Jayi: Benefits

Benefits- flood, energy, economy

 1. Flood control and water utilization- protects 15 million people and 1.5 million acres of farmland around Yangtze River from flood by adjusting the upstream flood. 

Water being released from the Three Gorges Dam

However, although the dam is supposed to efficiently control flooding, in 2010 China had the worst devastating flooding in decade, killing at least 700 people and relocating millions people. The dam helped holding back some of the water by lowering its water level by 16 meters, but the flooding was still overwhelming that it became the worst flooding since the 1998 flooding, which had killed 4,150 people. 

2010 flooding

2011 flooding

In 2011, another flooding happened in China. Water level had fallen to 156meters, the optimum for power generations. It was another threat that the Three Gorges Dam was facing. 

As the Chinese environmentalists claimed, the reservoir volume is 39.3 billion meter cube and 22 billion meter cube are available for flooding control and prevention. 


2. Hydroelectric power generation- produced 18.3 millionwatts, accounts for 3% of the total energy need of China

Between the completion of the dam in 2006 and 2008, with 34 power generators, it generated a total of 18,300 MW. Among the main 32 generators, 14 of them are on the left bank and 12 are on the right, and the other 6 are set underground which became fully operational in 2011. Each of the last 2 generators has 50MW capacity. 

energy output before and after  the completion of the dam (2012)

3. Emission Reduction
The total energy output of the power plants is equivalent to 50 million tonnes per years that large coal-fired plants would burn up to. Without the dam, Chinese emission would increase more rapidly and cause more acid rain in Japan. The dam will help decrease emission of 100 million tons of CO2, 2 million tons of SO2, 0.37 million tons of nitrogen oxide and waste water.  


4. Navigation- boosting the trading system
By eliminating shoals and rapids and widening the shipping lanes, the dam enables better navigation that allows the Yangtze River to increase shipping from 3 million tons to 50 million tons per year by larger ships and travel further. 


5. Economy booming- jobs, tourism
The inner land of China is not as economically developing as the coastal areas. The construction, therefore, boosted the economy by creating at least 10,000 jobs for the local people in the interior of China.

Tourism, on the other hand, has also been boomed by the Three Gorges Dam. In January, 2011, report showed that there was 1.45 million tourists arrived in 2010, and cruise had also brought about 860,000 tourists. The number had an annual increase for 40%. Population increases, cities expands and new constructions are built everywhere. 

Luxury cruise trip, by Wuhan City-enhance

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Reference:
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20103483
2. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/21/world/la-fg-china-floods-20100722
3.http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2010/06/21/china-floods-rain.html
4.http://www.ctg.com.cn/en/environmental/environmental_a.php
5.http://www.scoop.it/t/dams-and-their-capabilities
6.http://www.power-technology.com/projects/gorges/
7.http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=1046&catid=13&subcatid=85
8.http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-01/11/c_13685858.htm