News Archive
China vulnerable as flood season approaches
Released on 26/06/2009
Shoddy construction , unqualified workers and the embezzlement of funds are threatening the safety of many of the dams on China’s Yellow River.
An alarming number of the dams are in fragile condition and close to collapse, according to a report in China Daily newspaper. For example, one dam built in 2006 in Huan county has developed a dangerous 10-metre breach in the middle.
“Several dams on branches of the Yellow River in Gansu province are near collapse only one or two years after their construction,” China Daily reported on Friday.
The report said the situation was not limited to Gansu. At least 37,000 reservoirs, more than 40 per cent of the country’s total, are in potential danger. Of those, 3,642 dams are being reinforced and another 7,611 need immediate reinforcement.
From 1999 to 2008, a total of 59 dams were breached nationwide, 30 caused by torrential rain and another 20 from quality defects, the report said.
The Yellow River dikes are part of a soil and water conservation project under the management of the Ministry of Water Resources. Most of the money to build them comes from central government.
With a length of 5,464 km, the Yellow River, dubbed the “mother river” of China, suffers the most serious soil erosion in the world, especially along its middle and upper reaches. The average amount of mud and sand washed into the river every year reaches 1.6 billion tons.
Since 2003, China has poured a total of 83 billion yuan ($12 billion) into tackling soil erosion along the river and constructed more than 160,000 dams, according to Xinhua News Agency.
As flood season approaches in July, August and September, China’s dam safety is coming under heavy pressure and inspections show many of them are not in good condition, Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei said last month.
