Mekong Dam Monitor (Update for March 3 - 9, 2025)

 

Update for March 3-9 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 38% of February Mekong Flow to Cambodia from Dam Releases At Stung Treng, Cambodia, February flow was 32% higher than normal February flow (1910-2007 average). All extra flow was from dam releases. We estimate that February’s natural flow, that is flow without the impact of dams, would have been 5.34 billion cubic meters. An extra 3.24 billion cubic meters increased the Mekong’s flow by 38%, amounting to a total flow of 8.58 billion cubic meters. This is an unnaturally high level of flow for the Mekong at this time of the year and can be extremely damaging to local ecosystems like the Stung Treng Flooded Forest, a protected Ramsar site. 43% of flow came from China, showing how significant China’s flow contribution can be to the entirety of the Mekong during the dry season.

IMAGE OF THE WEEK China’s Dam Releases Ravage Bird Nests Along Mekong Last week the Mekong Butterfly posted photos on Facebook of bird nests along the Thai-Lao border destroyed by the sudden spike in river levels brought about by China’s upstream dam releases. In response to the post, Pai Deetes, Southeast Asia Campaigner for International Rivers wrote, “No miracle to save the small pratincole eggs from being washed away (by the Mekong water fluctuation due to dams). On this small sandbar, the rising Mekong water left them with no chance to hatch. Since February 24, China's dams have released large amounts of water, causing the Mekong River in Northeast Thailand/Chanuman District to rise over the past three days. The rising water has completely submerged the nesting areas of the small pratincole. And it's not just them—other birds seem confused by the sudden change. If they try to lay eggs again, there will be no small sandbanks left for them.”

Where is the water? Last week, dams throughout the basin released a significant cumulative total of 1 billion cubic meters of water. Significant releases came from Nuozhadu (PRC, 489 million cubic meters), Nam Ngum 1 (LAO, 156 million cubic meters), and Nam Theun 2 (LAO, 159 million cubic meters). Dry season water releases generate hydropower but also artificially raise the level of the river.

Top Impactful Dams This Week

River Levels River levels throughout the basin are still about one meter higher than normal and rising at a time when the river level should be decreasing.

Chiang Saen Gauge Stung Treng Gauge

Mekong Dam Monitor in the News Union of Catholic Asian News reports on the MDM's work on alerting downstream communities of Chinese dam releases that threaten riparian farmland.