Water levels at China's Three Gorges near maximum after flooding rains

Reuters ^ | 21 Aug 2020 | David Stanway

[BeauBo]

Water levels at China’s giant Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river are inching closer to their maximum after torrential rains raised inflows to a record high, official data showed on Friday.

With 75,000 cubic metres per second of water flowing in from the Yangtze river on Thursday, the reservoir’s depths reached 165.6 metres by Friday morning, up more than 2 metres overnight and almost 20 metres higher than the official warning level.

The maximum designed depth of China’s largest reservoir is 175 metres.

Authorities raised the discharge volume to a record 48,800 cubic metres per second on Thursday to try to lower water levels, and they might have to increase it again to avoid the possibility of a dangerous overflow.

“They will do everything they can to prevent the dam from overtopping,” said Desiree Tullos, a professor at Oregon State University who studies the Three Gorges project.

“An overtopping dam is a worst-case scenario because it produces significant damage... and can lead to the entire thing collapsing.”

Rainfall in the Yangtze basin has been well over double the seasonal average this year.

[BeauBo]

The water level behind the Three Gorges Dam is now over 167 meters, up about 2.5 from yesterday. The max for the design is 175 meters, and the top of the dam is 181.

Over the last 12 hours, the inflow has fallen off pretty sharply, but still exceeds the outflow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2kE7m-cbm8 ).

Looking at the weather forecast for Chongqing, the next three days seem clear of rain.

If there were a couple of more days of heavy rain, that raised the level to near the 175 meter design max, I guess that the authorities would have to open the floodgates to release all the inflow, regardless of the effects downstream, to prevent the dam from over-topping.

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Ping

[Roman_War_Criminal]

If this thing fails, millions will die and China will need to do something drastic to feed their population.

Not to mention the massive migration and relocation of a good portion of their population.

War is in the air for sure.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Xi is Pharaoh. Rain is a plague of locusts.

[KC_Lion]

Ping

[LRoggy]

The most undercovered story worldwide this year . . . watch the lame media try to blame Trump’s trade policy if it fails.

[Army Air Corps]

Sweet fancy Moses!

[ProtectOurFreedom]

75 kcms in; 49 kcms out; 2 m rise in 24 hours. And they "might have to increase [the outflow] again to avoid the possibility of a dangerous overflow."

MIGHT? Seems like increasing the outflow is long overdue. If that net inflow of 26 kcms caused a 2 m rise in 24 hours and they are less than 10 m from overflowing the top, they don't have a lot of margin left. If the inflows don't lessen, they will be overflowing in less than five days.

I'd be at maximum outflow now.

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

The last I heard, the rains and flooding came just before the rice harvest, China's main staple crop.
Something more than 60 % of China's manufacturing is done downstream of the Yangtze River and Three Gorges Dam.

[Maine Mariner]

Trump is being blamed for everything!

[cuban leaf]

I was worried that this thing was going down to the point that I started raising chickens again. However, it is looking like that dam is tougher than a lot of us thought.

But yeah, if it DOES burst, things will get ugly internationally.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

For perspective, the average outflow was 35 kcms from late June to mid July. Today, they are 40% higher than the June-July average outflow.

Chinese geologist Fan Xiao told Reuters that the storage capacity of Three Gorges is less than 9% of average floodwaters. “It can only partially and temporarily intercept the upstream floods, and is powerless to help with floods caused by heavy rainfall in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.”

If it can contain only 9% of AVERAGE floodwaters, then it is probably containing 4% to 5% of this summer’s floodwaters.

[meatloaf]

A source within the USACE says even if the dam was overtopped it would not fail. An earthen dam, yes. A concrete dam, not likely.

[9YearLurker]

Seems just like noise at this point, with the rainy season almost over.

I think our greatest risk of an EMP attack would have been if it had come to a point of massive failure. But that doesn’t seem to be in store.

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Roman_War_Criminal :" If this thing fails, millions will die and China will need to do something drastic to feed their population.
Not to mention the massive migration and relocation of a good portion of their population."

Control of the population is of little concern to the Chinese government, as evidenced by government actions in Wuhan this last winter.
Chinese manufacturing has already somewhat been hit by the covid19 virus.
The Chinese are unable to feed their massive population and have depended on international grain imports to feed the masses.
Despite the trade and political tensions between the U.S. and China, they will be even more dependent on grain imports,
and the news, even this morning, is that China purchases of grain as a result of the trade negotiations is still down from previously agreed levels.
Let us not forget, that WWWII was fought because Japan needed more resources for its population; similar scenario, no ?

[karnage]

Scary situation, but catastrophe apparently not imminent.

[Roman_War_Criminal]

Win win for you with the chickens.
You’re living my dream.

Honestly, I hate the ChiCom gov’t and all, but I’m praying that this thing does not break. It would be absolutely catastrophic for everybody globally if it does.

[BeauBo]

On Thursday morning, inflow hit 75,000 cubic meters of water per second — its largest-ever.

Outflow was raised to the highest ever, 48,800 cubic meters per second.

The current record high water level is expected to peak at 168 meters this Sunday, in the fourth major flood (sixth official flood) of this exceptionally heavy monsoon season (twice last year's rainfall).

The Sichuan provincial government (upstream from Three Gorges) declared on Tuesday a level 1 emergency alert for the first time in history.

Floodwaters have wet the feet of the giant Buddha Statute of Leshan (near Chegdu), for the first time since the communists seized power there.

The last group of 180 tourists had to be rescued from the statue, as the waters rose.

[null and void]

War is in the air for sure.

Xi has been systematically and deliberately pissing off every country he can.

As far as he is concerned a war killing 100s of millions is better than a revolt killing him.

Maybe he's a democrat at heart?

[econjack]

I think CV-19 has hit China more on the demand side than the supply side. There have been fewer than 5000 deaths in China (who knows the accuracy), but part of that was because China virtually shut down travel into and out of Wuhan very early in the breakout. However, in an attempt to hide the problem, they continued to let foreign air travel into and out of Wuhan. That, to me, was the unforgivable action. I don’t know what will happen if the dam breaks, but for everyone in the world, I hope it doesn’t happen.