Floating Garbage Hinders Three Gorges Navigation - Reuters

[hatrack]

BEIJING — "Heavy rain has washed branches, weeds, and rubbish into a reservoir in China's Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric project, forming a floating mass that stretches hundreds of meters and hinders navigation.

Some 300 people and more than 70 boats were working to clean up the mess in the Three Gorges reservoir, popular with tourist and cargo vessels, Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday.

Heavy rain had dragged "a great number of branches, weeds, and rubbish into the main channel of the reservoir, seriously affecting the navigation and sometimes even causing some navigation blocks," Xinhua said, quoting the maritime bureau of Hubei's Yichang city, where the dam is located."

EDIT

http://www.enn.com/news/2004-07-15/s_25860.asp

[hunter]

1. So the critics were right?

"World's largest cesspool."

I think big problems like this will ignite a stronger environmental movement in China. Historically speaking, it was only yesterday when rivers in the United States were catching on fire because of all the pollution.