The Negative Environment Impacts of Dams
When Congress voted to authorize the construction of one of the most monumental dams in America to date, they failed to recognize the environmental impact that it alone would have. Construction on the Hoover dam began in 1931 on the Colorado River as a way to regulate the river, provide water to outlying cities, and generate power. A large amount of controversy has surrounded this single dam ranging from the heavily disputed way in which construction was carried out, to the name that it shares with a somewhat disliked political figure. However, controversy over the environmental impact of this dam, along with that of many others is only just getting traction.
Dams have popped up throughout the United States and South America, at an increasing rate in recent years. And at the start of almost every project there is a community refuting the placement of these dams on the rivers that run through their homes. As of June, 2015 in Chile the Mapuche community is among one of many groups of indigenous peoples that are fighting against the development and construction of the dams in South America. The degradation of rivers in these areas effect a number of indigenous groups that don't have a say in the matter, and often push these communities to protest, sometimes violently.
These rivers provide nutrients and stability to numerous ecosystems along its banks and within its rushing waters. Such ecosystems are supported in a delicate balance, which is abruptly disturbed by the placement and use of dams. Dams change the physical boundaries of the rivers both downstream and upstream of the construction site and change the composition of the ecosystems supported. By stopping the flow of water and creating a large standing body of water the flora and fauna that flourished in running water can no longer thrive and often dies off. Down stream the water level will be lowered drastically and starve ecosystems of the environment that they need to survive; running water. The construction involved in the making of such projects also negatively impacts the immediate environment as well as those downstream of the construction. Water pollution as a result of construction is immense and often prolonged as these projects can last for years.
Conversely dams provide water and power to millions of people across the Americas, the Hoover dam alone provides such power and water to twenty-five million people. They allow us to harness the energy that the rapids of the rivers possess and use it to better our economy, and the development of our country. The voice of the developers shout these facts over the voice of the people who are directly impacted in a negative way. There is a steep fine for the construction and use of such dams and the communities that are impacted, such as the Mapuche people do everything they can to make these impacts known. Unfortunately the developer is the only one that is heard in this controversy, and the small communities have no voice.
The environmental impact of stopping or slowing the flow of the rivers that sustain a multitude of ecosystems is detrimental. Damming a river is akin to a clot that stunts blood flow to anything downstream, depriving it of nutrients necessary for proper function. Over time sediment builds up in the lakes that dams create and eventually render the dams inert. This sediment left to be distributed by a strong flowing river would supply nutrients to miles and miles of a multitude of different ecosystems. Blocking the flow of these rivers essentially deprives these ecosystems with the nutrients that they get from rich sediment. The distribution of this matter also supports and creates the banks of the rivers that it runs through. Without ample water to dole out the necessary sediment banks fall in and the delicate ecosystems that rely on sturdy banks and the eddies that they create fail without the support of the river.
The nourishing properties of a healthy flowing river also provides for agricultural communities along its banks. The sediment and nutrients carried by the river maintains healthy soil for planting and the ample amount of water needed to support this agriculture is supplied by unlevied rivers. Stunting the flow of these rivers negatively effects preexisting communities downstream, even though the damming of such rivers is made to benefit other struggling communities.
These massive projects produce often overlooked and immensely impactful environmental detriments. And yet they are still being built nationwide and across the globe despite argument from the communities that benefit from free flowing rivers, and without giving much thought to the ecosystems that rely on them. Giving small communities a voice in this debate is important and the first step in supporting and understanding the detriments associated with the building and use of dams.
