND CONCEPT DURING

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND CONCEPT DURING CONSTRUCTION OF DAM: A STUDY CASE OF MURUM DAM,

BELAGA DISTRICT, KAPIT DIVISION, SARAWAK

Castro Michael

G 300 M621 Master of Environmental Science 2013 (Land Use "nd Water Resource Management)

2013

,.... Pusat Khidmat Maklumat Akademik INIVF.RSm MALAYSIA SARAWAK

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND CONCEPT DURING CONSTRUCTION OF DAM: A STUDY CASE OF MURUM DAM, BELAGA DISTRICT, KAPIT

DIVISION, SARAWAK " .KHIDMAT MAKL.UMAT AKADI!MIK

UNIMAS

1/11//1111/11111 1/" 11111 1000245937

CASTRO MICHAEL 11031886

This project is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Master of Environmental Science

Faculty of Resource Science and Technology UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARA WAK

2013

I

ACKNO~EDGEMENTS f

First of all, I would like to thank. my supervisor, Professor Dr. Lee Nyanti for his

continuous support, encouragement and valuable discussion. I would also like to

thank my family especially my parent, lecturers, staff of Sekitar Ceria

Environmental Services Sdn. Bhd. and my programme mates for guiding and

assisting me in completing this project.

Pusat Khidmat Maklumat Akademik UNIVERSCn MALAYSIA SARAWAK

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS 11

LIST OF TABLES V11

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS IV

LIST OF FIGURES VI

ABSTRACT V1l1

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND 1

1.1.1 DAM AROUND THE WORLD 1

1.1.2 ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS 4

1.1.2.1 PRE-CONSTRUCTION 4

1.1.2.2 DURING CONSTRUCTION 7

1.1.2.3 POST-CONSTRUCTION 9

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENTS 10

1.3 OBJECTIVES 11

2.0 LITERA TURE REVIEW 11

2.1 THREE GORGES DAM 11

2.1.1 BACKGROUND 11

2.1.2 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND CONCEPT 12

2.2 BAKUN DAM 16

2.2.1 BACKGROUND 16


ii

,.....

2.3 THREE GORGES DAM 18

2.3.1 BACKGROUND 18


3.0 METHODOLOGY 25

3.1 SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION AND REVIEW 25

3.1.1 SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION 25

3.1.2 LEGISLATIONS AND GUIDELINES 25

3.2 WATER QUALITY ANALYSIS 33

3.2.1 SAMPLING SITE 33

3.2.2 SAMPLES COLLECTION 35 I"

3.2.3 SAMPLES ANALYSIS 35

3.2.4 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS 37

4.0 RESULTS 38

4.1 SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION AND REVIEW 38

4.2 LEGISLA TIONS AND GUIDELINES 40

4.3 WATER QUALITY ANALYSIS 44

5.0 DISCUSSIONS . 53

5.l SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION AND REVIEW 53

5.2 LEGISLA TIONS AND GUIDELINES 54

5.3 STA TISTICAL ANALYSIS 55

6.0 CONCLUSION 57

7.0 REFERENCES 58

iii

I ,.....

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ADB

AN

APHA

ASL

BOD

CFU

COD

DEIA

DO

DOE

EMP

EQA

ESIA

FSL

Ha

kWh

MVA

MW

NREB

NREO

NWQS

PFA

Asian Development Bank

Ammoniacal Nitrogen

American Public Health Association

Above Sea Level

Biological Oxygen Demand

Colony Fonning Unit

Chemical Oxygen Demand

Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment

Dissolved Oxygen

Department of Environment

Environmental Management Plan

Environmental Quality Act

Environmental and Social Impact Assessment

Full Supply Level

Hectare

Kilo Watt Per hour

Mega Volt Ampere

Megawatt

Natural Resource and Environment Board

Natural Resource and Environment Ordinance

National Water Quality Standards

Pulverised Fly Ash

iv

,..... I

RCC

SEB

SIA

SPU

SRB

TCC

TFC

TSS

UNIMAS

Roller Compacted Concrete

Sarawak Energy Berhad

Social Impact Assessment

State Planning Unit

Sarawak River Board

Total Coliform Count

Total Fecal Coliform

Total Suspended Solids

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

v

LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 1 River Water Sampling Locations 34

Figure 2 Trending Records ofBOD5 Level from November 45

2011 until April 2013 Compared to Class lIB

Figure 3 Trending Records of COD Level from November 46


Figure 4 Trending Records of Total Suspended Solids Level 47

from November 2011 until April 2013 Compared to

Class lIB

Figure 5 Trending Records of Turbidity Level from November 48


Figure 6 Trending Records of Ammoniacal Nitrogen Level 49

From November 2011 until April 2013 Compared to

Class lIB

Figure 7 Trending Records of Total Coliform Count Level 50


Class lIB

Figure 8 Trending Records of Total Fecal Count Level 51


Class lIB

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LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 1 Fifth Schedule of Environmental Quality (Industrial 27

Effluent) Regulations 2009

Table 2 Seventh Schedule of Environmental Quality (Industrial 28

Effluent) Regulations 2009 for Chemical Oxygen

Demand (COD)

Table 3 National Water Quality Standards for Malaysia 29

Table 4 Water Quality Sampling Location's Details 33

Table 5 List of Documents Related with Environmental 43

Management

vii

I'

Environmental Management and Concept During Construction of Dam: A Study Case of Murum Dam, Belaga District, Kapit Division, Sarawak

Castro Michael

Master of Environmental Science Faculty of Resource Science and Technology

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

ABSTRACT ~am is physical barrier that was constructed purposely to impound water or underground streams, which serve the primary purpose of retaining water. It can be also use as floodgates or levees to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. This study is focusing on documentation of the environmental management, legislations and guidelines, and water quality analysi~ Documentation such as EIA study report is mandatory as accordance to Malaysia legislation. Therefore, strict enforcement should be carried out to regulate existing legislation and also to monitor impacts from the dam's development. Water quality sampling was carried out at Murum River and its tributaries at six sampling locations. Results of the water quality analysis showed parameters such as BOD5, COD, TSS, turbidity, ammoniacal nitrogen and total coliform count exceeded the National Water Quality Standards for Malaysia (NWQS) compliance limit indicating the large number of workers population at the dam site as the main contributing factor. Pollutants are mostly from sewage discharge, soil erosion and decomposing organic materials.

Key words: Dam, legislations, documentation, water quality

ABSTRAK Empangan ialah halangan jizikal yang dibina bertujuan untuk menakung air atau aliran air bawah tanah, dengan fungsi utama untuk mengekalkan air. fa boleh digunakan sebagai tetambak untk mengurus atau mengelak aliran air ke kawasan tertentu. Kajian ini memberi tumpuan kepada dokumentasi pengurusan alam sekitar, undang-undang dan garis panduan, dan analisis kualiti air. Dokumentasi seperti laporan kajian EfA adalah wajib mengikut undang-undang negara Malaysia. Oleh itu, penguatkuasaan yang ketat perlu dijalankan bagi mengawal selia undang-undang yang sedia ada dan juga mengawasi impak daripada pembinaan empangan. Persampelan kualiti air telah dijalankan di Sungai Murum dan anak sungainya di enam lokasi. Analisis kualiti air menunjukkan parameter seperti keperluan oksigen biokimia, keperluan oksigen kimia, jumlah pepejal terampai, kekeruhan, ammoniakal nitrogen dan jumlah kiraan koliform telah melebihi tahap pematuhan Standard Kualiti Air Kebangsaan di Malaysia dan ini menunjukkan jumlah populasi pekerja yang ramai di tapak empangan sebagai faktor utama penyebab perkara ini terjadi. Kebanyakan bahan pencemaran adalah berpunca daripada bahan kumbahan, hakisan tanah dan bahan organik yang mereput.

Kata kunci: Empangan, undang-undang, dokumentasi, kualiti air

viii

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1.0 Introduction

1.1 Project Background

1.1.1 Dam Around The World

Worldwide, many countries rely upon hydropower for substantial portion of their

electricity. In developing countries, rapid urbanization and continued population

growth will ensure increased demand for electric power for decades to come, even

with the most successful of demand management and energy efficiency measures.

Dams have one of the most important roles in utilizing water resources and were

constructed many years before gaining the present infonnation about hydrology and

hydromechanics (Anul et al., 2007). Dam is a physical barrier that was purposely

constructed to impound water or underground streams, which serve the primary

purpose of retaining water and it can be also use as floodgates or levees to manage

or prevent water flow into specific land regions. However, most dams are used as

hydropower dam to generate electricity.

In reviewing the past, the construction of dams have been going on from early man's

period of civilization as evidence are available in the region of Bacelonia around

Euphrates and Tigris in present-day Iraq (Aladelokun, 2012). The construction of

barrier across streams channels for the purpose of impounding water goes back to

about 5,000 years from now. There were nearly 700 dams built every ten years up to

1950s and later, this number grew rapidly (Anul et al., 2007). In general view,

development of dams could provide a major contribution to the economic

development of industrial as well as of developing countries, and sometimes often

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considered as sustainable source of electricity, e.g. sustainable hydropower or green

hydropower.

Dams can be classified into four major types, namely gravity dams, arch dams,

buttress dams and earth-filled dams (Schnitter, 1994). Gravity dams are solid

concrete structures with triangular cross sections which are suitable for sites with

reasonably sound rock foundation (United States Department of the Interior, 1987).

This type of dam is thick at its base and thinner towards its tops. When view from

the top, it is either straight or only curved and the upper stream is nearly vertical.

The broad bases gravity dam holds water by the brute force of its weight. Gravity

dam can be found on Columbia River in Washington, United States of America.

Meanwhile, arch dams are those that employ the same structural principles as the

arch bridges. Arch dam is a type whereby the upper stream curve of the slender dam

directs water pressure through the abetment to the retaining canyon walls. It is

normally built in the form of up ended arch with bases on the walls of canyon. Arch

dams are thinner and therefore, require less material than any other type of dam.

Arch dams are suitable for sites that are narrow and have strong abutments. It

usually made of concrete and more often in the shape of a V than U-shape. Arch

dams are generally classified as thin, medium and thick, depending on the ration of

the width of the base to the height (United States Department of the Interior, 1987).

Some examples of arch dam are namely, the Kariba Dam in Rhodesia, the Glen

Canyon Dam on the Colorado River in Arizona, the Vallon de Baume in France and

the Monte Novo Dam in Portugal.

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Buttress dams are watertight upstream face and a series of buttresses that support the

face and the water pressure and the weight of the structure to the foundation. They

comprised of flat deck and multiple arch structures and require approximately about

60 percent less concrete of the solid gravity dams (United States Department of the

Interior, 1987). This kind of dam can be found at Greece, which is the Pidima Dam,

built in 1953.

Earth-filled dams are the most common type of dam which utilize natural materials

with minimum of processing and may be built with primitive equipment under

addition where any other construction materials would be impracticable. Although,

this type of darns are the earliest known dams and the easiest to be constructed,

however, numerous failures of many earth-filled dams that are poorly designed

make it an apparent threat (United States Department of the Interior, 1987). Prior to

that, earth-filled dams require much more engineering skill in their conception and

construction than other types of dam. The highest earth-filled embankment dam in

the world is the Oroville Dam in California.

There are about approximately 845,000 dams in the world, of which 80,000 of the

numbers are located in the United States of America and at least nearly 40 dams

including still in construction, located in Malaysia. The largest dam, which is also

the largest hydroelectric power station in the world is the Three Gorges Dam in

People's Republic of China and it has a generating capacity of approximately 22,400

megawatt (Ponseti & L6pez-Pujol, 2006). Other dams around the world are as listed

below:

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1. Itaipu Dam (Brazil and Paraguay)

11. Guri Dam (Venezuela)

111. Tucurui Dam (Brazil)

lV. Grand Coulee Dam (United States of America)

v. Longtan Dam (People's Republic of China)

VI. Krasnoyarskaya Dam (Russia)

Vll. Robert - Bourassa Dam (Canada)

V111. Churchill Falls Dam (Canada)

lX. Bratskaya Dam (Russia)

x. Laxiwa Dam (People's Republic of China)

1.1.2 Environmental Aspects

1.1.2.1 Pre-Construction

Prior to construction of a dam, Early Stage and Preparation assessment need to be

carried out where both assessment can help guide the stakeholders involved in

managing the environment factor (International Hydropower Association, 2010).

Early Stage assessment guides the stakeholders to assess the strategic environment

from which proposals for hydropower projects emerge including the best location to

develop the dam. It identifies project risks and opportunities at an early stage, in

order to identify the challenges and management responses to proceed with a more

detailed project investigation. This Early Stage assessment can encourage better

early stage analysis and identification of knowledge gaps.

4

Pusat Khidmat Mak.lum~t Akademik UNlVERSm MALAYSIA SARAWAK

The most suitable location for building a dam is a narrow part of a deep river valley;

the valley sides that can act as naturaJ walls. The primary function of the dam's

structure is to fill the gap in the natural reservoir line left by the stream channel. The

sites are usuaUy those where the gap becomes a minimum for the required storage

capacity. The most economical arrangement is often a composite structure such as a

masonry dam flanked by earth embankments. The current use of the land to be

flooded should be dispensable too.

Apart from that, other significant engineering and engmeermg geology

considerations when building a dam include:

1. permeability of the surrounding rock or soil;

11. earthquake faults;

1Il. landslides and slope stability;

IV. water table;

v. peak flood flows;

VI. reservoir silting;

vii. environmental impacts on river fisheries, forests and wildlife (see also fish

ladder);

viii. impacts on human habitations;

ix. compensation for land being flooded as well as population resettlement; and

x. removal of toxic materials and buildings from the proposed reservoir area.

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Meanwhile, the Preparation assessment helps to assess the preparation stage of a

hydropower project, during which investigations, planning and design are

undertaken for all aspects of the project. This project stage is normally subject to

national regulatory processes regarding project-specific Environmental and Social

Impact Assessment (ESIA) requirements as well as project management processes.

An assessment conducted at this point in time would assess whether all preparatory

requirements have been met, management plans are in place, and commitments are

appropriate and binding. Later, this decision is governed by national regulatory

processes to obtain a construction permit and an operating license based on the ESIA

and project specific governmental requirements. Following this point, construction

commences along with relevant elements of environmental and social management

plans.

The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) is an activity designed to

identify and predict the impact on the bio-geophysical environment and on man's

health and well-being, taking into account of the requirements, legislative proposals,

policies, programmes, projects and operational procedures, and to interpret and

communicate information about the impacts (Munn, 1975). Environmental changes

expected out of any physical developments can have harmful or beneficial

consequences, or both. These consequences are known as 'impacts', brought forth

by the man-induced changes, which are called 'activities'. The potential impacts

likely to arise as consequences of these activities are on:

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Impacts on the abiotic environment

According to Wildi (2010), potential impact on the abiotic environment includes the

-degradation of water quality in terms of the spillage of lubricants and fuel from

machineries, soil is prone to erosion during the earthwork and also the changes in

temperature due to deforestation.

Impacts on the biotic environment

There are potential impacts from the construction, inundation and operational phase

of the dam, with the greatest impact predicted during the construction and

inundation phase. The major indirect impact is habitat loss and degradation. The

direct impact on wildlife ranged from psychological and physiological stress to the

more traumatic effect of injury, and death (McCartney & Sally, 2006).

Impacts on the human environment

There is likely to be social interaction with the resettled population at the affected

project area. Dam construction requires the state to displace individual people in the

name of the common good, and that it often leads to abuses of the masses by

planners or stakeholders. Potential impacts on the human environment are

population change, influx of temporary workers, presence of visitors, dissimilarity in

age, gender and ethnicity and relocation of affected communities.

1.1.2.2 During Construction

The Implementation assessment is purposely to assess the implementation stage of a

hydropower project, during which construction, resettlement, environmental and

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other management plans and commitments are implemented (International

Hydropower Association, 2010). During the construction of dams, environmental

protection measures should be fully and timely carried out in strict as accordance

with the approved Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and design

documents.

The environmental consequences in constructing dams are numerous and varied, and

includes direct impacts to the biological, chemical and physical properties of rivers

and riparian environments.

The dam wall itself will blocks fish migrations, which in some cases and with some

species completely separate spawning habitats from rearing habitats. The dam also

traps sediments, which are critical for maintaining physical processes and habitats

downstream of the dam

A dam also holds back sediments that would naturally replenish downstream

ecosystems. When a river is deprived of its sediment load, it seeks to recapture it by

eroding the downstream river bed and banks. Riverbeds downstream of dams are

typically eroded by several meters within the decade of first closing a dam; the

damage can extend for tens or even hundreds of kilometers below a dam.

Riverbed deepening will also lower groundwater tables along a river, lowering the

water table accessible to plant roots (and to human communities drawing water from

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wells). Altering the riverbed also reduces habitat for fish that spawn m flver

bottoms, and for invertebrates.

Large dams have led to the extinction of many fish and other aquatic species, the

disappearance of birds in floodplains, huge losses of forest, wetland and fannland,

erosion of coastal deltas, and many other unmitigable impacts.

1.1.2.3 Post-Construction

The Operation assessment should be carried out to assess the operation of a

hydropower facility and can be used to infonn the view that the facility is operating

on a sustainable basis with active measures in place towards monitoring, compliance

and continuous improvement (International Hydropower Association, 2010). This

project phase is framed by the operating conditions put forth in a national

governmental authorization often called operating license.

The Operation assessment criterion looks in many cases to see if any ongoing or

emerging issues have been identified. Identification processes could take many

forms, for example through field inspections, review of data collected in-house or by

other agencies, national and international policy scans and mechanisms to be aware

of stakeholder issues and concerns.

Ongoing issues refer to unresolved issues associated with the operation of the

hydropower facility that have been of concern for a period of time. They could be

legacy issues. Emerging issues could be those arising from changes to policies,

9

legislation, standards, stakeholder expectations, or physical cbanges to the

environment in which the facility operates.

Mitigation measures to resolve the issues could take many forms; for example

continued monitoring, more intensive monitoring, a risk assessment or scenario

analyses, improvement to communications, negotiations, commissioning studies,

implementation of management responses and development of plans for future

implementation if the risks continue to emerge.

1.2 Problem Statements

Currently, there is no proper integrated environmental management in construction

of dam in Sarawak:

1. More than one major activities are involved in construction of dam such as

construction of quarry, landfill, development of new roads, extraction of river

sand, generation/usage of hazardous waste, resettlement, biomass removal and

wildlife rescue.

Implementation of rules and regulations from Federal and/or State Government are

causing confusion among stakeholders:

1. Construction of dam is under jurisdiction of State Government (NREO).

11. Generation/usage of hazardous waste is under jurisdiction of Federal

Government (EQA).

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-:=::=:-::--:~-------=-----;---------~-----~~-----~~~-----.

1.3 Objectives

The objectives of this study were:

1. To assess the development activities from an environmental conservation

perspective.

11. To identify and quantify possible major environmental impacts that may result

from project development, and to incorporate into the project plan appropriate

abatement and mitigating measures.

lll. To assess and analyze the environmental significance of residual impacts.

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Three Gorges Dam

2.1.1 Background

The Three Gorges Dam is a gravity cum hydroelectric dam and also the world's

largest power station with installed capacity of22,500 MW. The dam is spanning the

Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, located in Yiling District, Yichang,

Hubei province, China (Challman, 2000). The dam body was completed in the year

2006 whilst the whole project was completed and fully functional on 4th July 2012

when the last of the main turbines in the underground plant began production. With

the total of 32 main turbines with two smaller generators (50 MW each), the total

electric capacity of the dam is 22,500 MW (Ponseti & Lopez-Pujol, 2006).

Apart being producing electricity, the dam is also intended to increase the Yangtze

River's shipping capacity and reduce the potential for floods downstream by

providing flood storage space (Gleick, 2008). This project was regard as a historic

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engineering, social and economic success, with the design of state-of-the-art large

turbines, and a move toward limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

The main features of the Three Gorges Dam are as follows:

1. Main Dam:

• A reservoir with surface area of 1,084 km2 and a total storage capacity of

39.3 billion m3;

• A 181 m high Gravity Dam with a crest length of 2,310 m with the required

spillway incorporated in the main dam body; and

• Crest elevation is 185 m above sea level (ASL) with reservoir length is 600

km and maximum reservoir width is at average of 1.1 km.

11. Gated spiHway capacity - 102,500 m3 per second.

Ill. Powerhouse:

• The power house is a conventional type with installed capacity of22.5 GW.

• There are 32 unit of main turbines with each generate about 700 MW and 2

unit of small turbines of 50 MW each (Wahby, 2004)

2.1.2 Environmental Management and Concept

According to the National Development and Reform Commission of China, 366

grams of coal would produce 1 kWh of electricity during 2006. At full power, Three

Gorges reduces coal consumption by 45-50 million tonnes per year, avoiding 100

million tonnes of carbon dioxide, millions of tonnes of dust, two million tonnes of

sulfur dioxide, 370,000 tonnes of nitric oxide, 10,000 tonnes of carbon monoxide,

and a significant amount of wastewater and solid wastes (Challman, 2000).

12

Therefore, hydropower saves the energy needed to mine, wash, and transport the

coal from the northern China.

Sedimentation and Seismic Effects

There are two hazards that are uniquely identified with the dam. One is that

sedimentation projections and the other is that the dam sits on a seismic fault. At

current levels, 80% of the land in the area is experiencing erosion, depositing about

40 million tons of sediment into the Yangtze annually (Barber & Ryder, 1993). As

the sediment accumulates upstream, it will affect most of the cities and towns

located along the river due to the rise of water level at the reservoir's opposite end

and submerge some part of the cities or towns (Wahby, 2004).

Apart from that, incoming loads of sedimentation has caused imbalance in the

overburden pressure on soil strata which later may increase of triggering earthquakes

and landslides, and eventua1ly threaten the dam's stability (Wahby, 2004).

Large reservoirs can cause seismic events as the water fill in and as the pressure on

local faults increases (ICE, 1981). The area surrounding the dam and reservoir is

currently seismically active with numerous earthquakes ranging from smaller than a

magnitude of two to larger than a magnitude of four (Reynolds, 2011). Prior to that,

there has been an increase in reported seismic activity in the region following

construction of the dam and filling of the reservoir (Gleick, 2008). Following that, as

the risk of such disruptions appears to be far more severe, proper planning and effort

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of new resettlement need to be carried out in details as the danger zone around the

reservoir has expanded.

Flood Control

A major anticipated benefit from the development of the dam is highly improved

flood protection at the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River (Gleick,

2008). In the past, people living along the Yangtze River have suffered tremendous

losses from the flooding. The most disastrous floods happened in the twentieth

century occurred in 1931 which cause the death of 145,000 people and inundated

approximately 34,000 km2 of farmland (Ponseti & Lopez-Pujol, 2006). Therefore,

the Three Gorges Dam is projected to allow a precise control over the Yangtze

River, thus reducing the severity of flooding by 90%, thereby saving life and

property from major destruction (Wahby, 2004).

Navigation and Water Commerce

Another important purpose of the Three Gorges Dam is to improve navigation along

the Yangtze River to the interior of China (Challman, 2000). The dam is projected to

allow the passage of 10,000 tonnes ships to Chongqing from previously of 5,000

tonnes ships, therefore, increasing the annual one-way navigation capacity from 10

million tonnes to 50 million tonnes (Wahby, 2004).

Wildlife

This region has long been known for its rich biodiversity. It is home to 6,400 species

of plants, 3,400 species of insects and about 500 species of terrestrial vertebrates

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