That Sinking Feeling

The water level on the Irrawaddy River has been decreasing in recent years and looks set to drop farther, as several hydroelectric dams are being constructed 

Born and bred on the banks of the Irrawaddy River, Ko Soe says he knows the river like the back of his hand. As a child he swam, fished and played with friends in the Irrawaddy, and today he makes a living from steering boats to and from Mandalay and on the many tributaries that stream into Burma’s longest river.

Now 36, he knows all the waterways, the currents and the shallows, as well as the best places for mooring and fishing on this stretch of the Irrawaddy.

A passenger boat on the Irrawaddy River

But lately, Ko Soe, has found navigating the river a tiresome task.

“I’ve seen very low water levels recently and the appearance of sandbanks and islets,” he said. “Sometimes the water is as low as two feet, so many boats cannot pass through. Many vessels get stuck on sandbars.”

He said that until five years ago, the water level never sank below three feet.

Apart from the millions of livelihoods the river provides for in terms of fishing, trade and farming, the Irrawaddy has supported for centuries an abundant variety of flora and fauna, including the Irrawaddy dolphin, which was once a common sight in the estuaries of the Irrawaddy delta.

Experts warn that the flow of the river is in serious danger due to the Burmese military government’s eagerness to promote logging, gold mining and hydroelectric dam projects.

Traditional mining techniques poison rivers and destroy the riverine ecosytem. Gold mining in particular leaves huge deposits of silt, stone and sand, while reducing the water level.

There are currently a great number of gold-mining, or gold-panning, sites along the Irrawaddy River around Sagaing and Mandalay divisions and in Kachin State.

Small and medium-scale mining operations, including bucket dredges, high-pressure water blasting and river-bed suction pumps operate at many points along the Irrawaddy. These dump alluvial sediment from the river or river banks into sluices, or sifting machines, that help separate the gold.

The silt and stone—often containing mercury—is then dumped back into the river, creating long muddy plumes, sandbars and mounds of stones that make navigation along the river very difficult.

The chemicals released kill animal and plant life. Many people who bathe in the river report skin diseases and infections.

Large-scale logging in the watershed forests also significantly affects the river flow. This has led to major landslides that add to the sediment load carried downstream. Deforestation of Burma’s northern region also reduces the dry season river flow, not to mention the rainfall itself.

However, the most serious threat to the river and its water level, most experts say, is the building of dams.

In 2007, Burma’s ruling junta signed an agreement with the state-run China Power Investment Corporation to construct seven hydroelectric dams along the Irrawaddy, Mali and N’Mai rivers with a total expected output of about 16,000 megawatts (MW). To put that figure in perspective, the entire energy needs of neighboring Thailand are about 25,000 MW per year. Nearly all of the electricity from the new projects will be sold to China.

The largest of these dams, the 50-story Myitsone Dam, is to be located at the confluence of the Mali and N’Mai rivers where the Irrawaddy begins. The Kachin State capital of Myitkyina is just 40 km [25 miles] downstream. The 6,000 MW dam is being built on an active fault line and some 15,000 villagers are due to be displaced. Protests against the dam have recently been organized by local NGOs—a brave stand in a country with a history of violently suppressing dissent.

Experts say the impact of these dams on local people and the environment will be immense. Unable to swim either upstream or downstream to breed, many species of fish will die out. Thousands of farmers will lose their land and animals will lose their habitats.

According to an environmentalist in Thailand: “There may be a day when the mighty Irrawaddy—like the Colorado, Jordan and Yellow rivers—ceases to flow at all for part of the year.”

The Irrawaddy River, or Ayeyarwady, is 2,170 km [1,350 miles] long, originating in Burma’s northern Kachin State at the confluence of the Mali and N’mai rivers, which both flow from Himalayan glaciers.