Hydropower’s Unintended Consequences Essay

The Impact of Hydropower Dams on California's Populations of Anadromous Fish: What can be done to mitigate the Dams Effects and Restore California's Watersheds.

Dams have arguably put the largest strain on the Chinook salmon. In Columbia River Basin of the Pacific Northwest alone, over 55% of historical spawning habitat has been blocked off by dams (Harrison, 2008) Damn also cause rivers to slow down which in turn causes them to become warmer. This makes for a less ideal habitat for the salmon, and more ideal circumstances for the predators of the salmon. The slowing of a river can also be cause for disease( U.S.F.W.S). Also only about 1% of present

Hydroelectric dams as energy sources have many advantages; they provide a renewable energy source, it can take the place of fossil fuel usages, and while being built dams can significantly help jobs in the development industry (Perlman). However, these dams are extremely costly, not just economically but environmentally and socially as well. These costs can be demonstrated by looking at the consequences of other dams. Three Gorges in China: release of methane gases, deforestation, water pollution, ecosystem disruption. Glen Canyon Dam: sedimentation, endangerment and extinction of species endemic to the area, poor water quality, crippling of ecosystems downstream—and these are just the environmental impacts! All of these

The thirst for water has lead individuals and organizations to build dams across rivers at an alarming rate. During the early 1900s dams were being built so fast it was no longer big news when a dam was completed. These structures provided controlled irrigation water and hydroelectric power to the communities not only close to the reservoirs and dams, but also provided irrigation water and hydroelectric power to communities many miles away from the river. Negatively blocking the flow of the river has impacted fish ecosystems, increased evaporation of water, and flooded intricately important landscapes. These negative impacts, it can be argued, affect the humans living downstream or within the flood plain of the dam site. Dams

Restoration planning identified the rehabilitation of the floodplain functions that foster recruitment of riparian vegetation and the quality of riparian habitat. Fall-run Chinook salmon is an important management species in the Merced River, and numerous state and federal resource programs include increasing its abundance in their goals. The vision has been to enhance channel, floodplain and riparian ecosystem processes and critical habitats for juvenile and adult salmonids, in coordination with local communities and stakeholders, to promote the recovery of healthy and diverse Chinook salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) populations in the Merced River, while helping to meet the abundance goals of the Anadromous Fish Restoration Program.

All of the 3,350 miles of riverine habitat within the pallid sturgeon's range have been affected by man. Approximately 28% has been impounded, which has created unsuitable lake-like habitat; 51% has been channelized into deep, uniform channels; the remaining 21% is downstream of dams which have altered the river's hydrograph, temperature and turbidity. Commercial fishing and environmental contaminants may have also played a role in the pallid sturgeon's decline. The resultant changes to the Missouri River in the upper Great Plains from channelization prevent upstream migration. The reduced water flow rates and sediment loads have brought an end to the seasonal flooding of the flood plains in the region.

In the article “River Plan Too Fishy for my Taste Buds,” it states that “Salmon need clear, cool, highly oxygenated water to thrive - a description that hasn’t fit the San Joaquin since the 1940s,” (Bill McEwen). Since the salmon need specific living conditions, it is going to be hard for them to live in general, especially if the place does not suit their needs. Recently, similar things have been said about the salmon as well. For example, in Grossi’s article, he states “Salmon, a cold - water fish, may not survive in this part of California as the climate warms…,” (Time for Next turnaround on San Joaquin River). Not only does the San Joaquin river not have suitable living conditions for the salmon, but it is also located in an area that they may not survive in. The problem is, the salmon need to many things to survive, and the San Joaquin does not suit any of these

Anadromous salmonids, which travel between freshwater and saltwater, is an example of how habitat loss can change evolutionary patterns. Dams constructed for hydroelectric power generation are blocking the access for these fishes, but culverts and river engineering have also reduced the amount of habitat that anadromous fishes can use (Furniss et al. 1991; NRC 1996). These results suggest that loss of habitat will alter evolutionary patterns in salmonid populations.

Dams by nature are used to divert water from going down river freely. This causes the areas below the dams to become dewatered and takes away the water needed for a heathy ecosystem. Taking away the water makes native plant live close

There are 75,000 dams in the US today, and have been part of American culture for many years. As the demand for electricity grew the government looked into hydroelectric power that could be produced from these dams. These dams were also used to back up water for towns to use as a water source and to also redirect water for irrigation purposes. The US Army Corps of Engineers headed many of these projects for the government and when World War II came about dams starting popping up everywhere to power project to build planes, ships, bombs, and other material for war. But quickly after the war many of the dams became obsolete and not even worth the cost it would take to re-open and run them. That is where the film comes into play advocating to remove and demolish these obsolete masses of concrete and let the rivers flow.

Many fish cannot pass through the dam. This impacts their breeding and migration. While many will argue that some fish can make it through, there are still dangers for the fish on the other side. After water enters the dam, oxygen is sucked out of it. This little bit of oxygen is essential for fish to survive in the water, and without it, they suffocate and die.

The topic for my essay was a filtering of my thoughts for most of this past summer—how can we as humans harmonize with our environment for a net, positive outcome? Water and dams provided the backdrop for most of those thoughts and not without a bit of hypocrisy since a lot of them came while floating down a beautiful trout river in Tennessee created by a hydroelectric dam. I tried to be explicit in my paper that not all dams are bad (again, see the image of that pretty river), but that the overzealous construction of the past two centuries needs to be re-evaluated for necessity and, where warranted, removed to allow nature to return to its original state.

There are both pros and cons to having hydroelectric power. There are four pros and four cons to having hydroelectric power. First the pros, because everyone likes the good news before the bad news.

Moreover, it helped reduce carbon dioxide by 190 million tonnes, sulfur dioxide by 2.29 million tonnes, and nitrogen oxides by 980,000 tonnes. (Ramaraochetlapalli 2013). Another advantage of a hydroelectricity water storage dam is that it be used as a source of drinking water and for recreational purposes such as boating and fishing. Reservoirs created by hydroelectric schemes often provide facilities for water sports and become tourist attractions themselves. In some countries, aquaculture in reservoirs is common. Multi-use dams installed for irrigation support agriculture with a relatively constant water supply. Large hydro dams can control floods, which would otherwise affect people living downstream of the project

While many studies have focused on the changes of habitat and populations of aquatic invertebrates caused by low-head dams (eg., Dean et al., 2002; Tiemann et al., 2004; Santucci et al., 2005) there have been no studies conducted that focus specifically on the effects of low-head dams on the formation of leaf packs or how the presence of these leaf packs affect shredder abundance. Shredders are important to the river ecosystem, as they are one of the key groups of aquatic insects found within the