According to the announcement: Due to continuous heavy rains in Laos due to the impact of Tropical Storm Khanun and the release of water from other hydropower plants upstream, the inflow to the Xayaburi Dam has increased. Communities upstream and downstream of the dam are warned to be prepared for further changes in river levels. Special attention is paid to any "short notice" water releases. The Xayaburi Dam operator also added that it has "activated appropriate emergency action plans".
On August 7, the operators of the Xayaburi hydroelectric dam suddenly announced the release of water, even though they had previously declared that "the Xayaburi dam was not storing water."
Regarding the above information, Vietnamese environmental and hydropower experts were very surprised. Because up to now, Laos and the investor of the Xayaburi hydropower project have both affirmed: Xayaburi is a run of river dam. But it is not clear why now they suddenly announced the release of water.
In February 2020, the Xayaburi hydropower plant operator and representatives of the Lao government organized a visit to the dam for MRC member countries. At that time, Mr. Knut Sierotzki, technical manager of Poyry Company (Finland), the unit supporting the Xayaburi Hydropower Company, said that the Xayaburi hydropower dam "does not store water so it does not affect the flow of the Mekong River". He said that the amount of water is released regularly through turbines or spillways. The water flow in this year's dry season is 50% higher than in the 2003-2004 dry season, at 800-1,000m3 /second.
If we compare what the operators of the Xayaburi dam have announced in the past, we can clearly see that the above statement is incorrect. In addition, the announcement that the operators of the Xayaburi dam just issued on August 7, 2023 about releasing water has directly confirmed the suspicions of experts that the Xayaburi dam "stores water" but does not share flow data with MRC countries and the public, is well-founded.
The Xayaburi Dam is the first hydropower project on the mainstream of the Mekong River in the lower reaches. The project, located in northern Laos, was built in 2012 and became operational in October 2019, with a capacity of 1,260 MW. On the mainstream of the Mekong River in the upper reaches, China is operating 8 hydropower dams.
Hydropower dams on the Mekong mainstream have caused significant environmental damage and affected the livelihoods of people in many countries. They disrupt the natural flow of the Mekong River, trap sediment and cause increased erosion in downstream countries, especially in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. The dams also cut off fish migration routes, among other consequences.
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