Water at Tam Hiep Dam exceeded the warning level of 20 m

Water at Tam Hiep Dam exceeded the warning level of 20 m The water level at the reservoir of the Tam Hiep Dam reached 165.6 m on the morning of August 21, exceeded the warning level by 20 m and is about to reach its maximum capacity of 175 m. The water level at the Three Gorges Dam - China's giant dam on the Yangtze River - is inching closer to its maximum after torrential rains cause flows to record highs, according to official data on Monday. /8. The inflow of water from the Truong Giang River was recorded at 75,000 m3 / sec on August 20, the reservoir's water level reached 165.6 m on the morning of August 21, increasing by more than 2 m overnight and 20 meters higher than the warning level. The maximum depth of the largest reservoir in China is 175 m. The Chinese authorities increased the discharge to a record 48,800 m3 / second on August 20 to try to lower the water level. They will likely have to continue increasing the discharge to avoid the dam overflow. "They will do everything they can to prevent water from overflowing from the dam," Desiree Tullos, a professor at Oregon State University, who works on the Three Gorges project, told Reuters. "A dam is the worst-case scenario because it causes substantial damage and can cause everything to collapse." Rainfall in the Truong Giang River basin has been more than double the seasonal average this year. The flooding caused China's economic loss of nearly 180 billion yuan ($ 26 billion) last week and 63 million people have been affected. The Three Gorges dam project was completed in 2012 not only to generate electricity but also to tame the Yangtze River - the cause of many terrifying floods throughout China's history. China's giant hydroelectric dams have stored more than 100 billion cubic meters of floodwaters this year, helping 18.5 million residents to avoid evacuation, according to government data. The Tam Hiep project alone resulted in a 34% reduction in floodwater downstream, officials said. Opponents, however, argue that the Three Gorges Dam's ability to control floods is limited and that the dam could make matters worse in the long run.