China to repair small reservoirs to ensure safety
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China pledged to reinforce its dilapidated small reservoirs in the next five years to prevent flooding and ensure water supply and irrigation, the minister the water resources said Tuesday.
The government-backed maintenance in the plan targets 41,118 small, at-risk reservoirs with capacities between 100,000 cubic meters and 1 million cubic meters, Minister Chen Lei said.
The small reservoirs have become the most prone to flooding and safety risks are more evident as maintenance of large- and medium-sized reservoirs has been finished, he said.
The country has seen 3,515 dams collapse since 1954, he said, adding that about 98.8 percent of collapses occurred in small dams and more than 85 percent of the small, damaged ones were of the target size.
During last year's flood season, 7 such dams were damaged, renewing the safety alert, he said.
The central government will spend 11.5 billion yuan (1.76 billion U.S. dollars) on repairing major at-risk dams this year and will increase investment in the following years, said Vice Minister of Finance Zhang Shaochun.
The efforts came after China invested 64.48 billion yuan to consolidate 7,356 large- and medium-sized reservoirs as well as key small reservoirs from 2008 to 2010 to reinforce water conservation and combat natural disasters.
China currently has 87,000 reservoirs across the country, most of which were built in the 1950s to 1970s using low construction standards, according to the ministry.
