[BenLurkin]

I have, yet another, dumb question.

Why can’t they just release water and lesson the pressure?

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Why can’t they just release water and lesson the pressure?

They are doing it ... with smaller dams.

See here:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/20/china-blows-up-dam-on-yangtze-river-tributary-to-ease-flooding

TITLE: China blows up dam on Yangtze river tributary to ease flooding

[DuncanWaring]

It’s my understanding all the floodgates on Three Gorges are fully open, to the extent they’re causing flooding downstream.

[ctdonath2]

There’s more water coming in than the dam is capable of controlled release. Enormous storms, and not enough early release.

They’re already causing damage downstream by opening the floodgates wide open. Unfortunately for the dam, the floodgates aren’t big enough.

[BeauBo]

"can’t they just release water and lesson the pressure?"

They have been releasing water, to slow the rise behind the dam, but they have to balance it against the flood conditions that already exist down river. They get the weather forecast for the upcoming rain, and model the buildup and runoff and such.

Bottom Line: Even though they have been releasing a flood downstream, the water still built up to a record level behind the dam. Once in a hundred year rains.

They reported just this last weekend that the flow rate peaked on Saturday night. Hope the rain lets up.

Releasing excess water at Three Gorges Dam last week:

[NewJerseyJoe]

>> Why can’t they just release water and lesson the pressure?

They have been. For weeks. It is beyond their capacity to control.

[SheepWhisperer]

Numbers might be off, IIRC they’re releasing 28mil cuft water eacch day through the food gates AND the locks, but 44mil-50mil cuft of water is being added to the basin behind it each day. Net increase of 16-20mil cuft of water building behind it daily & is essentially building up pressure. They can’t release the flood gates any more than they are doing now. They’re wide open. Rainy season is into August

[grey_whiskers]

Why can’t they just release water and lesson the pressure?

It's been raining so hard upstream of the dam, for so long, that even with all the floodgates open, the water behind the dam keeps rising.

[Gen.Blather]

“Why can’t they just release water and lesson the pressure?”

An Epic Times video said the dam’s operators had already opened all of the floodgates. That is not sufficient to release the volume of water expected as upstream floods make their way down to the reservoir.

Apparently, there is a water height were the pressure will collapse the dam, rather than just flowing over the top. I would imagine that if they blow the ship locks beside the dam that it would release more water, but doing so would create its own disaster. The Party’s problem is that any problem with the dam threatens the CCP’s legitimacy, so they will do as little as possible until it is too late. As it is, they didn’t tell anyone when they opened all the floodgates so people downstream were caught unawares and many more died than would have if they’d been warned in time to flee.

From what I’ve seen the CCP’s default strategy is to ignore the problem and hope it goes away until it is clear it won’t go away. Then, do whatever is expedient and deny it later.

[Robert A Cook PE]

They’re doing that - Claim that is the cause of the “flooding” people are also talking about.