Angelina Galvis
Mr. Mulhearn- Environmental Science
May 2014
The Pros and Cons of Water Dams There are approximately 75,000 water dams just in the United States, providing the right amount of water in the right place at the right time. Majority of our world today relies on water dams. They are an efficient way of storing water, creating electricity and more. Even though our world has become almost dependent on this invention, it does have just as many cons that it does pros. A water dam is a barrier that stores water; it can be on the surface or in underground caves. A dam is used to store water due to the construction of one, leading nowhere for water to escape. Dams are also used to make hydroelectricity. The amount power it releases when water is pushed back is enough to produce hydroelectricity. Three main groups water dams are classified under material, structure and size. Water dams are
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Scientists everyday are trying to eliminate the cons of water dams to help the environment more. Although destruction of a dam can lead to terrible results, scientists are able to learn what they did wrong and keep improving. Every water dam is checked regularly to make sure it is safe and the equipment use to operate it is working properly. Due to most dams being built in the 1930s, operators have to do a lot of work to make sure they meet modern safety regulations. If dams are not regularly checked on, that is when a failure is bound to happen. An example of a failure of a dam is the dam on the Yangzi River. Heavy rainfall after a terrible drought lead the dam to overflow and flood. It destroyed anything in its way. Focusing on the positivity of water dams, a dam like the Hoover Dam at the Colorado River is a great example. This dam has effectively done its job storing clean water and producing electricity, only needing some repairs about every ten
There are nine dams in and directly leading to New York State’s Letchworth State Park. These dams have been built for a variety of reasons and affect nearly 400 miles of freshwater rivers in the Genesee River Basin of Western New York (Fish, n.d.).
Federal Emergency Management Agency’s article, “Benefit of Dams” (2012) analyzes how dams prevent flooding by releasing the excess water in controlled amounts through floodgates (¶ 3).
The one feature common to the Hoover Dam, The Mississippi river and the three gorges dam is that they all tried to control nature’s swings, specifically in the form of flooding. Before the Hoover dam was built, the Colorado river “used to flood spectacularly…but after 1900 the Colorado provoked a vehement response” (Pg 177). The response was simple, but large. The U.S. built several large dams, including the Hoover dam, on the Colorado to decrease its flooding and increase power and irrigation. Unfortunately, just as human control of the Colorado’s flooding increased, its organisms and habitats were detrimentally influenced, and the water became more and more salinated.
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.
A large issue we have that effects multiple different areas of our communities, are tragedy of the commons, which are actions that are rational but lead to irrational outcome. Government needs to take responsilbities to enforce rules for commons so they can diminish tragedy of the commons. Dams are a tragedy of the commons that only recently were come to the realisation of its more negatives effect they have on our world. Dams used to be seen as only positive, for their productful factors such as hydroelectricity and water supply. In this essay, I will argue that dams are an example of a tragedy of the commons proven by the documentary, Damnation, by the directors Travis Rummel and Ben Knight by describing that dams are highly subtractable
Over the years Glen Canyon Dam has been the spark for hundreds of debates, rallies, and protests. These debates have been going on for almost forty years now. The fact is that the dam created a huge lake when it was built, this is what bothers environmentalists. This lake is called Lake Powell and thousands of people depend on its tourists for income. The lake also filled up a canyon called Glen Canyon, some people say it was the most beautiful place on earth. The anti-dam side of the debate has its basis in the fact that Lake Powell is currently covering Glen Canyon. It was very remote so few people got to witness its splendor. This is probably the reason the dam was built in the first place, ignorance.
The Oroville dam is a rock fill embankment dam, which means, a water barrier that is made with certain materials so that it isn’t prone to erosion or deterioration. Because the material is so heavy due to the need for a secure dam, , it creates a much stronger barrier and base to its foundation. A study was done to see if a rock fill dam is the most stable type of dam to hold the amount of water it is expected to. The study tested different types of dams stability compared to the stability of a rock fill, and ultimately found that the rock fill is completely acceptable and safe (Lei). The Feather River is the only river to feed into the dam, filling it to its total capacity of 3,507,977 acre/ft.
Based on the events that lead to the devastating floods in Queensland and the eventual case that was brought against the engineers of the dam, there have been views from both sides of the divide as to whether or not the actions taken by the engineers were actually ethical or otherwise. We have explored this avenue and have found that both sides of the divide have good reasons to justify their actions. Firstly, we shall explore the avenue that the engineers decisions were appropriate and ethical. It can be said that the engineers did employ act utilitarianism in their decisions and actions, hence causing these decisions to be ethically correct. Act utilitarianism is essentially doing the right thing, which would benefit the majority of people, based on the situation that is currently taking place. One of the reasons that explains why the actions taken could be considered as ethically fine, was that if the dam was not opened, there would have been no other way to solve the increasing water levels in the dam. If no action was taken, there could have been seriously devastating effects, like the dam wall eroding due to water spilling over the dam wall, thus weakening the structure, or a loss of water flow control. Professor Hubert Chanson, a professor in hydraulic engineering in the University of Queensland, mentioned that the Wivenhoe Dam was actually designed as an embankment dam, hence it should not be overtopped, that is water should not be allowed to flow over the limits of the dam (Andersen 2011). Despite there being a secondary spillway, however it is recommended that spillway is not put to use, as the use of that spillway would mean that there would be a surge of water leaving the dam, and a loss of control of the water flow, w...
Dams made from dirt are very weak and the South Fork dam was built entirely with dirt. From an engineering standpoint dams made with dirt needed to be built ...
The use of turbines from dams to provide power was a brilliant idea until water levels started running lower than normal. The water waste from humanity is directly contributing to portions of it, aside from drought conditions affected by pollution, widespread fires battled, and more adds to the depletion thereof. When humanity is relying on power provided from dams to handle the demand, they are essentially relying on the assumption that water levels will always be there to provide it. The Hoover Dam provides power to the southwestern portion of the USA that has a large number of people.
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, John Muir, a naturalist, and Marsden Manson, an engineer for the city of San Francisco, engaged in a heated debate over the construction of a dam in Hetchy Hetchy Valley. Muir wanted to preserve nature for the future, so he objected to the dam because he felt it would destroy the beauty of the area. On the other hand, Manson believed building a dam would provide water and electricity to the thousands of people who lived in the city of San Francisco, and this would preserve the well being of the human race for the future. Both men had good points and arguments to support their views; however, in the end you have to look out for your own kind. If there is a choice about the well being of the human race or nature, I believe there is only once choice to be made – the future support of the human race.
IYER, R.I. (19X9) "Large Dams: The Right Perspective.' Economic and Political Weekly, 14, 107- 116.
How exactly does hydropower work, though? As it turns out, dams are the main source of harvesting energy via hydropower. There are about 80,000 dams in the United States, although not all are active producers of power. There are four main types of hydropower facilities, which all require turbines: impoundment, diversion, run-of-river, and pumped storage. Also, there are two main types of hydro turbines: impulse turbines and reaction turbines ("Hydropower…”).
There are three parts to a typical hydropower plant. The first part is an electric plant where electricity is produced. The second is a dam that open and closes to control the flow of water. Water behind the dam goes into an intake and is pushed against blades in a turbine which causes them to turn. Then the turbine rotates a generator to create electricity.
Hydroelectric power seizes the buoyancy released from descending water. Two thousand years ago, Ancient Greeks utilized wooden water wheels to convert kinetic energy into mechanical energy because that’s all they had back then. However, in 1882, the first hydroelectric power plant was constructed in the United States using a fast flowing river. During that time, humans began to build dams to reserve water at the most suitable places or areas in order to best apply the power capacity. Engineering and structural changes have been increased in designing a more efficient hydroelectric power plant, but in order for that to happen they had to go through a very difficult process which can cause much conflict. (http://www.ems.psu.edu/~elsworth/courses/cause2003/finalprojects/vikingpaper.pdf)