This blog contains information about Dams. In the start, it discusses What is Dam, important purposes of Dam Construction, Types of Dams, Historical Dams, Environmental Impacts of Dams and Advantages and Disadvantages of Dams with detail. This blog contains Functions, Types, Advantages and Disadvantages of Dams.
What is called a Dam?
Dam is a structure that is constructed across a stream or river to block the flow of water, creating a water reservoir. The most important function of dam is storing water to avoid crisis.
A Dam is built as a barrier that stops and stores normal flow of water from a Natural resource. It serves a lot of advantages in avoiding Water crisis of any region of the world so most of the dams have a huge capacity to store water and protect it for future use.
Other than storage of water, dams also play a great role in generation of Power. We all know that we can generate Electricity from the kinetic energy created from high speed water flow. Dams are used to generate electricity with Renewable means of energy at large scale in developing as well as developed nation.
These are artificial water reservoirs that stores water to make it productive and so useful in the conditions of Water Scarcity, Flood, and other such water crisis and emergency situations.
With providing many advantages, Dams also contributes in many problems regarding aquatic species, biodiversity in certain area and other such factors are so dangerous for living systems and Natural Resource Management. We will discuss a complete overview on Dams Construction, Functions, Advantages and Disadvantages.
Functions of Dam Construction:
Following are few purposes or reasons to construct a Dam:
1. Flood risk prevention:
As dams are spread over a large land area just for water storage, so in case of Floods, it contributes by storing a large amount of water that can prevent flood. In severe cases, if it may not prevent floods, it will reduce the effects and damages of floods at great extents. This is the reason dams are constructed in areas with too much rainfall annually.
2. Rainwater Harvesting:
The areas with a lot of rain, uses dams to store the rainwater instead of being wasted into the drainage systems of the region. A huge amount of rainwater wastes and also cause Urban Flooding in the cities. These stores the excessive water and this water is then used either for generation of electricity, household use, and for other major or minor purposes.
3. Irrigation Benefits and Water Supply:
Dam contains water that is supplied to the nearest residential areas including the agricultural lands and farmlands. The agricultural lands are irrigated and nourished by Dam water. It also helps in supply of water in the homes of farmers and other people living in the region. The water in the dam restores every time, when it rains and in this way there is a less chance of Water Scarcity in the area.
4. Generation of Clean and Sustainable electricity:
The gates that constructs on the Dam to stop the water flow, when gates opens to have high speed flow of water. The kinetic energy that creates from the speedy flow of water, and so runs the turbine. Then the turbine drives the generator and produces electricity. This electricity produces from Renewable and Sustainable form of energy. In this way power generation takes place on the Dams called the Hydroelectric Power.
5. Pollution Control:
Dams also in contributes in controlling the pollution through its function. As we know, dams stops the natural flow of Water resources, then it also stops solid wastes, chemical wastes and liquid wastes added into the water also stops by the barriers. This helps in tackling water pollution, land pollution and although in some cases air pollution to transfer to other places.
6. Waterway Control:
Waterway is known as the route in which water travel towards the water reservoirs. Water makes its own way according to the topography and slopes within the region. Dams play a vital role in controlling the water ways by holding on to its uncontrollable flow. When the flow of water is controlled, there are least chances of water to enter into the population and it also prevent floods or mitigate its impacts.
7. Recreation:
As dams are artificial water reservoirs or resources, so they constructs with special design according to its proper working mechanism. They are worth looking at so most of the dams are favorite picnic spots for the people of nearby areas. Many parks, green spaces, restaurants, walking tracks etc. are on the dams and also barrages where people enjoy their day with their loved ones and are beautiful to visit.
These are few purposes and reasons of Dam Construction.
Benefits of Dam Construction:
- Facilitates irrigation
- Increase crop yield and agricultural productivity
- Provide access to clean water to nearby populations
- Controls flood and also other such natural disasters
- Provide recreational facilities etc.
Impacts of Dam Construction:
- Soil Erosion
- Loss of Specie Diversity
- Ecological disruption
- Disruption in river and stream flow. etc.
Types of Dams:
Following are some basic types of Dams:
i. Diversion Dams:
Diversion Dams are the dams that works to divert water ways. These dams provide pressure to the water in order to divert the water flow according to the need. They have smaller storage and low height.
ii. Buttress Dams:
Buttress dams consists of sloping deck supported by intervals of buttress. These dams uses less concrete than other dams but are still expensive to built. They can be of many forms.
iii. Embarkment Dams:
Embarkment dams are made from natural excavated materials or industrial waste materials. These are artificial dams and are larger in size. They also use various compositions of soil, sand, rock or silt.
iv. Cofferdam:
Cofferdam is a temporary and portable type of dam that constructs for certain projects and also other purposes. These projects may be shoreline restoration, bridge construction, pipelines etc.
v. Storage Dams:
Storage dams are simply for storing water to use when there are water shortages and water crisis. These are used to supply water for Power generation, livestock and for Irrigation purposes.
vi. Detention Dams:
Detention dams are those dams that are constructed especially for the flood control purposes. The function of these dams are to store flood water to reduce damage and the water is released later.
vii. Gravity Dams:
Gravity dams are large dams that are of concrete in order to hold and store very large amounts of water. The gravity helps in holding the dam to the ground regardless of great pressure of water.
viii. Hydroelectric Dams:
All the dams that have Hydroelectricity generation
These are the 7 most basic Types of Dams.
Historical Dams:
There are many amazing historical dams in the world. Most of the dams in ancient times were gravity dams. But some of them have amazing architecture and safety features. These historical dams impress the present day scientists as they show water holding and water storing techniques and also various processes decades ago. A brief description of some Historical dams is given below:
Jawa Dam, Jordan:
Jawa dam is the most ancient dam on Earth. This dam came into being in 3000 BC so this dam was the architectural feat of its times. It was a dam that contains safety features that are mind blowing.
Lake Homs Dam, Syria:
It is the oldest operational dam in the world. It was built in 1300. The Lake Homs Dam is about one mile long and 23 feet height. This makes Lake Homs and supply water to people of Homs till today.
This blog contains Functions, Advantages and Disadvantages of Dams.
Environmental Impacts of Dam Construction:
Following are some environmental Impacts of Dams:
. Soil Erosion:
A great level of soil erosion exists at the embarkments of the dams. The standing water takes away soil nutrients and also soil particles away with water and contributes in desertification and infertility near the embarkments of the dam. This can result in serious impacts.
. Species Extinction:
Dams also contributes in extinction of species. As we know that dams forms barriers in the natural flow of water. This not only stops the water but also stops the aquatic species and animals that needs to migrate to breed properly. In this way the reproduction of species is restricts and so they become extinct.
. Spread of Diseases:
Standing of water in the dams can lead to the viruses and also bacteria that gives rise to severe and fatal diseases. The diseases that originates from water are Water-borne diseases. These diseases such as Cholera spreads over nearby villages and residential areas and can harm the health of the people.
. Sediment trapping:
As dams collects all the water that reach from the flow of river or stream, so it takes all the sediments by the process of erosion with it. This fills the dam with rock particles, nutrients and also soil particles. The trapped sediments help in reducing the pollution in downstream environments so the process of sedimentation effect the storage capacity of dams with passing time.
. Managing Salinization:
Dams can play a great role in managing salinization by discharging saline water from the dam for different purposes. While if the discharge is less and slow in speed, it can increase the Water salinity. So, there is a need for proper precautionary measures to manage it.
.Water Logging:
Dams stores water and that water stays at the same location for years. This may cause water logging of the soil. The water logging of the soil may creates problems for agricultural and farming practices and can also disturb the life style of the people living around the dam.
. Conserves Water:
The main purpose of dams is to conserve water by avoiding its wastage and also avoid to make it a part of drainage system and Water Pollution. Dams are sustainable source of conserving and storing water so that we can use it in the hour of need.
These are Environmental impacts of Dams. This blog contains Functions, Advantages and Disadvantages of Dams.
Advantages of Dams:
- Facilitates us in Water Conservation and also in Rainwater Harvesting.
- Dams contributes in Flood control in every possible way.
- These helps us to generate Hydroelectric power that is extremely Sustainable, Renewable and Clean form of energy.
- It provide water supply for household and also irrigation practices.
- It helps in the pollution control by stopping all the pollutants.
- Dams serves as a perfect Recreational spot or also a picnic spot for the people of nearby areas.
- Dams helps in efficient utilization of water for useful purposes.
- These are best in the context of better use of water resources on Earth.
- These systems can help in managing Soil Salinity.
These are few advantages of Dams.
Disadvantages of Dams:
- Dams disrupts the natural flow of the rivers and streams.
- The supply of nutrients for the aquatic life blocks because of dams.
- Specie migration inhibits and it leads to Endangerment or Extinction of certain species and can cause ecological disruption.
- Standing water gives rise to Water-borne diseases such as Cholera, Typhoid etc.
- Dams play a great role in extreme levels of Soil erosion.
- They are very expensive to build.
- Sediment build up can decrease the capacity to store water in the region.
- A high initial cost is needed to build and maintain a dam.
- The risk of dam failure can cause infrastructure damage and also life loss at great levels.
These are few disadvantages of Dams. This blog contains Functions, Advantages and also Disadvantages of Dams.
Dam usage in the world:
About 16% of the electric power around the world is created by Hydroelectric power derived from dams. Following are some countries and the percentage of hydroelectricity they produce:
United States:
In 2022, US accounts about 6.2% of the total electricity produced by Hydroelectric projects in US.
China:
China is the largest producer of hydroelectric power. It produced over 30.8% of the global electricity in end of 2019.
Pakistan:
Pakistan is improving the dam efficiencies and it is on the way to establish new dams and also many hydroelectric projects. In present time, Pakistan is able to produce 20% to 37% of the total electricity demand of Pakistan.
These are some of the percentages that countries produce of Hydroelectric power through dams. China is called the powerhouse of the world as it has the largest dam Three Georges Dam that is its biggest contributor to Clean energy generation. This blog contains Functions, Advantages and Disadvantages of Dams.
To learn about more topics, Click the links below:
Ecology and Environmental Ecology
Future of Water Resources in Pakistan
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