The Fall Creek Hydroelectric Facility

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

The flowback water is stored in temporary lagoons or lakes until it is transported to facilities that treat the water or facilities that have permits to inject into deep “Class II wells” or dump into rivers, streams, and lakes along with other wastewater from other sources (OSU). Most of the facilities that are used to treat the flowback water before they are put back into water systems as treated water are not equipped to treat all the contaminants of flowback water. In all the research done, there have been no results that suggest the wastewater inside the wells contaminate or pollute groundwater that people use as drinking water. However surface spills of flowback been mostly unnoticed even though the flowback water that leaks from the storage lagoons into waterways and drinking water has potential to be especially harmful. Recent

The health of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay was found based on Biological (macroinvertebrates and wildlife) and Chemicals characteristics (pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrates, etc.) as well as physical observations (amount of forested buffers, wetlands, etc.) Overall it was concluded that the health of the water was good to excellent. What was found was that many of the macroinvertebrates found in the water were sensitive or facultative, meaning the water quality was good enough for them to live in. Also, the level of ph, temperature, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrates, and turbidity showed that the water quality was good. Finally, while we were canoeing down the Susquehanna River, observations were made on the land

In conclusion, upstream communities should also be concerned about how water resources are managed in the watershed because of acid rain, and possible contamination of their drinking water. Acid rain not only damages infrastructure, but also tampers with ecosystems, exposing already weak trees and plants to the stressors of nature and negatively influences soil qualities, affecting farmers. The Flint water crises shows that even upstream communities should be concerned about contaminated

Beside these arguments, there is also a more quantitative side to the debate. The ecological detriments of the Glen Canyon Dam have been well-documented. Extensive changes were brought about in the Colorado River ecosystem by the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam. Most of these alterations negatively affected the functioning of the system and the native aquatic species of the river. The reduced supply and transport of

Through our research we aimed to determine if there were any differences in water quality of both the north and south forks of Strawberry Creek. As time progresses and the environment changes it is important to keep track of how certain species are being impacted by these features, and how they cope with change. We hypothesized that due to the lack of pollution, the south fork will promote a greater diversity of macroinvertebrates. This was due to the fact that there was less runoff and trash that could be introduced to the water in the south fork, than there was in the north fork. We gathered data by analyzing the different organisms living in both forks. We collected a total of fifty vials composed of five organisms from each fork, and inspected them under microscopic view. After gathering data and identifying the different kinds of organisms living in the different forks we assessed whether the organisms from the samples could live in high or low resolution water. We also took a t-test to assess the probability of these differences being due to relevant factors or by chance. Our major findings suggest that organisms in the south fork showed a higher demand to living in cleaner water indicating that our hypothesis was correct.

The Cooleemee Dam is located near the town of Cooleemee and in between Davie and Rowan Counties. Below the Cooleemee Dam it is named the Cooleemee and there is a Riverpark named The Bullhole. Although there is a very interesting riverpark in Cooleemee residents are worried that the dam uses 95 percent of the river water and this leads to the riverbed being almost entirely dry. In the lower part of this basin there is the Tuckertown Reservoir this is located in the Rowan County. Just below Tuckertown is the second largest Reservoir on the river which is the Badin Lake. In the lake there is an Alcoa Facility and they are a big consumer of electricity and they also pollute a large amount of the

The state of Michigan is a fascinating area. From its mitten-like shape, to its historical background, to the presence of the Great Lakes, Michigan has a story unlike any others. One very important part of Michigan’s story is how water has shaped the land making up the state. Seeing as the Great Lakes surround Michigan, it is obvious that the hydrologic system plays a great role in the water supply and the ecosystem of the Great Lakes. The hydrologic cycle includes evaporation, condensation, precipitation, groundwater, transpiration and runoff, all of which keep the Great Lakes functioning year after year. The University Corporation of Atmospheric Research developed an image to simply explain the hydrologic cycle as well as graphs explaining how each of the elements of the hydrologic cycle affects The Great Lakes on a monthly basis (located below).

The Bonneville Dam is located in the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington state. The Bonneville Dam began construction in 1934 and was opened by 1938. The Dam was built to generate a large amount of energy to the public, to control floods, and for irrigation. It was also constructed to improve navigation on the Columbia River. The construction of the Bonneville Dam caused negative effects to the Indian community that had centered their culture near the Columbia River. The facility administrator that was overseeing the construction of the dam was ordered to complete the dam taking any step necessary to do so. This included the decision on the disposal of personal property of the area which caused the destruction of forty Indian fishing

Turner, R. Eugene, and Nancy N. Rabalais. "Linking Landscape And Water Quality In The Mississippi River Basin For 200 Years." Bioscience 53.6 (2003): 563. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2016.

Although the amount of pollutants from a single town or construction site may seem insignificant, the combined concentrations of contaminants threaten our lakes, streams and wetlands. When things such as: human and animal waste, decaying plants and animals, discarded litter, or food waste enter surface waters, either dissolved or suspended in stormwater runoff, they can deplete the supply of dissolved oxygen in the water. When dissolved oxygen is reduced below a certain critical level, it can impair or kill aquatic plants and animals (CNYRPDB, 2011).

In this research paper I will be talking about the Connecticut River, the common sewer overflow and sewer discharge that goes into the river, I will be focusing on the pollutants that are in the CT river, I will also focus on the high density towns and the affect it has on them, then I will talk about the ecological impacts and economical aspects. The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region, it spans through five states Maine (Small portions), Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut, discharging into the Long island sound. The river serves more than two million people throughout New England. The main issue with the river is the untreated storm water and sewer waste that is being discharged into it which causes many harmful effects not only to the many different species that call the CT River its home, but to the people that live around the CT River. Combined sewer overflows (CSOs), the discharging of combined sewer systems directly into surface waters upon capacity overload, are a large source of pollution of U.S. waterways. A report from the Environment and Connecticut Research and policy center has said that industrial facilities have discharged 224,029 pounds of toxic waste into the Connecticut waterways in the year of 2012. There are many government agencies such as the EPA and committees like the Connecticut River Cleanup Committee that are raising funds and awareness in order to help clean up the Connecticut River

Background (1 ¶): What is the Duck Creek Watershed? What problems is it facing? What is being done so far to remedy these problems? Who is working on this problem?

Mountaintop removal and valley filling is the long time process of mining for coal, primarily in southern Appalachia. In mountaintop removal the tops of mountains are removed to expose the layer of coal. The earth that is removed from the mountaintop is then disposed in nearby valleys. Following the removal of the coal from the mountain, the coal is “washed”; the liquid that is left over after cleaning the coal is called coal slurry. This process of reshaping mountains and valleys has dangerous and everlasting effects on the ecology and aesthetic value of the mountain. Citizens in rural Appalachia typically rely on water from small streams in order to have a clean water supply for their families. Due to the misshapen landscape caused by mountaintop removal and runoff from coal slurries, communities surrounding mountaintop removal sites and valley fill typically experience contaminated water. Even though mountaintop removal coal mining is an effective way to remove the entire amount of coal from a mountain, mountain top removal should be strictly regulated by the government because the water quality of persons in areas surrounding removal sites are being demolished and flow rates of streams and stream ecosystems are being disturbed due to the nature of mountain top removal and valley filling. To begin, it is important to discuss the rights water uses have in areas surrounding mountain top removal sites as well as the trade-offs water uses make in dealing with large coal

With human development, industrial pollution and other factors all contribute to the deteriorated condition of the river, which makes it difficult to determine the dams’ environmental impact in isolation. CITE That said, the current operations of the dam hamper and potentially prevent environmental improvement of the Colorado. In order to preserve some semblance of the Colorado ecosystem, man must restore the natural processes that created the ecosystem. The real question is how to do that, whether via dam decommission or a less extreme policy change.