Hoover Dam History

3.5 million miles of water run throughout the United States; and since the country’s conception, over 80,000 dams have impounded 600,000 miles of these waters [1]. Dams were originally constructed to provide water to towns and establishes energy sources for mills and later hydroelectric plants. Because these dams were constructed decades ago, they’re reaching a critical point of obsoleteness where they cause more harm than good. Dam removal is increasingly popular across the country to address the ecological problems including habitat loss and sedimentation, despite potential for downstream harm, removing dams is more environmentally and economically cost effective than upgrading them. The Marmot, Glines Canyon, and Elwha river dam removal projects each highlight different challenges of dam removal, but overall

Along this journey created by nature, the river interacts with man’s influence to encapsulate the full geographic experience of this region. The succession of dams along the river’s path is a major contribution to how man has decided to mesh with the river. The dams have created reservoirs for water supplies, harnessed energy to provide electric power to the southwestern region, and controlled flooding. Flood control was the main concern at the time between the years 1905 and 1907 when large floods broke through the irrigation gates and destroyed crops in California. The flooding was so large it actually created a 450 square mile sea, named the Salton Sea. As a result of this major disaster, ideas were formulated to

In the year of 1929 the stock market crashed and hurt many of the people in America as it continued through the rest of the 1930s and into the early 1940s. This left America in a whirlpool of poverty and despair. When the stock market crashed it led to The Great Depression. It led to being where one out of every four workers became unemployed no matter if they were skilled or not. People became homeless and were struggling to survive. They had to make new homes out of cardboard or whatever they could find, these were called “hoovervilles.” Most people didn’t have enough money to buy food to feed themselves or even their families. President Herbert Hoover did not seem to be going out of his way to help the country in any way. He was against most forms of government relief and he believed that the depression would come to an end on its own. Americans were very tired and frustrated with Hoover’s ways and so they elected a new president. They elected Franklin D. Roosevelt who

The Colorado River Basin starts in the Rocky Mountains and cuts through 1500 miles of canyon lands and deserts of seven US states and two Mexican states to supply a collection of dams and reservoirs with water to help irrigate cropland, support 40 million people, and provide hydroelectric power for the inland western United States [1,2]. From early settlement, rights over the river have been debated and reassigned to different states in the upper and lower basin; however, all the distribution patterns lead to excessive consumption of the resource. In 1922, the seven US states signed into the Colorado River Compact, which outlined the policy for the distribution rights to the water [3], however, this compact was written during an exceptionally

The Grand Coulee Dam, located in Eastern Washington, was one of controversy, risk, and a point of no return. While the water captured made the desert area blossom in agriculture and it powered some large cities, it created a sense of accomplishment, that humans can control Mother Nature. While many people were very excited for this new construction – which gives power and resources - at the time, some thought it should not be allowed, they are not proud of containing the Columbia River. In this analysis, I am going to focus on the economic and social effects that the Grand Coulee Dam created in its build.

The article “Down go the dams” by Jane C.Marks aim to provide an informative view on the current pending issue on Dams. The article starts out my mentioning the important nature of dams in our society. For example, Jane C.Marks states that today about 800,000 dams operate worldwide as well as the fact that most were built in the past century, primarily after World War II. Furthermore, the author lays down informative facts about dams such as the fact that dams control flooding and their reservoirs provide a reliable supply of water for irrigation, drinking and recreation which are all very important to society. In an economic standpoint, although it is very high maintenance dams provide jobs for people. The

This source is useful because it gives detail at the time the Buford dam was created, the 2009 ruling, and the 11th Circuit Appeal. Compared to the other sources, this source details out the specifics of the purpose of the dam and how

In the third section of John McPhee's Encounters with the Archdruid, the author observes the discourse between conservationist David Brower and Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, Floyd Dominy, on the merits of dams in the southwestern United States. Brower "hates all dams, large and small," while Dominy sees dams as essential to our civilization. The Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell, which Dominy created, are the main issue of debate between the two men.

The Three Gorges Dam is an unfinished project which will be the largest dam ever constructed on the planet Earth. It is situated in China on the third largest river in the world – the Yangtze. The dam has been debated over since the 1919 and is still a hot topic of debate because of its many pros and cons. In 1994 construction began on the dam, and it is expected to be finished by the year 2009. The massive dimensions of the dam are mind boggling and its functions – if the dam actually works – are truly remarkable; however, with such a large structure also comes difficulties, sacrifices, and cynics. The goal of this essay is to lend an understanding of the dam itself, the prospective benefits of

The Meramec Watershed has been threatened by multiple dam projects for the past two hundred years (East-West Gateway Council of Governments, 2007). However, through continued efforts by local land owners and interested parties, this river has never been dammed. In the Meramec’s more recent history, the Meramec Lake project was brought forth in the 1970s and successfully stopped in the early 1980s by grassroots efforts from local activists (East-West Gateway Council of Governments, 2007). In fact, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers were so confident the dam would get official approval, construction for the project began before the debate was over. Today, remnants of the initial construction can be seen in parks such as Meramec State Park and Meramec Spring Park, yielding to the natural ecosystems and geology that dominate the

The New Deal projects provided jobs. For example, “At the core of President Roosevelt's support for the dam was its construction would provide much needed employment in a struggling economy.” (The Grand Coulee Dam) This means the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam had two great benefits to Washington; it created jobs and electricity to everyone. “After workers completed the Canoe Pass Arch Bridge, they built a railroad track to run across the bridge to transport

1. Why was the building of the dam first proposed in 1919 and by whom?

From 1912-1989 the total acreage availability grew by about 47,733 acres in 77 years! With Yuma being the floodplain it is, reclamation or irrigable lands has resulted in high crop yields. “In 1975 census report wasn’t completed but the estimated amount of money brought in by the crop production was about $37 million dollars.” With the Yuma Project being completed, the total cost of the project was 66 million dollars, with the amount of income the farms were producing the Yuma Project would have been paid off in no time. With the Hoover Dam holding back all the once uncontrollable flowing water, other dams were built to help Yuma build the Yuma Siphon and the Imperial Dam. The Yuma Siphon was an engineering breakthrough, to be able to transfer water from California under and mountain and then know the pressure from the water flowing would push that water up and through and come out on the Yuma side is amazing. The Yuma Siphon helped the irrigation of Yuma county by being able to deliver water to the farms in Yuma and run water to the Imperial dam to feed the canals that feed the farms with water. “With the Yuma Siphon completed it turned the once floodplain lands into a fertile area to farmable land.” “It channeled the Colorado’s waters through a network of canals to previously arid land, transforming it into fertile cropland, and at the same time, it

Prior to settlement of the western United States, the Colorado River roamed free. Starting from cool mountain streams, the river eventually became a thunderous, silty force of nature as it entered the canyons along its path. The river nourished wetlands and other riparian habitats from the headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the delta at the Sea of Cortez in Northwest Mexico. Settlers along the river harnessed these waters mainly for agriculture via irrigation canals, but flooding from spring runoff wreaked havoc on agricultural land, prevented development in the floodplain and full utilization of the water, a waste in the eyes of western farmers. In order to meet current and future water demands in the west, the Federal Government

The first dam was built somewhere around 3000 B.C.. Over the years, we have built a lot of these reservoirs, over 500,000 to be specific. A reservoir or dam is a wall built in a river, that keeps the water from flowing, and stores large amounts of water behind the wall, since the water’s flow is interrupted. They are very helpful and efficient, but come with a number of worrying effects. I am here to present three of the most critical flaws with dams and reservoirs, as well as present the pros of these miracles.