Essay On Water Dams

1.1 Introduction

Water is the most important element to our ecology system. The human as a users need the water in their life and so do the flora and fauna also needs it. As we know the water come from the river but the users need the clear and clean water to use it daily. The good water come from the dam and reservoir. According to Amanda Briney, a dam is any barrier that hold back water and its also defines as a primarily used to save, manage, and prevent the flow of excess water into specific regions. When discussing about dams, another term often used is reservoir. A reservoir is a manmade lake that is primarily used for storing water, and it can also be defined as the specific bodies of water formed by the construction of a dam ( Briney,A). Woodward(2004-2005) claims that there are one or more reason why dams is built. Dam functionally to provide a supply of water for towns, cities and mining sites. For example, Warragamba Dam in Australia is the main water supply dam for the city of Sydney. Second, dams built to contain and store waste (tailing) from mines. There is a dam at Omai Tailings Dam, Guyana, South America which stored waste from a gold mining operation. Another function of dam is to generate electricity in hydro-electric power stations and most dams were functionally as a hydroelectric dam. Dam which can be example for this function is Itaipu Dam at Brazil. This dam is the largest hydroelectric power station in the world. Some other reason why dam is built is it works to provide a supply of water for the irrigation of crops. The Burrinjuck Dam at Australia is the example for this kind of dam and it was built as the main head water storage for the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area in New South Wales. Last but not lea...

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...ect entire ecosystems. The whole of this problem makes by sedimentation in the reservoir also reduces the dam’s capacity and operational lifetime (WWF,n.d). Another environmental damage from the construction of dam is the water quality can be degraded (WWF,n.d). The water can be increase in salinity when the reduction of water quantities. Decomposition of organic matter and the leaching of mercury from the soil can introduce toxins. The construction of dam also disturbs the natural fluctuations in water flow(WWF,n.d). The example is whenever in seasonal flood plains, this situation can be really damaging. It will affecting most of nutrients as well as the lifecycle of species that depend on these fluctions for feeding and breeding grounds. Dams change flow of the water by releasing to human demands, like energy and irrigation, instead of as nature intended (WWF,n.d)