Ecotourism

Wolin National Park, Poland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Llano del Muerto waterfall in El Salvador The Cedars in Lebanon Lacandon Jungle in Mexico Fernando de Noronha in Brazil Wolin National Park, Poland

Gnus and zebras in the Masai Mara park reserve in Kenya.

Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving visiting fragile, pristine, and relatively undisturbed natural areas, intended as a low-impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial (mass) tourism. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds for ecological conservation, to directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities, or to foster respect for different cultures and for human rights. Since the 1980s ecotourism has been considered a critical endeavour by environmentalists, so that future generations may experience destinations relatively untouched by human intervention.[1] Several university programs use this description as the working definition of ecotourism.[2] Generally, ecotourism deals with living parts of the natural environments.[3] Ecotourism focuses on socially responsible travel, personal growth, and environmental sustainability. Ecotourism typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Ecotourism is intended to offer tourists insight into the impact of human beings on the environment, and to foster a greater appreciation of our natural habitats. Responsible ecotourism programs include those that minimize the negative aspects of conventional tourism on the environment and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. Therefore, in addition to evaluating environmental and cultural factors, an integral part of ecotourism is the promotion ofrecycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, and creation of economic opportunities for local communities.[4] For these reasons, ecotourism often appeals to advocates of environmental and social responsibility. History[edit source | editbeta] An elephant safari through the Jaldapara National Park in West Bengal, India Hector Ceballos-Lascurain popularized (and he would say coined) the term 'ecotourism' in July 1983, when he was performing the dual role of Director General of Standards and Technology of SEDUE (the Mexican Ministry of Urban Development and Ecology) and founding president of PRONATURA (an influential Mexican conservationist NGO). PRONATURA was lobbying for the conservation of the wetlands in northern Yucatn as breeding and feeding habitats of the American Flamingo.[10][11] Others claim the term was in use earlier: Claus-Dieter (Nick) Hetzer, an academic and adventurer from Forum International in Berkeley, CA, coined the term in 1965 and ran the first ecotours in the Yucatn during the early 1970s.[12] Ecotourism, responsible tourism, jungle tourism, and sustainable development have become prevalent concepts since the mid-1980s, and ecotourism has experienced arguably the fastest growth of all sub-sectors in the tourism industry.

The popularity represents a change in tourist perceptions, increased environmental awareness, and a desire to explore natural environments.[4] Definition[edit source | editbeta] In the continuum of tourism activities that stretch from conventional tourism to ecotourism proper, there has been a lot of contention to the limit at which biodiversity preservation, local social-economic benefits, and environmental impact can be considered "ecotourism". For this reason, environmentalists, special interest groups, and governments define ecotourism differently. Environmental organizations have generally insisted that ecotourism is nature-based, sustainably managed, conservation supporting, and environmentally educated.[6][20] The tourist industry and governments, however, focus more on the product aspect, treating ecotourism as equivalent to any sort of tourism based in nature.[6] As a further complication, many terms are used under the rubric of ecotourism.[6] Nature tourism, low impact tourism, green tourism, bio-tourism, ecologically responsible tourism, and others have been used in literature and marketing, although they are not necessary synonymous with ecotourism.[6] The problems associated with defining ecotourism have led to confusion among tourists and academics . Definitional problems are also subject of considerable public controversy and concern because of green washing, a trend towards the commercialization of tourism schemes disguised as sustainable, nature based, and environmentally friendly ecotourism.[6] According to McLaren,[6]these schemes are environmentally destructive, economically exploitative, and culturally insensitive at its worst. They are also morally disconcerting because they mislead tourists and manipulate their concerns for the environment.[21] The development and success of such large scale, energy intensive, and ecologically unsustainable schemes are a testament to the tremendous profits associated with being labeled as ecotourism. Negative impact of tourism[edit source | editbeta] Ecotourism has become one of the fastest-growing sectors of the tourism industry, growing annually by 1015% worldwide (Miller, 2007). One definition of ecotourism is "the practice of low-impact, educational, ecologically and culturally sensitive travel that benefits local communities and host countries" (Honey, 1999). Many of the ecotourism projects are not meeting these standards. Even if some of the guidelines are being executed, the local communities are still facing other negative impacts. South Africa is one of the countries that are reaping significant economic benefits from ecotourism, but negative effectsincluding forcing people to leave their homes, gross violations of fundamental rights, and environmental hazardsfar outweigh the medium-term economic benefits (Miller, 2007). A tremendous amount of money is being spent and human resources continue to be used for ecotourism despite unsuccessful outcomes, and even more money is put into public relation campaigns to dilute the effects of criticism. Ecotourism channels resources away from other projects that could contribute more sustainable and realistic solutions to pressing social and environmental problems. "The money tourism can generate often ties parks and managements to ecotourism" (Walpole et al. 2001). But there is a tension in this relationship because ecotourism often causes conflict and changes in land-use rights, fails to deliver promises of community-level benefits, damages environments, and has plenty of other social impacts. Indeed many argue repeatedly that ecotourism is neither ecologically nor socially beneficial, yet it persists as a strategy for conservation and development (West, 2006). While several studies are being done on ways to improve the ecotourism structure, some argue that these examples provide rationale for stopping it altogether. The ecotourism system exercises tremendous financial and political influence. The evidence above shows that a strong case exists for restraining such activities in certain locations. Funding could be used for field studies aimed at finding alternative solutions to tourism and the diverse problems Africa faces in result of urbanization, industrialization, and the over exploitation of agriculture (Kamuaro, 2007). At the local level, ecotourism has become a source of conflict over control of land, resources, and tourism profits. In this case, ecotourism has harmed the environment and local people, and has led to conflicts over profit distribution. In a perfect world more efforts would be made towards educating tourists of the environmental and social effects of their travels. Very few regulations or laws stand in place as boundaries for the investors in ecotourism. These should be implemented to prohibit the promotion of unsustainable ecotourism projects and materials which project false images of destinations, demeaning local and indigenous cultures. Though conservation efforts in East Africa are indisputably serving the interests of tourism in the region it is important to make the distinction between conservation acts and the tourism industry. [22] Eastern African communities are not the only of developing regions to experience economic and social harms from conservation efforts. Conservation in the Northwest Yunnan Region of China has similarly brought drastic changes to traditional land use in the region. Prior to logging restrictions imposed by the Chinese Government the industry made up 80 percent of the regions revenue. Following a complete ban on commercial logging the indigenous people of the Yunnan region now see little opportunity for economic development.[23] Ecotourism may provide solutions to the economic hardships suffered from the loss of industry to conservation in the Yunnan in the same way that it may serve to remedy the difficulties faced by the Maasai. As stated, the ecotourism structure must be improved to direct more money into host

communities by reducing leakages for the industry to be successful in alleviating poverty in developing regions, but it provides a promising opportunity.[24] Local people[edit source | editbeta] Most forms of ecotourism are owned by foreign investors and corporations that provide few benefits to local communities. An overwhelming majority of profits are put into the pockets of investors instead of reinvestment into the local economy or environmental protection. The limited numbers of local people who are employed in the economy enter at its lowest level, and are unable to live in tourist areas because of meager wages and a two market system.[6] In some cases, the resentment by local people results in environmental degradation. As a highly publicized case, the Maasai nomads in Kenya killed wildlife in national parks but are now helping the national park to save the wildlife to show aversion to unfair compensation terms and displacement from traditional lands. [19] The lack of economic opportunities for local people also constrains them to degrade the environment as a means of sustenance.[6] The presence of affluent ecotourists encourage the development of destructive markets in wildlife souvenirs, such as the sale of coral trinkets on tropical islands and animal products in Asia, contributing to illegal harvesting and poaching from the environment. In Suriname, sea turtle reserves use a very large portion of their budget to guard against these destructive activities. Displacement of people[edit source | editbeta] One of the most powerful examples of communities being moved in order to create a park is the story of the Maasai. About 70% of national parks and game reserves in East Africa are on Maasai land (Kamuaro, 2007). The first undesirable impact of tourism was that of the extent of land lost from the Maasai culture. Local and national governments took advantage of the Maasais ignorance on the situation and robbed them of huge chunks of grazing land, putting to risk their only socio-economic livelihood. In Kenya the Maasai also have not gained any economic benefits. Despite the loss of their land, employment favours better educated workers. Furthermore the investors in this area are not local and have not put profits back into local economy. In some cases game reserves can be created without informing or consulting local people, who come to find out about the situation when an eviction notice is delivered (Kamuaro, 2007). Another source of resentment is the manipulation of the local people by their government. "Eco-tourism works to create simplistic images of local people and their uses and understandings of their surroundings. Through the lens of these simplified images, officials direct policies and projects towards the local people and the local people are blamed if the projects fail" (West, 2006). Clearly tourism as a trade is not empowering the local people who make it rich and satisfying. Instead ecotourism exploits and depletes, particularly in African Maasai tribes. It has to be reoriented if it is to be useful to local communities and to become sustainable (Kamuaro, 2007). Mismanagement[edit source | editbeta] While governments are typically entrusted with the administration and enforcement of environmental protection, they often lack the commitment or capability to manage ecotourism sites effectively. The regulations for environmental protection may be vaguely defined, costly to implement, hard to enforce, and uncertain in effectiveness.[30] Government regulatory agencies, as political bodies, are susceptible to making decisions that spend budget on politically beneficial but environmentally unproductive projects. Because of prestige and conspicuousness, the construction of an attractive visitor's center at an ecotourism site may take precedence over more pressing environmental concerns like acquiring habitat, protecting endemic species, and removing invasive ones.[6] Finally, influential groups can pressure and sway the interests of the government to their favor. The government and its regulators can become vested in the benefits of the ecotourism industry which they are supposed to regulate, causing restrictive environmental regulations and enforcement to become more lenient. Management of ecotourism sites by private ecotourism companies offers an alternative to the cost of regulation and deficiency of government agencies. It is believed that these companies have a self-interest in limited environmental degradation, because tourists will pay more for pristine environments, which translates to higher profit. However, theory indicates that this practice is not economically feasible and will fail to manage the environment. The model of monopolistic competition states that distinctiveness will entail profits, but profits will promote imitation. A company that protects its ecotourism sites is able to charge a premium for the novel experience and pristine environment. But when other companies view the success of this approach, they also enter the market with similar practices, increasing competition and reducing demand. Eventually, the demand will be reduced until the economic profit is zero. A cost-benefit analysis shows that the company bears the cost of environmental protection without receiving the gains. Without economic incentive, the whole premise of self-interest through environmental protection is quashed; instead, ecotourism companies will minimize environment related expenses and maximize tourism demand.[6]

The tragedy of the commons offers another model for economic unsustainability from environmental protection, in ecotourism sites utilized by many companies.[31] Although there is a communal incentive to protect the environment, maximizing the benefits in the long run, a company will conclude that it is in their best interest to utilize the ecotourism site beyond its sustainable level. By increasing the number of ecotourists, for instance, a company gains all the economic benefit while paying only a part of the environmental cost. In the same way, a company recognizes that there is no incentive to actively protect the environment; they bear all the costs, while the benefits are shared by all other companies. The result, again, is mismanagement. Taken together, the mobility of foreign investment and lack of economic incentive for environmental protection means that ecotourism companies are disposed to establishing themselves in new sites once their existing one is sufficiently degraded.

Guidelines and education[edit source | editbeta]

An environmental protection strategy must address the issue of ecotourists removed from the cause-and-effect of their actions on the environment. More initiatives should be carried out to improve their awareness, sensitize them to environmental issues, and care about the places they visit.[6] Tour guides are an obvious and direct medium to communicate awareness. With the confidence of ecotourists and intimate knowledge of the environment, they can actively discuss conservation issues. A tour guide training program in Costa Rica's Tortuguero National Park has helped mitigate negative environmental impacts by providing information and regulating tourists on the parks' beaches used by nesting endangered sea turtles.[16][17]

National Body for Responsible Tourism

Read ESOI statute in its Memorandum of Association.

Objectives
The Ecotourism Society of India is dedicated to the promotion of sustainable development in tourism and to responsible best practices in and among the tourism fraternity. All funds/income generated shall be utilized towards the promotion of the aims and objectives of the Society as follows: 1. Tabulate eco sensitive areas where tourism will have an impact on the social, cultural and natural environment. 2. Make strategy and efforts to ensure long-term (perpetual) sustenance of the environment. 3. Work with empowered bodies to establish carrying capacity and sustainable tourism practices which include conservation of nature and wildlife, and allow local communities to benefit from tourism. 4. Tourists and visitors numbers and tourism practices must allow nature to re-generate itself. 5. To work with government bodies to develop policies and code of conduct for promotion of sustainable tourism, and help implement the same. 6. To work towards certification of tourism service providers. 7. To act as watchdog for excessive consumption of natural resources and any negative impact in the tourism sector. 8. To support research in tourism environment related areas. 9. Work with Service Providers to enhance quality of their product and services to a level so they can be sustainable and eco-friendly. 10. Encourage use of appropriate local practices, materials, art, craft, architecture, food. 11. Encourage minimal conspicuous consumption and prevent excessive consumption of energy. 12. Encourage energy saving practices, water harvesting, use of solar and other natural energy sources. 13. Encourage good waste management practices especially non-bio degradable materials. 14. Encourage low pollution-generating practices minimize carbon footprint. 15. Organise training and other activities to create awareness on ecotourism, sustainable and responsible tourism. 16. To collaborate with like-minded bodies and implement ecotourism objectives in India and abroad. 17. To continually identify new ecotourism destinations, strengthen ecotourism and make India a preferred ecotourism destination. 18. Tourists and visitors numbers and tourism practices must allow nature to re-generate itself. 19. Tourists and visitors numbers and tourism practices must allow nature to re-generate itself. 20. To work with government bodies to develop policies and code of conduct for promotion of sustainable tourism, and help implement the same. 21. work towards certification of tourism service providers. 22. To act as watchdog for excessive consumption of natural resources and any negative impact in the tourism sector.

23. To support research in tourism environment related areas. 24. Work with Service Providers to enhance quality of their product and services to a level so they can be sustainable and eco-friendly. 25. Encourage use of appropriate local practices, materials, art, craft, architecture, food. 26. Encourage minimal conspicuous consumption and prevent excessive consumption of energy. 27. Encourage energy saving practices, water harvesting, use of solar and other natural energy sources. 28. Encourage good waste management practices especially non-bio degradable materials. 29. Encourage low pollution-generating practices minimize carbon footprint. 30. Organise training and other activities to create awareness on ecotourism, sustainable and responsible tourism. 31. To collaborate with like-minded bodies and implement ecotourism objectives in India and abroad. 32. To continually identify new ecotourism destinations, strengthen ecotourism and make India a preferred ecotourism destination.

Good And Bad Dams

All dams have some environmental impact but so do most of their alternatives. However, some dams are definitely better than others. What is considered good? Building a dam inevitably has some impacts on a river and its ecosystem. However, careful siting, design and operational procedures can minimize these impacts. Ideally, dams should be sited where no local people need to be relocated. However, where this is not possible, consent from affected people and satisfactory compensation have to be a priority. In the case of hydropower, a good dam is generally a project with virtually no reservoir, or with small areas that store only daily or weekly river flows. These are called "Run-of-River" installations and usually become economic when there is a large change in land height such as that found at a large waterfall. Compared to dams with large storage reservoirs, such Run-of-River projects tend to have small water storage areas, allow sediment to pass through, seldom displace many people, and have small effects on seasonal river flow. The Owen Falls Dam on the upper Nile River in Uganda ranks as a good dam. It exemplifies the advantages of a low impact Run-of-River installation in which the dam and turbines are placed in a narrow canyon, and the river flow is almost constant throughout the year. The dam has the advantage of the huge storage capacity of Lake Victoria. This simple dam has been Ugandas principal electricity source for half a century. However, not all run-of the river projects are low impact and some have sizeable reservoirs. The impacts of proposed dams thus have to be assessed on an individual basis. To protect river ecosystems, all dams need mitigation measures and special management procedures. Managed flood releases, fish ladders and habitat creation and protection are some examples. In some countries, such as the US and Switzerland, a labelling system awards certificates to hydropower plants that meet environmental criteria. The Swiss naturemade star label is supported by WWF Switzerland (site in german). What is considered bad? The impact caused by the Kariba Dam in Zimbabwe ranks it as a bad dam. Destruction of wildlife caused by the flooding of Lake Kariba and the thousands of people displaced by its construction are part of its history. The enormous amounts of water now lost by the Zambezi River due to evaporation from the large reservoirs at Kariba and downstream at Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique has resulted in a severely diminished flow of water reaching the river delta. Before the dams were built, the normal flow used to flood wetlands along the coastal area and provide large surges of freshwater to the estuary during the annual floods making it very productive for fish and prawns. The changes in the river have greatly reduced the productivity and extent of habitat for species living in the lower portions of the Zambezi River. In the case of the Yacyret dam in Argentina, the problem is not one of too little water but of raised water levels in the Iber marshes, an internationally important wetland. WWF believes that if the World Commission on Dams guidelines are applied in the planning of dams, such bad dams would not be built.

Dam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about structures for water impoundment. For other uses, see Dam (disambiguation).

Glen Canyon Dam

A sideview of the Lake Vyrnwy dam, in Wales, finished in 1888

Hoover Dam, a concrete arch-gravity dam in Black Canyon of the Colorado River. Lake Mead in the background is impounded by the dam. A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees (also known as dikes) are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions.Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity. A dam can also be used to collect water or for storage of water which can be evenly distributed between locations. Contents [hide]

1 History 2 Types of dams

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2.1 By structure 2.1.1 Arch dams 2.1.2 Gravity dams2.1.3 Arch-gravity dams 2.1.4 Barrages 2.1.5 Embankment dams2.1.5.1 Rock-fill dams2.1.5.2 Concrete-face rock-fill dams2.1.5.3 Earth-fill dams 2.2 By size 2.3 By use2.3.1 Saddle dam2.3.2 Weir2.3.3 Check dam2.3.4 Dry dam2.3.5 Diversionary dam 2.3.6 Underground dam2.3.7 Tailings dam 2.4 By material2.4.1 Steel dams2.4.2 Timber dams 2.5 Other types2.5.1 Cofferdams2.5.2 Natural dams2.5.2.1 Beaver dams 3.1 Power generation plant 3.2 Spillways 4.1 Common purposes 4.2 Location 4.3 Impact assessment4.3.1 Environmental impact4.3.2 Human social impact4.3.3 Economics

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3 Construction elements
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4 Dam creation
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5 Dam failure 6 See also 7 References 8 Sources 9 External links

History[edit source | editbeta]

The Roman dam at Cornalvo in Spain has been in use for almost two millennia.
[1]

Grand Anicut dam on river Kaveri in Tamil Nadu, South India (19th century on 1st2nd century foundation)

The word dam can be traced back to Middle English, and before that, from Middle Dutch, as seen in the names of many old cities.[2]Early dam building took place in Mesopotamia and the Middle East. Dams were used to control the water level, for Mesopotamia's weather affected the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and could be quite unpredictable. The earliest known dam is the Jawa Dam in Jordan, 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of the capital Amman. This gravity dam featured an originally 9 m (30 ft) high and 1 m (3 ft 3 in) wide stone wall, supported by a 50 m (160 ft) wide earth rampart. The structure is dated to 3000 BC.[3][4] The Ancient Egyptian Sadd-el-Kafara Dam at Wadi Al-Garawi, located about 25 km (16 mi) south of Cairo, was 102 m (335 ft) long at its base and 87 m (285 ft) wide. The structure was built around 2800[5] or 2600 BC.[6] as a diversion dam for flood control, but was destroyed by heavy rain during construction or shortly afterwards.[5][6] During the XIIth dynasty in the 19th century BC, the Pharaohs Senosert III,Amenemhat III and Amenmehat IV dug a canal 16 km long linking the Fayum Depression to the Nile in Middle Egypt. Two dams called Ha-Uar running east-west were built to retain water during the annual flood and then release it to surrounding lands. The lake called "Mer-wer" or Lake Moeris covered 1700 square kilometers and is known today as Berkat Qaroun.[citation needed] By the mid-late 3rd century BC, an intricate water-management system within Dholavira in modern day India, was built. The system included 16 reservoirs, dams and various channels for collecting water and storing it. [7] Roman dam construction was characterized by "the Romans' ability to plan and organize engineering construction on a grand scale".[8]Roman planners introduced the then novel concept of large reservoir dams which could secure a permanent water supply for urban settlements also over the dry season.[9] Their pioneering use of water-proof hydraulic mortar and particularly Roman concrete allowed for much larger dam structures than previously built,[8] such as the Lake Homs Dam, possibly the largest water barrier to that date,[10] and the Harbaqa Dam, both in Roman Syria. The highest Roman dam was the Subiaco Dam near Rome; its record height of 50 m (160 ft) remained unsurpassed until its accidental destruction in 1305.[11] Roman engineers made routine use of ancient standard designs like embankment dams and masonry gravity dams.[12] Apart from that, they displayed a high degree of inventiveness, introducing most of the other basic dam designs which had been unknown until then. These include arch-gravity dams,[13] arch dams,[14] buttress dams[15] and multiple arch buttress dams,[16] all of which were known and employed by the 2nd century AD (see List of Roman dams). Roman workforces also were the first to build dam bridges, such as theBridge of Valerian in Iran.[17] Eflatun Pnar is a Hittite dam and spring temple near Konya, Turkey. It is thought to be from the time of the Hittite empire between the 15th and 13th century BC. The Kallanai is constructed of unhewn stone, over 300 m (980 ft) long, 4.5 m (15 ft) high and 20 m (66 ft) wide, across the main stream of the Kaveri river in Tamil Nadu, South India. The basic structure dates to the 2nd century AD[18] and is considered one of the oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structures in the world, which is still in

use.[19] The purpose of the dam was to divert the waters of the Kaveri across the fertile Delta region for irrigation via canals.[20] Du Jiang Yan is the oldest surviving irrigation system in China that included a dam that directed waterflow. It was finished in 251 BC. A large earthen dam, made by the Prime Minister of Chu (state), Sunshu Ao, flooded a valley in modern-day northern Anhui province that created an enormous irrigation reservoir (100 km (62 mi) in circumference), a reservoir that is still present today.[21] In Iran, bridge dams such as the Band-e Kaisar were used to provide hydropower through water wheels, which often powered water-raising mechanisms. One of the first was the Roman-built dam bridge in Dezful,[22] which could raise water 50 cubits in height for the water supply to all houses in the town. Also diversion dams were known.[23] Milling dams were introduced which the Muslim engineers called the Pul-i-Bulaiti. The first was built at Shustar on the River Karun, Iran, and many of these were later built in other parts of the Islamic world.[23] Water was conducted from the back of the dam through a large pipe to drive a water wheel and watermill.[24] In the 10th century, Al-Muqaddasi described several dams in Persia. He reported that one in Ahwaz was more than 910 m (3,000 ft) long,[25] and that and it had many water-wheels raising the water into aqueducts through which it flowed into reservoirs of the city.[26] Another one, the Band-i-Amir dam, provided irrigation for 300 villages.[25] In the Netherlands, a low-lying country, dams were often applied to block rivers in order to regulate the water level and to prevent the sea from entering the marsh lands. Such dams often marked the beginning of a town or city because it was easy to cross the river at such a place, and often gave rise to the respective place's names in Dutch. For instance the Dutch capital Amsterdam (old name Amstelredam) started with a dam through the river Amstel in the late 12th century, and Rotterdam started with a dam through the river Rotte, a minor tributary of the Nieuwe Maas. The central square of Amsterdam, covering the original place of the 800 year old dam, still carries the name Dam Square or simply the Dam. French engineer Benot Fourneyron developed the first successful water turbine in 1832. The era of large dams was initiated after Hoover Dam was completed on the Colorado River near Las Vegas in 1936. By 1997, there were an estimated 800,000 dams worldwide, some 40,000 of them over 15 m (49 ft) high.[27] Types of dams[edit source | editbeta] Dams can be formed by human agency, natural causes, or even by the intervention of wildlife such as beavers. Manmade dams are typically classified according to their size (height), intended purpose or structure. By structure[edit source | editbeta] Based on structure and material used, dams are classified as easily created without materials , arch-gravity dams, embankment dams or masonry dams, with several subtypes. Arch dams[edit source | editbeta]

Gordon Dam, Tasmania is an arch dam. Main article: Arch dam In the arch dam, stability is obtained by a combination of arch and gravity action. If the upstream face is vertical the entire weight of the dam must be carried to the foundation by gravity, while the distribution of the normal hydrostatic pressure between vertical cantilever and arch action will depend upon the stiffness of the dam in a vertical and

horizontal direction. When the upstream face is sloped the distribution is more complicated. The normalcomponent of the weight of the arch ring may be taken by the arch action, while the normal hydrostatic pressure will be distributed as described above. For this type of dam, firm reliable supports at the abutments (either buttress or canyon side wall) are more important. The most desirable place for an arch dam is a narrow canyon with steep side walls composed of sound rock.[28] The safety of an arch dam is dependent on the strength of the side wall abutments, hence not only should the arch be well seated on the side walls but also the character of the rock should be carefully inspected.

Daniel-Johnson Dam, Quebec, is a multiple-arch buttress dam. Two types of single-arch dams are in use, namely the constant-angle and the constant-radius dam. The constant-radius type employs the same face radius at all elevations of the dam, which means that as the channel grows narrower towards the bottom of the dam the central angle subtended by the face of the dam becomes smaller. Jones Falls Dam, in Canada, is a constant radius dam. In a constant-angle dam, also known as a variable radius dam, this subtended angle is kept a constant and the variation in distance between the abutments at various levels are taken care of by varying the radii. Constant-radius dams are much less common than constant-angle dams. Parker Dam is a constantangle arch dam. A similar type is the double-curvature or thin-shell dam. Wildhorse Dam near Mountain City, Nevada in the United States is an example of the type. This method of construction minimizes the amount of concrete necessary for construction but transmits large loads to the foundation and abutments. The appearance is similar to a single-arch dam but with a distinct vertical curvature to it as well lending it the vague appearance of a concave lens as viewed from downstream. The multiple-arch dam consists of a number of single-arch dams with concrete buttresses as the supporting abutments, as for example the Daniel-Johnson Dam, Qubec, Canada. The multiple-arch dam does not require as many buttresses as the hollow gravity type, but requires good rock foundation because the buttress loads are heavy. Gravity dams[edit source | editbeta]
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The Grand Coulee Dam is an example of a solid gravity dam. In a gravity dam, the force that holds the dam in place against the push from the water is Earth's gravity pulling down on the mass of the dam.[29] The water presses laterally (downstream) on the dam, tending to overturn the dam by rotating about its toe (a point at the bottom downstream side of the dam). The dam's weight counteracts that force, tending to rotate the dam the other way about its toe. The designer ensures that the dam is heavy enough that the dam's weight wins that contest. In engineering terms, that is true whenever the resultant of the forces of gravity acting on the dam and water pressure on the dam acts in a line that passes upstream of the toe of the dam. Furthermore, the designer tries to shape the dam so if one were to consider the part of dam above any particular height to be a whole dam itself, that dam also would be held in place by gravity. i.e. there is no tension in the upstream face

of the dam holding the top of the dam down. The designer does this because it is usually more practical to make a dam of material essentially just piled up than to make the material stick together against vertical tension. Note that the shape that prevents tension in the upstream face also eliminates a balancing compression stress in the downstream face, providing additional economy. The designer also ensures that the toe of the dam is sunk deep enough in the earth that it does not slide forward. For this type of dam, it is essential to have an impervious foundation with high bearing strength. When situated on a suitable site, a gravity dam can prove to be a better alternative to other types of dams. When built on a carefully studied foundation, the gravity dam probably represents the best developed example of dam building. Since the fear of flood is a strong motivator in many regions, gravity dams are being built in some instances where an arch dam would have been more economical. Gravity dams are classified as "solid" or "hollow" and are generally made of either concrete or masonry. This is called "zoning". The core of the dam is zoned depending on the availability of locally available materials, foundation conditions and the material attributes. The solid form is the more widely used of the two, though the hollow dam is frequently more economical to construct. Gravity dams can also be classified as "overflow" (spillway) and "nonoverflow." Grand Coulee Dam is a solid gravity dam and Itaipu Dam is a hollow gravity dam. Arch-gravity dams[edit source | editbeta]

The Hoover Dam is an example of an arch-gravity dam. Main article: Arch-gravity dam A gravity dam can be combined with an arch dam into an arch-gravity dam for areas with massive amounts of water flow but less material available for a purely gravity dam. The inward compression of the dam by the water reduces the lateral (horizontal) force acting on the dam. Thus, the gravitation force required by the dam is lessened, i.e. the dam does not need to be so massive. This enables thinner dams and saves resources. Barrages[edit source | editbeta]

The Koshi Barrage Main article: Barrage dams A barrage dam is a special kind of dam which consists of a line of large gates that can be opened or closed to control the amount of water passing the dam. The gates are set between flanking piers which are responsible for supporting the water load, and are often used to control and stabilize water flow for irrigation systems. Barrages that are built at the mouth of rivers or lagoons to prevent tidal incursions or utilize the tidal flow for tidal power are known as tidal barrages.[30] Embankment dams[edit source | editbeta] Main article: Embankment dam Embankment dams are made from compacted earth, and have two main types, rock-fill and earth-fill dams. Embankment dams rely on their weight to hold back the force of water, like gravity dams made from concrete. Rock-fill dams[edit source | editbeta]

The Gathright Dam in Virginia is a rock-fillembankment dam. Rock-fill dams are embankments of compacted free-draining granular earth with an impervious zone. The earth utilized often contains a large percentage of large particles hence the term rock-fill. The impervious zone may be on the upstream face and made of masonry, concrete, plastic membrane, steel sheet piles, timber or other material. The impervious zone may also be within the embankment in which case it is referred to as a core. In the instances where clay is utilized as the impervious material the dam is referred to as a composite dam. To prevent internal erosion of clay into the rock fill due to seepage forces, the core is separated using a filter. Filters are specifically graded soil designed to prevent the migration of fine grain soil particles. When suitable material is at hand, transportation is minimized leading to cost savings during construction. Rock-fill dams are resistant to damage fromearthquakes. However, inadequate quality control during construction can lead to poor compaction and sand in the embankment which can lead toliquefaction of the rock-fill during an earthquake. Liquefaction potential can be reduced by keeping susceptible material from being saturated, and by providing adequate compaction during construction. An example of a rock-fill dam is New Melones Dam in California. A core that is growing in popularity is asphalt concrete. The majority of such dams are built with rock and/or gravel as the main fill material. Almost 100 dams of this design have now been built worldwide since the first such dam was completed in 1962. All asphalt-concrete core dams built so far have an excellent performance record. The type of asphalt used is a viscoelastic-plasticmaterial that can adjust to the movements and deformations imposed on the embankment as a whole, and to settlements in the foundation. The flexible properties of the asphalt make such dams especially suited inearthquake regions.[31] Concrete-face rock-fill dams[edit source | editbeta] A concrete-face rock-fill dam (CFRD) is a rock-fill dam with concrete slabs on its upstream face. This design offers the concrete slab as an impervious wall to prevent leakage and also a structure without concern for uplift pressure. In addition, the CFRD design is flexible for topography, faster to construct and less costly than earth-fill dams. The CFRD originated during the California Gold Rush in the 1860s when miners constructed rock-fill timber-face dams for sluice operations. The timber was later replaced by concrete as the design was applied to irrigation and power schemes. As CFRD designs grew in height during the 1960s, the fill was compacted and the slab's horizontal and vertical joints were replaced with improved vertical joints. In the last few decades, the design has become popular.[32] Currently, the tallest CFRD in the world is the 233 m (764 ft) tall Shuibuya Dam in China which was completed in 2008.[33] Earth-fill dams[edit source | editbeta] Earth-fill dams, also called earthen dams, rolled-earth dams or simply earth dams, are constructed as a simple embankment of well compacted earth. A homogeneous rolled-earth dam is entirely constructed of one type of material but may contain a drain layer to collect seep water. A zoned-earth dam has distinct parts or zones of dissimilar material, typically a locally plentifulshell with a watertight clay core. Modern zoned-earth embankments employ filter and drain zones to collect and remove seep water and preserve the integrity of the downstream shell zone. An outdated method of zoned earth dam construction utilized a hydraulic fill to produce a watertight core. Rolled-earth dams may also employ a watertight facing or core in the manner of a rock-fill dam. An interesting

type of temporary earth dam occasionally used in high latitudes is the frozen-core dam, in which a coolant is circulated through pipes inside the dam to maintain a watertight region of permafrost within it. Tarbela Dam is a large dam on the Indus River in Pakistan. It is located about 50 km (31 mi) northwest of Islamabad, and a height of 485 ft (148 m) above the river bed and a reservoir size of 95 sq mi (250 km2) makes it the largest earth filled dam in the world. The principal element of the project is an embankment 9,000 feet (2,700 metres) long with a maximum height of 465 feet (142 metres). The total volume of earth and rock used for the project is approximately 200 million cubic yards (152.8 million cu. Meters) which makes it the largest man made structure in the world, except for the Great Chinese Wall which consumed somewhat more material. Because earthen dams can be constructed from materials found on-site or nearby, they can be very cost-effective in regions where the cost of producing or bringing in concrete would be prohibitive. By size[edit source | editbeta] International standards (including International Commission on Large Dams, ICOLD) define large dams as higher than 15 meters and major dams as over 150 meters in height.[34] The Report of the World Commission on Dams also includes in the large category, dams, such as barrages, which are between 5 and 15 meters high with a reservoir capacity of more than 3 million cubic meters.[30] The tallest dam in the world is the 300-meter-high Nurek Dam in Tajikistan.[35] By use[edit source | editbeta] Saddle dam[edit source | editbeta] A saddle dam is an auxiliary dam constructed to confine the reservoir created by a primary dam either to permit a higher water elevation and storage or to limit the extent of a reservoir for increased efficiency. An auxiliary dam is constructed in a low spot or saddle through which the reservoir would otherwise escape. On occasion, a reservoir is contained by a similar structure called a dike to prevent inundation of nearby land. Dikes are commonly used for reclamation of arable land from a shallow lake. This is similar to a levee, which is a wall or embankment built along a river or stream to protect adjacent land from flooding. Weir[edit source | editbeta] Main article: Weir A weir (also sometimes called an overflow dam) is a type of small overflow dam that is often used within a river channel to create an impoundment lake for water abstraction purposes and which can also be used for flow measurement or retardation. Check dam[edit source | editbeta] Main article: Check dam A check dam is a small dam designed to reduce flow velocity and control soil erosion. Conversely, a wing dam is a structure that only partly restricts a waterway, creating a faster channel that resists the accumulation of sediment. Dry dam[edit source | editbeta] Main article: Dry dam A dry dam also known as a flood retarding structure, is a dam designed to control flooding. It normally holds back no water and allows the channel to flow freely, except during periods of intense flow that would otherwise cause flooding downstream. Diversionary dam[edit source | editbeta] Main article: Diversionary dam

A diversionary dam is a structure designed to divert all or a portion of the flow of a river from its natural course. The water may be redirected into a canal or tunnel for irrigation and/or hydroelectric power production. Underground dam[edit source | editbeta] Underground dams are used to trap groundwater and store all or most of it below the surface for extended use in a localized area. In some cases they are also built to prevent saltwater from intruding into a freshwater aquifer. Underground dams are typically constructed in areas where water resources are minimal and need to be efficiently stored, such as in deserts and on islands like the Fukuzato Dam in Okinawa, Japan. They are most common in northeastern Africa and the arid areas of Brazil while also being used in the southwestern United States, Mexico, India, Germany, Italy, Greece, France and Japan.[36] There are two types of underground dams: a sub-surface and a sand-storage dam. A sub-surface dam is built across an aquifer or drainage route from an impervious layer (such as solid bedrock) up to just below the surface. They can be constructed of a variety of materials to include bricks, stones, concrete, steel or PVC. Once built, the water stored behind the dam raises the water table and is then extracted with wells. A sand-storage dam is a weir built in stages across a stream or wadi. It must be strong as floods will wash over its crest. Over time sand accumulates in layers behind the dam which helps store water and most importantly, prevent evaporation. The stored water can be extracted with a well, through the dam body, or by means of a drain pipe.[37] Tailings dam[edit source | editbeta] A tailings dam is typically an earth-fill embankment dam used to store tailings which are produced during mining operations after separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore. Conventional water retention dams can serve this purpose but due to cost, a tailings dam is more viable. Unlike water retention dams, a tailings dam is raised in succession throughout the life of the particular mine. Typically, a base or starter dam is constructed and as it fills with a mixture of tailings and water, it is raised. Material used to raise the dam can include the tailings (depending on their size) along with dirt.[38] There are three raised tailings dam designs, the upstream, downstream and centerline, named according to the movement of the crest during raising. The specific design used it dependent upon topography, geology, climate, the type of tailings and cost. An upstream tailings dam consists of trapezoidal embankments being constructed on top but toe to crest of another, moving the crest further upstream. This creates a relatively flat downstream side and a jagged upstream side which is supported by tailings slurry in the impoundment. The downstream design refers to the successive raising of the embankment that positions the fill and crest further downstream. A centerlined dam has sequential embankment dams constructed directly on top of another while fill is placed on the downstream side for support and slurry supports the upstream side.[39][40] Because tailings dams often store toxic chemicals from the mining process, they have an impervious liner to prevent seepage. Water/slurry levels in the tailings pond must be managed for stability and environmental purposes as well. [40] By material[edit source | editbeta] Steel dams[edit source | editbeta] Main article: Steel dam

Red Ridge steel dam, born 1905, Michigan.

A steel dam is a type of dam briefly experimented with in around the start of the 20th century which uses steel plating (at an angle) and load bearing beams as the structure. Intended as permanent structures, steel dams were an (arguably failed) experiment to determine if a construction technique could be devised that was cheaper than masonry, concrete or earthworks, but sturdier than timber crib dams. Timber dams[edit source | editbeta]

A timber crib dam in Michigan, photographed in 1978. Timber dams were widely used in the early part of the industrial revolution and in frontier areas due to ease and speed of construction. Rarely built in modern times because of relatively short lifespan and limited height to which they can be built, timber dams must be kept constantly wet in order to maintain their water retention properties and limit deterioration by rot, similar to a barrel. The locations where timber dams are most economical to build are those where timber is plentiful, cement is costly or difficult to transport, and either a low head diversion dam is required or longevity is not an issue. Timber dams were once numerous, especially in the North American west, but most have failed, been hidden under earth embankments or been replaced with entirely new structures. Two common variations of timber dams were the crib and the plank. Timber crib dams were erected of heavy timbers or dressed logs in the manner of a log house and the interior filled with earth or rubble. The heavy crib structure supported the dam's face and the weight of the water. Splash dams were timber crib dams used to help float logs downstream in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Timber plank dams were more elegant structures that employed a variety of construction methods utilizing heavy timbers to support a water retaining arrangement of planks. Other types[edit source | editbeta] Cofferdams[edit source | editbeta] Main article: Cofferdam

A cofferdam during the construction oflocks at the Montgomery Point Lock and Dam. A cofferdam is a (usually temporary) barrier constructed to exclude water from an area that is normally submerged. Made commonly of wood, concreteor steel sheet piling, cofferdams are used to allow construction on the foundation of permanent dams, bridges, and similar structures. When the project is completed, the cofferdam may be demolished or removed. See also causeway and retaining wall. Common uses for cofferdams include construction and repair of off shore oil platforms. In such cases the cofferdam is fabricated from sheet steel and welded into place under water. Air is pumped into the space, displacing the water and allowing a dry work environment below the surface. Upon completion the cofferdam is usually deconstructed unless the area requires continuous maintenance. Natural dams[edit source | editbeta] Dams can also be created by natural geological forces. Volcanic dams are formed when lava flows, often basaltic, intercept the path of a stream or lake outlet, resulting in the creation of a natural impoundment. An example would be the eruptions of the Uinkaret volcanic field about 1.8 million10,000 years ago, which created lava dams on the Colorado River in northern Arizona in the United States. The largest such lake grew to about 800 kilometres (500 mi) in length before the failure of its dam. Glacial activity can also form natural dams, such as the damming of the Clark Fork in Montana by theCordilleran Ice Sheet, which formed the 7,780 km2 (3,000 sq mi) Glacial Lake

Missoula near the end of the last Ice Age. Moraine deposits left behind by glaciers can also dam rivers to form lakes, such as at Flathead Lake, also in Montana (see Moraine-dammed lake). Natural disasters such as earthquakes and landslides frequently create landslide dams in mountainous regions with unstable local geology. Historical examples include the Usoi Dam inTajikistan, which blocks the Murghab River to create Sarez Lake. At 560 m (1,840 ft) high, it is the tallest dam in the world, including both natural and man-made dams. A more recent example would be the creation of Attabad Lake by a landslide on Pakistan's Hunza River. Natural dams often pose significant hazards to human settlements and infrastructure. The resulting lakes often flood inhabited areas, while a catastrophic failure of the dam could cause even greater damage, such as the failure of western Wyoming's Gros Ventre landslide dam in 1927, which wiped out the town of Kelly and resulted in the deaths of six people. Beaver dams[edit source | editbeta] Main article: Beaver dam Beavers create dams primarily out of mud and sticks to flood a particular habitable area. By flooding a parcel of land, beavers can navigate below or near the surface and remain relatively well hidden or protected from predators. The flooded region also allows beavers access to food, especially during the winter. Construction elements[edit source | editbeta] Power generation plant[edit source | editbeta]

Hydraulic turbine and electrical generator. Main article: Hydroelectricity As of 2005, hydroelectric power, mostly from dams, supplies some 19% of the world's electricity, and over 63% of renewable energy.[41] Much of this is generated by large dams, although China uses small scale hydro generation on a wide scale and is responsible for about 50% of world use of this type of power.[41] Most hydroelectric power comes from the potential energy of dammed water driving a water turbine and generator; to boost the power generation capabilities of a dam, the water may be run through a large pipe called a penstock before the turbine. A variant on this simple model uses pumped storage hydroelectricity to produce electricity to match periods of high and low demand, by moving water between reservoirs at different elevations. At times of low electrical demand, excess generation capacity is used to pump water into the higher reservoir. When there is higher demand, water is released back into the lower reservoir through a turbine. (For example see Dinorwic Power Station.)

Hydroelectric dam in cross section. Spillway on Llyn Brianne dam, Wales, soon after first fill. Main article: Spillway

Spillways[edit source | editbeta] A spillway is a section of a dam designed to pass water from the upstream side of a dam to the downstream side. Many spillways have floodgates designed to control the flow through the spillway. Types of spillway include: A service spillway or primary spillway passes normal flow. An auxiliary spillway releases flow in excess of the capacity of the service spillway. An emergency spillway is designed for extreme conditions, such as a serious malfunction of the service spillway. A fuse plug spillway is a low embankment designed to be over topped and washed away in the event of a large flood. The elements of a fuse plug are independent free-standing blocks, set side by side which work without any remote control. They allow increasing the normal pool of the dam without compromising the security of the dam because they are designed to be gradually evacuated for exceptional events. They work as fixed weir at times by allowing over-flow for common floods. The spillway can be gradually eroded by water flow, including cavitation or turbulence of the water flowing over the spillway, leading to its failure. It was the inadequate design of the spillway which led to the 1889 over-topping of the South Fork Dam in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, resulting in the infamous Johnstown Flood (the "great flood of 1889"). Erosion rates are often monitored, and the risk is ordinarily minimized, by shaping the downstream face of the spillway into a curve that minimizes turbulent flow, such as an ogee curve. Dam creation[edit source | editbeta]
Common purposes[edit source | editbeta] Function Power generation Example

Hydroelectric power is a major source of electricity in the world. Many countries that have rivers with adequate water flow, that can be dammed for power generation purposes. For example, the Itaipu Dam on the Paran River in South America generates 14 GW and supplied 93% of the energy consumed by Paraguay and 20% of that consumed by Brazil as of 2005. Many urban areas of the world are supplied with water abstracted from rivers pent up behind low dams or weirs. Examples include London with water from the River Thames and Chester with water taken from the River Dee. Other major sources include deep upland reservoirs contained by high dams across deep valleys such as the Claerwen series of dams and reservoirs.

Water supply

Dams are often used to control and stabilize water flow, often for agricultural purposes and irrigation.[42] Others Stabilize water such as the Berg Strait dam can help to stabilize or restore the water levels of inland lakes and seas, in this case flow / irrigation the Aral Sea.[43] Flood prevention Land reclamation Dams such as the Blackwater Dam of Webster, New Hampshire and the Delta Works are created with flood control in mind.[44] Dams (often called dykes or levees in this context) are used to prevent ingress of water to an area that would otherwise be submerged, allowing itsreclamation for human use.

A typically small dam used to divert water for irrigation, power generation, or other uses, with usually no other Water diversion function. Occasionally, they are used to divert water to another drainage or reservoir to increase flow there and improve water use in that particular area. See: diversion dam. Navigation Dams create deep reservoirs and can also vary the flow of water downstream. This can in return affect upstream and downstream navigation by altering the river's depth. Deeper water increases or creates freedom of movement for water vessels. Large dams can serve this purpose but most often weirs and locks are used. Dams built for any of the above purposes may find themselves displaced by time of their original uses. Nevertheless the local community may have come to enjoy the reservoir for recreational and aesthetic reasons. Often the reservoir will be placid and surrounded by greenery, and convey to visitors a natural sense of rest and relaxation.

Recreation and aquatic beauty

Some of these purposes are conflicting and the dam operator needs to make dynamic tradeoffs. For example power generation and water supply would keep the reservoir high whereas flood prevention would keep it low. Many dams in areas where precipitation fluctuates in an annual cycle will also see the reservoir fluctuate annually in an attempt to balance these difference purposes. Dam management becomes a complex exercise amongst competing stakeholders.[45] Location[edit source | editbeta]

The discharge of Takato Dam One of the best places for building a dam is a narrow part of a deep river valley; the valley sides can then act as natural walls. The primary function of the dam's structure is to fill the gap in the natural reservoir line left by the stream channel. The sites are usually those where the gap becomes a minimum for the required storage capacity. The most economical arrangement is often a composite structure such as a masonry dam flanked by earth embankments. The current use of the land to be flooded should be dispensable. Significant other engineering and engineering geology considerations when building a dam include:

permeability of the surrounding rock or soil earthquake faults landslides and slope stability water table peak flood flows reservoir silting environmental impacts on river fisheries, forests and wildlife (see also fish ladder) impacts on human habitations compensation for land being flooded as well as population resettlement removal of toxic materials and buildings from the proposed reservoir area

Impact assessment[edit source | editbeta] Impact is assessed in several ways: the benefits to human society arising from the dam (agriculture, water, damage prevention and power), harm or benefit to nature and wildlife, impact on the geology of an area whether the change to water flow and levels will increase or decrease stability, and the disruption to human lives (relocation, loss of archeological or cultural matters underwater). Environmental impact[edit source | editbeta]

Wood and garbage accumulated because of a dam Main article: Environmental impacts of reservoirs Reservoirs held behind dams affect many ecological aspects of a river. Rivers topography and dynamics depend on a wide range of flows whilst rivers below dams often experience long periods of very stable flow conditions or saw tooth flow patterns caused by releases followed by no releases. Water releases from a reservoir including that exiting a turbine usually contains very little suspended sediment, and this in turn can lead to scouring of river beds and loss of

riverbanks; for example, the daily cyclic flow variation caused by the Glen Canyon Dam was a contributor to sand bar erosion. Older dams often lack a fish ladder, which keeps many fish from moving up stream to their natural breeding grounds, causing failure of breeding cycles or blocking of migration paths. Even the presence of a fish ladder does not always prevent a reduction in fish reaching the spawning grounds upstream. In some areas, young fish ("smolt") are transported downstream by barge during parts of the year. Turbine and power-plant designs that have a lower impact upon aquatic life are an active area of research. A large dam can cause the loss of entire ecospheres, including endangered and undiscovered species in the area, and the replacement of the original environment by a new inland lake. Large reservoirs formed behind dams have been indicated in the contribution of seismic activity, due to changes in water load and/or the height of the water table. Dams are also found to have a role in the increase of global warming. The changing water levels in dams and in reservoirs are one of the main sources for green house gas like methane.[46] While dams and the water behind them cover only a small portion of earth's surface, they harbour biological activity that can produce large amounts of greenhouse gases.[47] Human social impact[edit source | editbeta] The impact on human society is also significant. Nick Cullather argues in Hungry World: America's Cold War Battle Against Poverty in Asia that dam construction requires the state to displace individual people in the name of the common good, and that it often leads to abuses of the masses by planners. He cites Morarji Desai, Interior Minister of India, in 1960 speaking to villagers upset about the Pong Dam, who threatened to "release the waters" and drown the villagers if they did not cooperate.[48] For example, the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China is more than five times the size of the Hoover Dam (U.S.), and will create a reservoir 600 km long to be used for hydro-power generation. Its construction required the loss of over a million people's homes and their mass relocation, the loss of many valuable archaeological and cultural sites, as well as significant ecological change.[49] It is estimated that to date, 4080 million people worldwide have been physically displaced from their homes as a result of dam construction.[50] Economics[edit source | editbeta] Construction of a hydroelectric plant requires a long lead-time for site studies, hydrological studies, and environmental impact assessments, and are large-scale projects by comparison to traditional power generation based upon fossil fuels. The number of sites that can be economically developed for hydroelectric production is limited; new sites tend to be far from population centers and usually require extensive power transmission lines. Hydroelectric generation can be vulnerable to major changes in the climate, including variations in rainfall, ground and surface water levels, and glacial melt, causing additional expenditure for the extra capacity to ensure sufficient power is available in low-water years. Once completed, if it is well designed and maintained, a hydroelectric power source is usually comparatively cheap and reliable. It has no fuel and low escape risk, and as an alternative energysource it is cheaper than both nuclear and wind power.[citation needed] It is more easily regulated to store water as needed and generate high power levels on demand compared to wind power. Dam failure[edit source | editbeta]
Main article: Dam failure

The reservoir emptying through the failedTeton Dam.

International special sign for works and installations containing dangerous forces Dam failures are generally catastrophic if the structure is breached or significantly damaged. Routine deformation monitoring and monitoring of seepage from drains in and around larger dams is useful to anticipate any problems and permit remedial action to be taken before structural failure occurs. Most dams incorporate mechanisms to permit the reservoir to be lowered or even drained in the event of such problems. Another solution can be rockgrouting pressure pumping portland cement slurry into weak fractured rock. During an armed conflict, a dam is to be considered as an "installation containing dangerous forces" due to the massive impact of a possible destruction on the civilian population and the environment. As such, it is protected by the rules of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and shall not be made the object of attack if that may cause severe losses among the civilian population. To facilitate the identification, a protective sign consisting of three bright orange circles placed on the same axis is defined by the rules of IHL. The main causes of dam failure include inadequate spillway capacity, piping through the embankment, foundation or abutments, spillway design error (South Fork Dam), geological instability caused by changes to water levels during filling or poor surveying (Vajont Dam, Malpasset, Testalinden CreekDam), poor maintenance, especially of outlet pipes (Lawn Lake Dam, Val di Stava Dam collapse), extreme rainfall (Shakidor Dam), earthquakes and human, computer or design error (Buffalo Creek Flood, Dale Dike Reservoir, Taum Sauk pumped storage plant). A notable case of deliberate dam failure (prior to the above ruling) was the Royal Air Force 'Dambusters' raid on Germany in World War II (codenamed"Operation Chastise"), in which three German dams were selected to be breached in order to have an impact on German infrastructure and manufacturing and power capabilities deriving from the Ruhr and Eder rivers. This raid later became the basis for several films. Since 2007, the Dutch IJkdijk foundation is developing, with an open innovation model and early warning system for levee/dike failures. As a part of the development effort, full scale dikes are destroyed in the IJkdijk fieldlab. The destruction process is monitored by sensor networks from an international group of companies and scientific institutions. See also[edit source | editbeta] Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dam

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