Water level at Three Gorges Dam reaches full capacity
By IANSTuesday, October 26, 2010
BEIJING - The water level at China’s Three Gorges Dam, whose construction has forced over a million people out of their homes, reached the highest mark Tuesday, Xinhua reported.
It hit the 175-metre mark at 9 a.m., said Cao Guangjing, chairman of the China Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC).
The 185-metre-deep reservoir, built on the upper middle-reaches of China’s Yangtze river, began to store water in 2003.
It is a multi-functional water control system and consists of a dam, a five-tier ship lock and 26 hydropower turbo-generators.
The higher water level will allow experts to validate the dam’s original design, said Cao.
In the future, the water level will be maintained at between 145 metres and 175 metres, depending on flood control needs.
The Three Gorges project was launched in 1993 with a budget of $22.5 billion.
It is designed to generate 84.7 billion kwh of power annually. The higher water level will cut navigation costs of ships by one third.
Some 1.24 million people in Chongqing municipality and Hubei province were relocated to make way for the construction.
