Managing the Three Gorges Dam to Implement Environmental Flows in the Yangtze River

Cheng, Lin; Opperman, Jeffrey J.; Tickner, David; Speed, Robert; Guo, Qiaozhen; Chen, Daqing

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2018.00064

Cited by 46 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(18 reference statements)

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“…Nevertheless, it should be noted that, in the case of Miaohe Station, reduction of the water volume is slightly higher than Cuntan Station. Significant impact of TGD on spatiotemporal pattern of river flow dynamics has also been reported in other studies [51,52]. Cai, Cowan, Briggs, and Raupach [51] estimated the impact of TGD on tide dynamics of the Yangtze River and reported high impact of the dam on tide dynamics during the autumn and winter.…”

Section: Magnitude Of Monthly Flowsupporting

confidence: 67%

“…The values in Table 3 indicate that there is an impact on all extremes; however, the 1-day minimum has the highest impact where the flow is reduced by −7.29% at Miaohe Station. Impact of TGD on minimum flow of the Yangtze River is also reported in [52,59]. Tian, Chang, Zhang, Wang, Wu, and Jiang [59] found significant increase in the annual mean low-flow after construction of a dam in the middle and lower Yangtze River.…”

Section: Extreme Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Other studies also reported the impact of flow regime change on river ecosystems. Cheng, Opperman, Tickner, Speed, Guo, and Chen [52] mentioned that the TGD caused profound effects on flow and sediment regimes of the Yangtze River, which also affected the geomorphology and ecology in the downstream. Zhou et al [54] reported that the dam has significantly altered the river phosphorus content, which is a vital macronutrient of freshwaters.…”

Section: Magnitude Of Monthly Flowmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Hydrologic Alteration at the Upper and Middle Part of the Yangtze River, China: Towards Sustainable Water Resource Management Under Increasing Water Exploitation

Ali

Kuriqi

Abubaker³

et al. 2019

Sustainability

113

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The human influence on the river ecosystem has increased in recent years to feed the growing demand for water to communities by constructing different water structures. It is essential to understand the potential impacts of water structures on river hydrologic regimes. Thus, this study investigates the influence of the cascade dams located upstream of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River on the river ecosystem. The study was carried out for the period 2003–2015 for both Cuntan and Miaohe stations. The analysis was conducted considering two periods, pre-impact; before the dam construction and post-impact; after the dam construction. The assessment was carried out using “Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration.” The results of this study revealed that the cascade dams built upstream of Three Gorges Dam has both positive and negative impacts at both stations. Flows were found to have positive impacts in July while low in October for both stations. The 1-day minimum flows were found to decrease by 7% over Miaohe Station while the 1-day maximum was decreased up to 2% in Cuntan. Overall, the results of the study indicate that there are undesirable impacts which should be adjusted to maintain the river ecosystem at an acceptable level compared to its natural state. It is expected that the findings of the study can guide water managers to adjust the hydropower operation sustainably.

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Section: Magnitude Of Monthly Flowsupporting

confidence: 67%

Section: Extreme Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 77%

Section: Magnitude Of Monthly Flowmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Hydrologic Alteration at the Upper and Middle Part of the Yangtze River, China: Towards Sustainable Water Resource Management Under Increasing Water Exploitation

Ali

Kuriqi

Abubaker³

et al. 2019

Sustainability

113

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Examples of reportedly successful dam reoperation with environmental flow releases are known from several rivers of the world, including from the Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze River, China [82]. These releases, which have been provided since 2011, are successfully contributing to carp spawning [83]. However, potential improvements that could be achieved on the Yangtze via introducing environmental flows may offset only a small part of the negative impacts on freshwater biodiversity caused by extensive hydropower development.…”

Section: Compensatory Measures To Reduce Dam Impacts On Freshwater Ecmentioning

confidence: 99%

Freshwater Ecosystems versus Hydropower Development: Environmental Assessments and Conservation Measures in the Transboundary Amur River Basin

Simonov

Nikitina²,

Егидарев

2019

Water

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Hydropower development causes a multitude of negative effects on freshwater ecosystems, and to prevent and minimize possible damage, environmental impact assessments must be conducted and optimal management scenarios designed. This paper examines the impacts of both existing and proposed hydropower development on the transboundary Amur River basin shared by Russia, China, and Mongolia, including the effectiveness of different tools and measures to minimize damage. It demonstrates that the application of various assessment and conservation tools at the proper time and in the proper sequence is the key factor in mitigating and minimizing the environmental impacts of dams. The tools considered include basin-wide assessments of hydropower impacts, the creation of protected areas on rivers threatened by dam construction, and environmental flows. The results of this work show how the initial avoidance and mitigation of hydropower impacts at early planning stages are more productive than the application of any measures during and after dam construction, that the assessment of hydropower impacts must be performed at a basin level rather than be limited to a project implementation site, and that the full spectrum of possible development scenarios should be considered. In addition, this project demonstrates that stakeholder analysis and robust public engagement are as crucial for the success of environmental assessments as scientific research is for the protection of river basins.

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“…The first seven sites are located in the upper reaches of the YRB, and the last three are located in the lower reaches of the YRB. The others are located in the middle reaches of the YRB, except Site HB1, located at the exit of the Three Gorges Reservoir, where the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW) and whose construction was completed in 2009 [37], is located.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Quality Evaluation of the Yangtze River in China Using Machine Learning Techniques and Data Monitoring on Different Time Scales

Miao

Guo

2019

Water

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Unlike developed countries, China has a nationally unified water environment standard and a specific watershed protection bureau to perform water quality evaluation. It is a major challenge to assess the water quality of a large watershed at a wide spatial scale and to make decisions in a scientific way. In 2016, weekly and real-time data for four monitoring indicators (pH, dissolved oxygen, permanganate index, and ammonia nitrogen) were collected at 21 surface water sections (sites) of the Yangtze River Basin, China. Results showed that one site had a relatively low Site Water Quality Index and was polluted for 12 weeks meanwhile. By using expectation-maximization clustering and hierarchical clustering algorithms, the 21 sites were classified. Variable spatiotemporal distribution characteristics for water quality and pollutants were found; some sites exhibited similar water quality variations on the weekly scale, but had different yearly grades. The results revealed polluted water quality for short periods and abrupt anomalies, which imply potential pollution sources and negative effects on water ecosystems. Potential spatio-temporal water quality characteristics, explored by machine learning methods and evidenced by time series and statistical models, could be applied in environmental decision support systems to make watershed management more objective, reliable, and powerful. and to evaluate alternative hypotheses regarding important contaminant sources and watershed properties that control transport over large spatial scales. However, there is no unified model available for the Chinese government to make decisions regarding large watershed management [12]. Local governments have a variety of environmental models that they can choose from, and may select diverse models that do not allow meaningful comparisons with the results of models chosen in other areas [13]. Even in the same area, different departments of the same local government use different models with diverse data to assess the water quality of the same river basin, resulting in a huge amount of variability in the water quality evaluation reports, which often fail to reach the same conclusion [3,4].Thanks to the increased collection and use of data, data-driven approaches have been playing an increasingly important role in water management [14]. Statistical and numerical models enable environmental decision support systems (EDSS) to be more reliable and powerful in coping with real-world environmental systems [15]. Real-time data are widely used in urban water management and by water utilities in developed countries [16][17][18][19][20], but rarely in rural watershed management, especially in large watershed management [21,22]. In China, the rapidly growing economy and population is generating widely distributed polluted surface water throughout the country. Thus, there is an increasing need for online data for large watershed management to meet the objectives of early warning monitoring of surface water quality, and for monitoring and control of tot...

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Managing the Three Gorges Dam to Implement Environmental Flows in the Yangtze River

Cited by 46 publications

References 20 publications

Hydrologic Alteration at the Upper and Middle Part of the Yangtze River, China: Towards Sustainable Water Resource Management Under Increasing Water Exploitation

Hydrologic Alteration at the Upper and Middle Part of the Yangtze River, China: Towards Sustainable Water Resource Management Under Increasing Water Exploitation

Freshwater Ecosystems versus Hydropower Development: Environmental Assessments and Conservation Measures in the Transboundary Amur River Basin

Water Quality Evaluation of the Yangtze River in China Using Machine Learning Techniques and Data Monitoring on Different Time Scales

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