Posted on 08/21/2020 7:36:21 AM PDT by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
It is, perhaps, worth noting that within the past week or so three divers sent to inspect the base of the dam disappeared.
What is the over/under on whether the dam breaks before it overflows???
That’s 19812903 US gal PER SECOND
Your estimate is 1/60th the actual rate, which goes to show just how precarious this situation really is for the Chinese
As of yesterday, authorities said that they expect three days of no rain, which will buy them some time.
At the same time, it has also been noticed that there is some erosion where the dam meets with the landmass,
and that there is some abnormal bowing in the dams architectural structure.
So, in a word, your guess is as good as mine - unknown.
If the dam fails, it will wipe out considerable cropland. In which case, it would be good to make sure your pantry and freezer are full.
While listening to a local radio station the other day, I heard an ad stating there was a freezer shortage in the US. However, XYZ company still had commercial grade freezers in stock. Made in America, too...
Downstream from the dam lies a large percentage of China’s manufacturing capacity. This is not just where products are made, but critical PARTS needed by manufacturers around the world need for the products they make.
If the dam busts, expect worldwide impact.
True, and China owns a significant number of the US press outlets. Entertainment and sports media bow to them. If China says the Tiananmen Square massacre didn't happen, it didn't happen. If they say those 21 million cell phones didn't go silent, they didn't.
The floods aren't covered because China doesn't want them covered. BTW, the Reuters story shows a photo of the dam from over a month ago, not a current photo.
Learned this with the Oroville dam failure. Dams are designed to hold max capacity if everything works, so they have some wiggle room if all systems are go.
If the dam busts, expect worldwide impact."
Yep! Just think how confused the American unions will be, torn between the thought of more higher-paying domestic production jobs and grief about their communist masters' predicament in China...
Sorry.
;-)
Any updates on the status of the dam? I suppose no news is good news. The only thing I could find on internet searches today was a Bloombust article, carried by multiple outlets which thus flooded the search results, claiming that the Three Gorges Dam is in trouble if global warming goes up 2% but for now it’s okay.
From that news I assume the breach is no longer a danger.
“I assume the breach is no longer a danger.”
That seems to be the case.
The peak of the monsoon season is now past (late July/Early August), and water levels are within a manageable level (about 163 meters, down from last Sunday’s peak around 168 meters).
Apparently, they will use the design max level of 175 meters in the Winter, when there is little chance of floods, and they want to save water for steady electrical generation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ekq2Wkf0c6M
The first job of the dam is generating electricity, flood control is its secondary secondary mission. Generally, it trims off about 1/3 of a flood effect, for those downstream. When push comes to shove, they would release the floodwaters downstream, rather than allow the dam to top over (181 meters).
This year was something like a once in a hundred year flood season. There was pretty massive flood damage downstream from Three Gorges, which would have been worse without the dam. It sure looks like the dam has survived the test this year, but there is still some non-peak monsoon season to go, if God decides.
good news. tks for update!
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