St. Francis Dam Disaster

494 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: California water problems open essay

The water situation in California during the early 1900s was a strange situation. Instead of trying to find more viable options to obtain water California managed to dry up their first water source and then built an extraneous pipeline, or aqueduct to transfer water over a vast distance. The next odd thing about this project was that in order to maintain this aqueduct a lot of man hours would have been needed. This is where the government should have stepped in. With that many miles of valuable water security measures should have been implemented as to deter vandals and such. Also the government should have stepped in to make sure all dams and pipes were well maintained and secure. I personally feel that if these precautions were put into place the St. Francis dam disaster may have never happened. Since necessary precautions were not fully in place it became increasingly difficult to maintain around 230 miles of aqueducts. …show more content…

Desalinating ocean water seems like it would be too costly and impractical but the difference in cost between fresh water and desalinated water is minimal when you look at the benefits that come along with being able to use ocean water. As of 2008, the price of fresh water ranged anywhere from ten to twenty cents per cubic meter and the price of desalinated water ranged from around one to two dollars per cubic meter. At first you see that the cost is nearly ten to twenty times greater for desalinated water but by using desalinated water not only are you conserving fresh water but you could also potentially curb the problem of sea levels

Show More
Related

  • From Little Falls to Major Power Producer: A Brief History of the Post Falls Dam

    1490 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wuerthner, George. North Idaho's Lake Country. Helena, MT: American & World Geographic Pub., 1995. Print.

    Read More

  • It's Time to Drain Lake Powell

    863 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Johnstown Flood

    1184 Words  | 3 Pages

    The state offered to sell the canal, the railroad company bought it for the right of ways yet had no need to maintain the dam, which due to neglect, broke for the first time in 1862. McCullough stresses that man was responsible for the dam and its weaknesses nearly thirty years before the great flood as he explains how the initial repair work was carried out by unqualified people and how the discharge pipes were blocked up.... ... middle of paper ... ... McCullough makes a firm argument for the responsibility of man, and asserts the blame on the necessary people, therefore I feel he makes a fair and accurate assertion which I would agree with.

    Read More

  • Iks by Lewis Thomas

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    California water war has been an great example of different cities fighting against each other since they all share the common characteristics of greed, and selfish. Back in the 1800’s, Los Angeles grew largely in populations when finally it outgr...

    Read More

  • Buffalo Creek Flood Disaster

    1908 Words  | 4 Pages

    Emilie Durkheim described the concepts of social regulation and social integration, and how both are connected to suicide rates. Both of these concepts can also be used to analyze the effect that the Buffalo Creek flood had on individuals and the community. Using the ideas of social regulation and social integration as well as the book “Everything in Its Path” by Kai T. Erikson, we can see the consequences of the Buffalo Creek flood disaster.

    Read More

  • The Johnstown Flood

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Johnstown Flood Stained the history of the United States. Over 2000 victims died and even more injured. The flood has been blamed on many people since it happened. One group individually brought about the flood. The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club made selfish changes threatening the effectiveness toward holding back a water overflow. The renovation made to the dam brought about the destruction killing many people and causing millions of dollars in damages.

    Read More

  • How Did The Johnstown Pa Dam Collapse

    94 Words  | 1 Pages

    The South Fork Dam was a dam built 14 miles upstream of Johnston to protect against floods, The Dam was 72 feet high made out of mud and rock, the largest earth dam in the United states. On May 31, 1889 The village of Johnstown PA was flooded after the South Fork dam failed to contain the water and collapsed. The dam collapsed after several days of very heavy rainfall and released 14.55 million cubic meters of water killing over 2,000 people and causing damage of $17 million (equal to $453 million in 2010)

    Read More

  • The Colorado River Basin Drought

    1664 Words  | 4 Pages

    Americans today tend to believe that the Colorado River drought has been a recent occurrence, although drought relief strategies have been implemented since early 1997. To summarize, in the book The Colorado River Basin Drought Planning and Organizations, Colorado is named as the original state to acquire a drought relief plan. For instance, various assume water levels are diminutive in the Colorado and blame is due to the previous ten years of drought throughout the United States. Although it is true that water levels are at a record low, initial plans in the early 1920’s to introduce manufactured structures into the water basin is the original reason Colorado’s water system began to be compromised. It follows, then the supplementary natural

    Read More

  • The Great State of California

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...es the Yosemite Falls and the sequoia trees. One of the state’s problems is the appetite for water. The once fertile Owens valley is now dry and its waters tapped by Los Angeles. In the Imperial Valley, the eradication of water is controlled by the All-American Canal which gets its water from the Colorado River. In Central Valley the poor distribution is the water problem that is an imbalance lessened by the vast Central Valley project. California had cutbacks in federally funded water in the 1970sand 80s which led to California cities buying water from areas that had a surplus of water. But California failed to make a long-term to plan and the federal government stopped the funding of water to the state in 2003. But with all this being said and done, California remains to be a unique state with a lot of entertainment, history, agriculture and a productive economy.

    Read More

  • Hurricane Harvey: The Present And Future Of Hurricane Houston

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    Houston, home to two major water reservoirs, now grapples with the task of safely releasing water from these dams. Because of Harvey, they are at a dangerously high level that poses many safety concerns. If the water continues to rise, the reservoirs could break, and release a tidal wave of water into the already flooded city. However, some residents don’t agree with the releasing of water, even in controlled portions, because it adds to the flooding. “The Addicks and Barker dams hold back the reservoirs’ collective 410,000 acre-feet of water and if the dams fail, half the city could be underwater” (Planas, Satlin, et al, 2). The release of water could be a major threat to nearby homes as well while causing more flooding on the major roads, perpetuating the issue of transportation. The Army Corps of Engineers ultimately decided that waiting and praying that the reservoirs didn’t fail would be a poor decision, and came out with a statement saying they would be releasing rationed portions of water. The overflowing of the reservoirs and the possible increase of flooding is a direct impact of Harvey on Houston, and this continues to perpetuate issues they will face in the months to

    Read More

  • Water Pollution: Plastic in the Ocean

    1110 Words  | 3 Pages

    Water pollution has had devastating effects on the environment, which include irreversible effects on the oceans ecosystem. People often underestimate the importance of the ocean. They don’t realize how much damage pollution has caused to the ocean and the thousands of creatures that inhabit it. Earth is a huge place, but resources are actually very limited and will not last forever unless there is a balance. We must protect the resources we have in order for them to last into the next generation.

    Read More

  • Water Problems In Paris In The 13th Century

    506 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 13th century, Paris' main water supply was the Seine river, but in the summer the Seine river would dry up, leaving Paris with a water problem. To fix this, engineering monks built aqueducts under the city of Paris. These aqueducts would transfer clean spring to fountains in the center of Paris. Citizens would them go get their allowed 2 pints of water per day and take it home to use or drink. 500 years later there was another drought. With only 2 pints a day, people weren't getting the necessary amount of water to sustain themselves. Then an engineer named Dominic Gerard had the idea to build a canal connecting the Seine with a smaller river. This smaller river was 60 miles outside of Paris and would help so that the Seine river wouldn't dry up during the summer. After a little bit, another river was added into the canal. With the water having to run uphill they built a pumping system that would get the water flowing. With that they fixed the problem of drought.

    Read More

  • Essay On Common Pool Resources

    1584 Words  | 4 Pages

    The state’s common pool resource was and still continues to be water. This delicate resource in the American west is in danger of disappearing, and for the millions of people living in large cities are desperate to continue to use it. But the issue of common pool resources is not one that is recent but is one that has been plaguing California since its founding. When California’s population started to grow around the turn of the twentieth century, the town official within the state started to run into some common pool resource issues, water. Cities, such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, used whatever power they had to own and control what little water the California environment produced. The cities are large and successful municipalities today because of what they had to do to control the water all those years ago. The city used tactics, such as buying out the land, petitioning the government, and, sometimes, illegal actions, to win the waters of California and their success back then highly shows in their success

    Read More

  • Pike River Disaster

    1401 Words  | 3 Pages

    Management today is an essential part in ensuring the success of the organisation on the whole. Without proper management, many unexpected and unfavourable events can take place, and jeopardise the stability of the organisation. For my research, I have chosen to use the article titled “Managing Motivation: Incentive Pay and the Pike River disaster” as I felt the Pike River disaster had a lot of impact on the society, not only when it happened, but also after it happened, when investigations were in place. Also it was one of the worst disasters in New Zealand’s history, with 29 deaths, which made it appear on the front page of international news outlets (Evans 2010). Also, this incident had highlighted many management lapses that led to the fateful event.

    Read More

  • Causes, Effects and Solution of Water Polution

    1069 Words  | 3 Pages

    Water is on of the most precious natural resources that exist on our planet. “It is delivered from the atmosphere in the form of rain, snow, hail, fog, and condensation and returns to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration” (Hannigan 1969). Although many of us love activities that have to do with water, we disregard it and pollute out rivers, lakes and oceans. Slowly but surely we are going to harm out planet till no return. Protecting and conserving nature will secure a better future. 71% of earth is covered with oceans. Sounds like a lot right? Imagine ...

    Read More

More about St. Francis Dam Disaster

Open Document