THE NU RIVER - Dams and Development in China - page 80

city of the Three Gorges Dam (Magee and McDonald 2009). Current estimates suggest that
more than 50,000 people would be displaced should all thirteen dams be built, an unlikely
proposition given the level of controversy now surrounding the projects.

TABLE 4.1 Design and Operation Specifications for the Thirteen Dams in the Nu River Projects

Reservoir Storage Capacity (million
m 3)

Height
(m)

Installed Electrical Capacity (mega-
watts)

Estimated Population Dis-

Dam Name

placed

Songta 307 4,200 6,312 3,633

Bingzhongluo 55 1,600 14 0

Maji 300 4,200 4,696 19,830

Lumadeng 165 2,000 664 6,092

Fugong 60 400 19 682

Bijiang 118 1,500 280 5,186

Yabiluo 133 1,800 344 3,982

Lushui 175 2,400 1,288 6,190

Liuku 36 180 8 411

Shitouzai 59 440 700 687

Saige 79 1,000 270 1,882

Yansangshu 84 1,000 391 2,470

Guangpo 58 600 124 34

Total 21,320 15,109 51,079

Note : Dams are listed from north to south.
Source : Magee and McDonald 2009; He, Hu, and Feng 2007:147-148.

To understand the perspective of local community members on hydropower devel-
opment in the Nu River basin, our group of U.S. and Chinese researchers conducted
household surveys in the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in 2009, including two
counties—Fugong and Lushui—that encompass thirteen townships and twenty villages
(see table 4.2 ) . Our sampling frame was established to include both upstream and down-
stream communities related to four proposed dam sites—Maji, Lumadeng, Yabiluo, and
Lushui—with a total sample size of 406 households (Brown and Tilt 2009). We asked