advantages and dis advantages of dam
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Answer:
Dams provide us with a source of clean energy.
Hydroelectricity is responsible for 19% of the world’s energy supply, offering over 3000 terawatts each year. We can produce power from dams because of the kinetic energy of the water movements as it causes turbines to spin. That’s what allows us to generate electricity that is clean and renewable. Once the dam gets entirely constructed, we no longer have a dependence on fossil fuels to be responsible for the energy we need to maintain a modern lifestyle.
The United States is one of the largest producers of hydroelectricity in the world today, even with the reduction of operational facilities. Americans generate over 103,000 megawatts of renewable electricity with this resource, with only Canada currently creating more power in this way.
2. Dams help us to retain our water supply.
When we take an opportunity to dam a river, then the water will pool to form a reservoir behind the structure. This outcome allows the population centers in that region to collect fresh water during periods of heavy precipitation for use during a dry spell or drought. We also use this engineering marvel to control floodwaters or to supply a fixed amount of fluid to the surrounding areas for agricultural irrigation.
That means a dam can provide a buffer to an entire region against extreme weather events or irregular precipitation patterns.
3. This technology provides us with critical recreational opportunities.
Dams can provide us with a wide range of economic, environmental, and social benefits. Numerous reservoirs around the United States offer opportunities to go camping, boating, and waterskiing. It gives regions that generally wouldn’t have water access a place to have a boat launch that supports commercial fishing activities. These destinations can be the perfect place to have a picnic, go hiking, and spend time with your family.
4. A well-constructed dam provides several flood-control benefits.
Dams help to prevent property loss while reducing the risk to human life from annual flooding events. These structures can impound the floodwaters into the reservoir behind the dam, allowing us to release them under control or to store it for future use. We can divert excessive precipitation toward municipalities for fresh drinking water, create more irrigation opportunities, and meet a variety of energy-related needs.
The Nile River is famous for its unpredictable annual flow throughout history. As climate change continues to progress, the patterns of El Nino and La Nina in the Pacific Ocean will continue to increase. That means we will have more cycles of excessive precipitation and drought, and dams can help us to regulate this issue.
2. Reservoirs behind a dam can lead to higher greenhouse gas emissions.
When vegetation gets engulfed in water, then the plants will eventually die. When this outcome occurs, the dead organic material releases methane that ultimately makes its way into the atmosphere. The increase in the production of greenhouse gases is significant because methane is up to 20 times more potent as a reflector than carbon dioxide.
The use of a dam in certain areas can also contribute to the loss of forests. When we lose a significant number of trees simultaneously, then there is a corresponding uptake of carbon dioxide that occurs because there are fewer photosynthesis processes happening each day.
4. Some river sediment is beneficial.
Dams can have a profound impact on the overall aquatic ecosystem of a region. The transformation upstream creates a lack of settlement that moves down the waterway to support the entire marine habitat. It can also cause changes in temperature, chemical composition, and shoreline stability. Many reservoirs also host invasive species, such as algae or snails, that undermine the natural communities of the plants and animals that lived on the river before.
The riverbeds that are downstream from a dam can erode by several yards within the first decade of operations. This damage can extend for hundreds of miles downstream afterward.
5. Dams create a flooding risk if they experience a failure.
We might use dams to provide us with a form of flood control, but the failure of this structure can have devastating consequences for downstream communities. The Vajont Dam Failed in 1963, only 4 years after its construction was finalized just outside of Venice, Italy. A landslide during the initial filling triggered a tsunami in the reservoir, causing over 50,000,000 cubic meters of floodwater that impacted nearby towns and villages. Some reports say that the wave was over 820 feet high.
Almost 2,000 people died in this disaster, and it was all because the dam was located in a geologically unstable area. When the Banqiao Reservoir Dam failed in 1975 in China, it caused an estimated 171,000 deaths.