14 DAY TRIAL // The most ambitious water-harnessing project ever designed, scheduled to become fully operational by 2012, will generate enormous amounts of electrical power, to be distributed in the national power grid. Once closed, it will flood the valley behind it over a distance of more than 185 miles (almost 300 kilometers), with the water reaching an altitude of approximately 575 feet (175 meters) above sea level.
The construction of this massive dam, which has a length of approximately 7,575 feet (2,309 meters), began in late 1994 and was first meant to last until 2009. However, due to complications with the construction process, the deadline for the dam was pushed back to 2011-2012. Once it's finished, the dam will hold back 9.43 cubic miles (39.3 cubic kilometers) of water, which will create a reservoir larger in length than Lake Superior.
The project spanned numerous controversies, regarding its effect on the population and the environment. Critics say that the national government had no right to dislodge some 1.5 million people from their residential area, in order to make room for the reservoir. Archaeologists complain that the large area that will be covered in water contained several important artifacts and constructions that will be lost once the water rises. Civil engineers say that a city located upstream from the lake, could be in danger of being flooded in case of significant storms.
However, American wetland experts, from Ohio State University, say that the project could also offer significant opportunities for the Chinese, including new forms of agriculture and scientific research. A large part of the area the reservoir covers will be flooded for half a year, after which time the waters will recede. This would allow authorities to build terraces and suspended lakes near the margins of the basin. Also, ecologists could have a field day studying the largest artificial ecosystem ever created.
The sheer size of the reservoir behind the dam will drastically change all species configurations currently present in the area. Experts say that new species will populate the ecosystem, ones that are adapted to the quality of the water. Some say that the water will be too contaminated with industrial waste and raw sewages and that this will affect the fish species. These claims have been dismissed by the authorities as having no solid background.
Whichever road China will choose to take on the matter, the potential for this area is tremendous. The surfaces that are covered by water only half a year are larger than those the Amazon creates, so cultures and new types of agriculture could flourish there. It remains to be seen how far authorities are willing to go on the matter.
