Excerpt:
"The tragedy and disaster at the Bertam Valley, Cameron Highlands should be an eye-opener for Malaysians who have allowed the government to push through one mega dam after another especially in Sarawak.
This dam at Ringlet operates a relatively small hydroelectric plant of only 100MW by TNB and already we have seen the consequences of lax maintenance and regulation which led to sedimentation caused by unregulated “development” around the dam."
"As the sediments accumulate in the reservoir especially with unregulated wanton “development” around it, the dam gradually loses its ability to store water to drive the hydroelectric turbines. Every reservoir loses storage to sedimentation although the rate at which this happens varies according to how well the surrounding environment is regulated. The damage to the turbine blades by water–borne sand and silt also reduces their generating efficiency and incur expensive repairs.
Violent tropical storms can cause a river to carry as much sediment as it would in several "normal" years. Global warming, which is predicted to cause more intense storms, will likely increase the rate of reservoir sedimentation.
As we can expect, dams further open up remote areas to road–builders, developers, loggers, farmers and miners, accelerating deforestation and soil loss. When insufficient resettlement land is made available to the people displaced, they have no choice but to clear land further up the valley or hillside. "
"We have just witnessed the lax procedure at Bertam for evacuation when there was “controlled” release of water, when just one of the gates was opened to ease off the risk of flooding. The villagers said they could not hear the siren. Were the migrant workers briefed on the emergency response plan? Is there an emergency response plan in the event of a dam disaster?"
More:
http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/guest-columnists/60089-expect-bigger-dam-disasters
Link
"The tragedy and disaster at the Bertam Valley, Cameron Highlands should be an eye-opener for Malaysians who have allowed the government to push through one mega dam after another especially in Sarawak.
This dam at Ringlet operates a relatively small hydroelectric plant of only 100MW by TNB and already we have seen the consequences of lax maintenance and regulation which led to sedimentation caused by unregulated “development” around the dam."
"As the sediments accumulate in the reservoir especially with unregulated wanton “development” around it, the dam gradually loses its ability to store water to drive the hydroelectric turbines. Every reservoir loses storage to sedimentation although the rate at which this happens varies according to how well the surrounding environment is regulated. The damage to the turbine blades by water–borne sand and silt also reduces their generating efficiency and incur expensive repairs.
Violent tropical storms can cause a river to carry as much sediment as it would in several "normal" years. Global warming, which is predicted to cause more intense storms, will likely increase the rate of reservoir sedimentation.
As we can expect, dams further open up remote areas to road–builders, developers, loggers, farmers and miners, accelerating deforestation and soil loss. When insufficient resettlement land is made available to the people displaced, they have no choice but to clear land further up the valley or hillside. "
"We have just witnessed the lax procedure at Bertam for evacuation when there was “controlled” release of water, when just one of the gates was opened to ease off the risk of flooding. The villagers said they could not hear the siren. Were the migrant workers briefed on the emergency response plan? Is there an emergency response plan in the event of a dam disaster?"
More:
http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/guest-columnists/60089-expect-bigger-dam-disasters
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