Hydro brings new fears to mudslide-hit region
By Wang Qingchu |
August 4, 2011, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
DOZENS of hydropower stations being built in Zhouqu County, in northwest China's Gansu Province, a year after a devastating mudslide hit the area, are increasing the risk of the same thing happening again, it is claimed.
The hydro program is also causing building subsidence, claim locals.
Sixty-eight hydropower stations have been approved and will be constructed in Zhouqu.
The total number of stations along the Bailong River, that runs through Zhouqu, exceeds 1,000.
Most are small and their impact on the surrounding environment not assessed, making the area vulnerable to natural hazards, the China Central Television reported this week.
A high risk of mudslides comes with the over-exploitation of resources and an unstable crust in the area, reported CCTV, quoting geological expert Xu Daoyi.
"They're risking their lives - it's too dangerous," Sun Wenpeng, another geological expert, told CCTV.
Swathes of trees were felled for the construction of the hydropower plants, turning previously thick forest along the banks into barren hillsides and causing serious soil erosion, the report said.
"Mudslides were very rare when the forest cover was still dense," Zhang Jiacheng, a local villager, told CCTV.
Now, they are common, villagers said.
Nie Limin, director of Zhouqu earthquake station, said the Bailong River was not a proper location for hydropower stations as the area had a high incidence of earthquakes, mudslides and landslides.
Among the 68 stations, only one passed safety assessments and had been registered with the earthquake station, Nie told CCTV.
Moreover, buildings in Zhouqu suffer subsidence as too much underground water has been extracted for dams, the report said.
Around 80 percent of houses in Bazang Village suffer from sinking and villagers are very concerned, Chen Junquan, village head, told CCTV.
Requests by Bazang Village that hydropower plant operators lower the water storage capacity have been refused.
A massive mudslide ravaged Zhouqu last August, killing 1,471 people, injuring more than 2,500 and leaving 294 missing.
The central government and Gansu allocated 5.02 billion yuan (US$780 million) to rebuild the area.
The hydro program is also causing building subsidence, claim locals.
Sixty-eight hydropower stations have been approved and will be constructed in Zhouqu.
The total number of stations along the Bailong River, that runs through Zhouqu, exceeds 1,000.
Most are small and their impact on the surrounding environment not assessed, making the area vulnerable to natural hazards, the China Central Television reported this week.
A high risk of mudslides comes with the over-exploitation of resources and an unstable crust in the area, reported CCTV, quoting geological expert Xu Daoyi.
"They're risking their lives - it's too dangerous," Sun Wenpeng, another geological expert, told CCTV.
Swathes of trees were felled for the construction of the hydropower plants, turning previously thick forest along the banks into barren hillsides and causing serious soil erosion, the report said.
"Mudslides were very rare when the forest cover was still dense," Zhang Jiacheng, a local villager, told CCTV.
Now, they are common, villagers said.
Nie Limin, director of Zhouqu earthquake station, said the Bailong River was not a proper location for hydropower stations as the area had a high incidence of earthquakes, mudslides and landslides.
Among the 68 stations, only one passed safety assessments and had been registered with the earthquake station, Nie told CCTV.
Moreover, buildings in Zhouqu suffer subsidence as too much underground water has been extracted for dams, the report said.
Around 80 percent of houses in Bazang Village suffer from sinking and villagers are very concerned, Chen Junquan, village head, told CCTV.
Requests by Bazang Village that hydropower plant operators lower the water storage capacity have been refused.
A massive mudslide ravaged Zhouqu last August, killing 1,471 people, injuring more than 2,500 and leaving 294 missing.
The central government and Gansu allocated 5.02 billion yuan (US$780 million) to rebuild the area.
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