This debate about whether China's Three Gorges Dam is to blame for a devastating drought has become politically explosive because it goes to the heart of whether the Three Gorges Dam should have been built, and whether heads should roll in the Chinese leadership.

The unchecked development of hydropower resources is like "draining the pond to catch the fish" experts warn, resulting in a water crisis in rivers and valleys on the one hand and a large waste of financial resources through the construction of crippled water projects on the other.