Mekong Dam Monitor (Update for Feb. 19 - 25, 2024)

 

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Update for February 19-25 Notable changes on the Mekong in the last week. Visit the Monitor home for more, including Burmese, 中文, Khmer, ພາສາລາວ, ไทย, and Tiếng Việt translation.

SPOTLIGHT China's 12th Dam on the Mekong is Now Complete The 1400 MW Tuoba Dam in Yunnan began to fill its reservoir around February 1. This is one of the largest dams on the Mekong and downstream impacts began to happen the minute the dam started to fill its reservoir. The PRC gave no notification of its reservoir filling activities or completion of the dam to downstream countries or the Mekong River Commission, despite recent overtures from Beijing for increased collaboration with downstream countries. This image shows the dam releasing water through its spillway, so it will likely fill gradually and slowly through the dry season and into the coming wet season. Large dams in the Mekong can take up to a year or more to fill their reservoirs.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK Updated Mekong Mainstream Dam Map We’ve updated our Mekong Mainstream Dam map to show Tuoba Dam as complete. Now there are 14 dams complete along the Mekong’s course (12 in China and 2 in Laos) and one dam under construction at Luang Prabang. Pak Beng, Pak Lay, and Sanakham could start construction soon since these dams have passed relevant MRC protocols.  Cambodia recently pledged to maintain its moratorium on its two mainstream Mekong Dams in order to protect its part of the Mekong and the Tonle Sap Lake.

Where is the water? Dry season releases for hydropower production were minimal throughout the basin last week with a net release of just over 100 million cubic meters of water. China’s releases have been relatively minimal so far this dry season, likely related to the filling of the Tuoba Dam and low reservoir levels  after the 2023 wet season. Downstream dam releases were also minimal last week.

Reservoir Series Over Time

River Levels River levels throughout the basin are currently either slightly low or close to normal for this time of year. The Tonle Sap Lake is about 0.70m lower than normal for this time of year.

Chiang Saen Gauge Stung Treng Gauge

Weather & Wetness The lower Mekong Basin is extremely hot for this time of year, and many of the extremely hot areas are also extremely dry. In contrast the headwaters of the Mekong are unusually wet, creating favorable conditions to fill the reservoir behind the Tuoba Dam. Winds off the South China Seas brought unusual wetness to the Vietnam and Lao border areas near the 3S basin. Vietnam’s delta and the Cardamom Mountains in Cambodia were wetter than usual for this time of year.