Saving Water SA

Saving Water SA
supplies and installs
Water Rhapsody Conservation Systems.
Water Rhapsody are leaders in
Grey Water
and
Rainwater Harvesting systems in South Africa with over 18 years experience and over 3000 installations.

Yangtze drought blamed on Three Gorges Dam

Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 27 May 2011

A 200-day drought in central China has provoked a fierce debate among scientists and government researchers about the impact of big dams like the Three Gorges on local weather systems.

Climate specialists say that the reservoir acts as a giant heat reflector that affects the microclimate of the region

Government officials and experts have been forced to respond to a flurry of accusations by netizens and environmental activists that the world’s biggest hydropower plant has disrupted downstream water flows and could have a long-term impact on local weather patterns.

WHY IS THE THREE GORGES BEING BLAMED?

Experts say that the 600-km (350-mile) long reservoir required to serve the 26 700-megawatt turbines at the Three Gorges hydropower plant prevents considerable volumes of water from flowing downstream.

But some environmentalists and climate specialists have also said that the reservoir acts as a giant heat reflector that affects the microclimate of the region, raising temperatures and reducing rainfall.

They also point to longer-term impact, saying that large reservoirs like the Three Gorges are net greenhouse gas producers because they submerged vast tracts of forest and farmland that would otherwise have absorbed climate-altering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Continue reading Yangtze drought blamed on Three Gorges Dam

May 27th, 2011 | Tags: , , , | Category: drought | Leave a comment

Shipping halted as Yangtze dries up

Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 12 May 2011

Drought on China’s Yangtze River has led to historically low water levels that have forced authorities to halt shipping on the nation’s longest waterway, the government and media said Thursday.

The Yangtze is China's longest waterway and is indispensable to the economies of many cities

The water level along the lower reaches of the river near the city of Wuhan was just above three metres (10 feet) on Thursday, the Chang Jiang Waterway Bureau said on its website.

A day earlier, the bureau closed a 228-kilometre (140-mile) stretch above Wuhan to ocean-going vessels due to shallow water in an effort to prevent the ships from bottoming out.

Further up the river, the massive Three Gorges Dam, the world’s biggest hydroelectric project, has discharged more water to alleviate the drought conditions down river, state press reported.

It was not immediately clear if the measures would be effective, as the drought along the middle reaches has sent water levels to their lowest point in five decades, the China Daily said.

At least two ships have been stranded in recent days as dozens of emergency teams have been dispatched to prevent accidents along the middle reaches, where the river has shrunk to an average width of about 150 metres, it said. Continue reading Shipping halted as Yangtze dries up

May 12th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , | Category: drought | Leave a comment

Little progress to limit Three Gorges dam pollution

Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 02 July 2010

China has made scant progress on environment schemes drawn up nearly a decade ago to limit pollution in and around the vast Three Gorges dam reservoir, with officials hobbled by lack of funding, state media [...]

July 2nd, 2010 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Environment, Saving Water | One comment