Mekong Dam Monitor (Update for February 17-23, 2025)

 

Update for February 17-23, 2025 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 Xiaowan, 2nd largest dam on the Mekong has released about half its active storage Large dams in the Mekong tend to release their water during the dry season months, and Xiaowan is no exception. Since October, the Xiaowan Dam, which has about 11 billion cubic meters of active storage, has released about half of its active storage to produce electricity. The animated GIF shows the reservoir shedding about 5 billion cubic meters of water. These releases artificially raise the level of the river downstream. The releases also do not happen in a consistent, sustained manner; they cause unnatural waves of water that can peak for a few days before subsiding.

Where is the water? Last week, dams throughout the basin released a moderate cumulative total of 732 million cubic meters of water. During the dry season, releases from dams for hydropower production artificially raise the level of the river. Significant releases came from Thuen Hinboun Expansion (LAO, 103 million cubic meters) and Xepian-Xenamnoy (LAO, 139 million cubic meters).

Most Impactful Dams

River Levels River levels throughout the basin are slightly higher than normal.

Chiang Saen Gauge Stung Treng Gauge