Third-stage clearance of Three Gorges Reservoir on the Yangtze
River to increase its storage capacity started on Thursday.
Water levels in the reservoir are expected to rise to 156 meters
during next year's flood season, according to the Chongqing
municipal government.
During this third-stage clearance operation, local governments
are required to remove the debris of dismantled houses, factories,
waste water and solid rubbish – anything that might pollute the
water and that is found below 156 meters.
China started clearing the site of the reservoir, which measures
663 kilometers in length and 58,000 square kilometers in land area,
in 2002 with the involvement of Chongqing municipality and Hubei
Province.
It is estimated that, in Chongqing alone, some 650,000 tons of
household garbage, more than 300,000 tons of industrial solid waste
and over 60 tons of dangerous waste, have to be discarded for this
stage of the clearing operations, according to the Chongqing
municipal government.
"All the waste will be appropriately disposed of to avoid
pollution," said an official with the municipal environment
protection department.
The Three Gorges Project, of which the reservoir is a major
component, requires the relocation of 1.13 million people before it
is completed in 2009 when water levels in the river will rise to
175 meters.
China will invest 39.2 billion yuan (US$4.7 billion) in projects
to curb water pollution in the reservoir area and upper reaches of
the Yangtze River from now until 2010.
The aim of the Three Gorges Project is to control flooding in
the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze. It will also generate
hydroelectric power equivalent to 50 million tons of coal annually
once generators start operating at full capacity.
(Xinhua News Agency December 1, 2005)