[A water reservoir is a human-made lake that is created when a river is dammed to serve one or more purposes, such as to generate hydropower production, provide a water supply for drinking, irrigation, and flood protection] (www.eea.europa.eu). The effects of water reservoirs on the environment have stirred controversy since their introduction. Though water reservoirs can create many sought out improvements for a society it can detrimentally impact natural habitats and spawn a number of environmental complications. The debate on whether water reservoirs are truly beneficial or harmful towards human populations is ongoing as new projects like the Three Gorges in China are concluded. In the following essay I will be giving a critical review on the various negatives that arise from the creation of a water reservoir. The creation of a water reservoir will have a significant impact on the natural habitats that existed prior to its building. The surroundings around the damn will be inundated and reclaimed as part of the newly created water reservoir. The runoff of the initial filling of the reservoir will cause the existing plant life to die and decompose. For the first years stabilization will take place where the rotting plant life releases an abundance of carbon back into the atmosphere. Further on, the decomposing of plant material that settles at the bottom of the reservoir will produce and release large amounts of methane. A weakness to the argument that a water reservoir is green-friendly. Not only does local plant life and animal life suffer from this loss of land, the river itself is affected through vaporization. A water reservoir creates a greater surface area by which more water is evaporated and depleted from the ... ... middle of paper ... ...an produce a pollution factor comparable to that of an oil driven power plant. Works Cited http://dams.org/http www.newscientist.com/article/dn7046 http://www.cdc.gov/hab/cyanobacteria/facts.htm http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/DonnaReservoir/DonnaReservoirPublicCommentPHA06302010.pdf http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/european-waters/reservoirs-and-dams http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7046 http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/1636 http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:Jkl8Z9b7mFYJ:rdgs.dk/djg/pdfs/103/1/09.pdf+flood+recession+cropping+reservoir&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjo6QDhkvxWgGiBUo92nXL0IwSNtOE_8trCQT_BL5cyXA07KOy-lWH0oV1GNfDtvFH8eYFSww2TwOR2S-ExPDaiUAwpjnLrp1BR00lZKejjXiVrCo8Ee4i9yo9OLSWjFISQ0gGz&sig=AHIEtbRopK9vzHwGeWcwyFlZ-WIkBylIvA (Flood-recession cropping) http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/schistosomiasis/disease.html
The negative aspects of Glen Canyon Dam greatly exceed the positive aspects. The dam’s hydroelectric power supply is only three percent of the total power used by the six states that are served by the facility. There is a surplus of power on the Colorado Plateau and with more and more power-plants being created in the western hemisphere, Glen Canyon Dam’s power is not needed (Living Rivers: What about the hydroelectric loss). Although the ‘lake’ contains twenty seven million acre feet of water, one and a half million acre feet of water are lost yearly due to evaporation and seepage into the sandstone banks surrounding the ‘lake’ (Living Rivers: What about the water supply?). The loss of that much “water represents millions, even billions of dollars” (Farmer 183). If the government were to employ more water efficient irrigation practices, as much as five million acre feet of water per year could be saved.
The article, Hidden Waters by Joanne Zygmunt describes how water is used in almost everything in the world. The article begins by stating agriculture soaks up the majority of all water and is depleting the limited supply. Roughly “70 percent of global freshwater withdrawals are for irrigation” (Zygmunt 8). Zygmunt, sates there are many unknown uses of water. For example, A hamburger contains “2400 litres of embedded water” (10). It is also stated the are different types of embedded water, “blue” and “green”. “Blue” is the water used in daily life. “Green” is water that is found underground (Zygmunt 11). Unlike other natural resources, there is no substitute for water. The effects of water shortage depend on water utilization, environment
The building of the dam has created a problem with the sedimentary flow along the Colorado River, and important aspect for creating and livable habitat for fish, plants, and other wildlife. Since the building of the damn, we have seen four fish species go extinct, and a few more on the brink
In the area of the Great Lakes, eastern Georgian Bay houses thousands of miles of marshlands and wetlands. These areas are some of the most threatened habitats in the world because they form where human development is highly concentrated, near the coast. Yet, the uninhabited wetlands are sometimes taken over by beaver dams. The water chemistry of these marshes depends on their location and connection with other bodies of water. Scientists Amanda Fracz and Patricia Chow-Fraser hypothesized that open wetlands
Yet, there is no such thing as “clean hydro power,” with the exception of very small-scale hydropower dams at the individual or neighborhood level. Hydro powered dams can cause major fluctuations in downstream flows, and even dewater the stream channel, leading to direct death of fish and other species. The main effects of a dam on a river is that it disrupts flows, lowers water quality, blocks the movement of rivers vital nutrients and sediment, destroys fish and wildlife habitat, and eliminates recreational opportunities. Reservoirs slow and broaden rivers, making them warmer, reducing water quality, and harboring destructive nonnative species that scatter throughout the watershed and prey on and compete with native wildlife. The environmental, economic, and social impacts of a dam and reservoir may run the entire length of the river from the highest mountain peaks that feed the headwaters to the river’s outlet at the ocean according to
Silenced Rivers: The Ecology and Politics of Large Dams author Patrick McCully (2001) reports that dams store water for river fluctuations as well as for energy and water demands (p. 11).
Edward Abbey's heart lies in the once beautiful Glen Canyon. He describes all of his wonderful childhood stories of him floating down the river and how all it took was a paddleboat and little money. He tells of the great beauty of all the animals, insects, forestry, and ancient scenery the canyon once had. This is why Abbey feels reservoirs are doing terrible things for not only Glen Canyon but every river. When you think about it, a natural river untainted by the ways of machinery and humans is virtually non existent today. Any river large enough to have a dam and produce a substantial amount of electricity probably already has many of them doing so. Abbey feels they are ruining the environment and wildlife is being sacrificed. The risen waters of the reservoir drown all of the life that once lived. All of the beautiful scenery and historic sights are replaced by water marked rocks, muddy banks, and very small amounts of forestry and greenery. He believes the whole river is completely disrupted with every reservoir and dam. He highlights the fact that exploring the river now requires a tour guide boat or enough money to buy your own. Overall, Abbey does give some good reasons behind his opinion. However, I have a different belief on the matter. Although Edward Abbey uses strong personal experiences to persuade the reader to argue that the man made reservoirs are destroying the beautiful canyon and the environment, I think he overlooks the other possible opinions and the benefits of having them.
The Colorado River resides in North America at 1,450 miles long it spans from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado flowing southwest through six other states into Mexico. During the 19th century, settlement within this region was limited to merely accessing the Colorado River. Back then adjacent water was strictly used to support life. Today, with our advanced water treatment and transportation methods, water is known for its more loose sense of sustaining “life” and that is of an economic sense. Now, we utilize water for more than just drinking. We apply water to trigger industry, mass produce agriculture, generate power and even recreationally. With our new thirsts we encounter dizzying demands for water. As we use this water for economic gains we take increasing amounts from the river. The water that is returned is then of severely lower quality causing detrimental effects to biologic life. To complicate the problem at hand the Colorado River has experienced drought since 1999. Currently, according to The Bureau of Reclamation, most areas of the river are experiencing extreme drought conditions. The Colorado River is not only degrading, but also drying up due to climate change and poor water management, consequently modern human development is impeded and the environment permanently scarred, therefore to prevent further damage local and state authorities should plan to alter wasteful methods of water management.
Outside of China, the United States is the most-dammed country on the planet. Counting only dams taller than fifty feet high, the U.S. has some 5,000 dams that range from giant hydroelectric dams such as the Grand Coulee in Washington State to flood control dams in the southeast and dams that provide water for irrigation in California. Overall the United States has as many as 2.5 million dams of one sort or another. The design and construction of many of these dams took place between 1930 and 1975. This 45 years period is known as the golden age of dam building, starting with the construction of the Hoover Dam beginning in 1931. By the 1970s the golden age of dam construction began to come to an end with increased concerns of the impacts of dams on their surroundings. To better understand this time period I will look at the construction of Hoover Dam during the 1930’s followed by an examination many of today’s arguments for and against dams [i].
We have built dams to prevent floods, store water and create electricity. An example of a damn in Michigan is the Sturgis Dam in Sturgis City. This is an image from the Upper Peninsula Power Company’s website that shows how a dam is used to create energy. These dams are called hydroelectric dams. The dam back up the water and when it is released, its power turns the turbine which then turns a generator to create electricity (“Hydroelectric Power,” (n.d.)). However, humans have also altered the waterways in a negative way through pollution. Because we have so many different uses for water, we end up polluted the water through the toxins that are released. If we do not do something and continue to pollute our waterways, there would be a very negative effect on every life form. Many industries, companies, as well as ordinary citizens in Michigan and all around the world are doing their best to cut down their environmental
Drinking water is essential and indispensable to life itself possible on the face of the earth, it is much more than a well, a resource, a commodity, drinking water is specifically a human right of first order and an element essential national sovereignty itself and, most likely, whoever controls the water control the economy and life in the not so distant future.
The water resources of China are affected by severe water quantity shortages and severe water quality pollution. Due to the increase of the population and the rapid industrialization, the water demand in China has increased. For this reason, China has responded by building out the water infrastructure such as Three Gorges Dam. The Three Gorges Dam is the world’s largest hydropower project and most notorious dam. The environmental impacts of the project are profound, and are likely to get worse as time as goes on.
Freshwater wetlands are a unique and valuable resource constituting about 6% of the land surface on Earth. They sustain a multitude of unique biological species and provide high levels of primary productivity (Graham & Mendelssohn, 2010). Compared to other natural environments, plant primary productivity in wetland ecosystems is among the highest known (Benner, Maccubbin & Hodson, 1884). Wetlands serve essential ecological functions which provide many important services to human society. Flood mitigation and water filtration are essential services. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an acre of wetlands are able to store over 1 million gallons of flood waters. Water Storage by wetlands can slow down water’s momentum and reduce erosion in surrounding areas, as well as reduce flood heights, support groundwater recharge and contribute water to other systems during dry periods. In addition to these benefits, wetlands have high biological productivity. 31 percent of the plant species of the United States are found in wetlands. About half of the bird species in North America depend on wetlands for either feeding or nesting. Because of their high productivity, wetlands are able support commercial shellfish and fishing industries as well as ecotourism activities (such as fishing, bird watching, hunting and photography) that bring in billions of dollars to the national economy annually (EPA.gov, 2001). However, the value of freshwater wetlands has historically been overlooked. According to the Environmental Protection Agency over half of the estimated 220 million acres of wetland that existed in the United States in the 1600s have now been drained or converted t...
The proposed for Kaeng Sua Ten dam project has provoked controversy for more than ten years. Due to fierce objection from the locals, the government's aspiring aims to construct the dams in Phrae province's Tambon Sa-Iab may never leave the drawing board. The government declared that the dam was essential. It would reduce flooding, ease seasonal drought areas, and lead to agricultural development. Dams are a crucial component for industry and hydropower and attracting many local and international investors. On the other hand, the locals, fierce resistance of the project claimed that the project was ineffective and unsustainable. Furthermore, it would impair the ecosystem and livelihood of the villagers. They demanded for an effective precipitation in decision-making and conservation of Mae Yom National Park (Wongruang, 2012) . I strongly believed that the construction of Kaeng Sua Ten dam should be stopped as it is inefficient and unsustainable, it damage forest ecosystem, forest biodiversity, and livelihood of the villagers, as well as leaving little room for social justice .
Water is the most important resource on our planet. The causes of not protecting will be very dire because, water like most things on this planet isn’t endless. We must conserve the drops of precious water we have and protect it, because at the end of the day we can’t afford not to protect it.