Essay on The Hoover Dam

It didn't take long for the South Fork dam to become so overwhelmed that it broke and dumped water onto the town causing the deaths of 2,200 people. This was not the first problem they had with the dam though; structural problems with the dam were not a new development. Only two years after the finishing of the dam 2 leaks were discovered before the dam was even put into its full usage. They were forced to empty the dam so they could repair it. The dam suffered a major break on June 10, 1862, when the up-stream portion of the stone culvert running under the dam collapsed (Haddock, Vikki). There was little damage to property downstream, but a large section of the dam over the damaged portion of the culvert collapsed and was washed away. They dam was then closed and left with the large gap in it because of financial reasons until 1875 when the Pennsylvania Railroad sold the dam and also 500 acres to Benjamin Ruff who wanted to turn the area into a summer resort. Ruff's plan was to fill in the gap left in the dam and allow the lake behind it to refill to make a resort and the remaining water would run-off he had decided to sell the valves used to control the run-off for scrap metal (Johannson, Shelley). Ruff had hired a man to fill the gap who had some experience building railway embankments but no experience with dams. The plan was to add a double thickness of hemlock pilings was placed across

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

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

He found that the Colorado River was the best source. In 1925, the Department of Water and Power (DWP) was established. Now what came to be called the Colorado River Aqueduct, needed financing to be accomplished. Voters from the region approved a $2 million bond to perform the engineering needed for the aqueduct. In 1928, an act of the State Legislature, created the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), and its purpose was to construct the Colorado River aqueduct to supply water to Southern California. By 1931, voters issued another bond for $220 million that would start the construction of the aqueduct. By 1941 the aqueduct was completed stretching 242 miles from the Colorado River to its final holding reservoir near Riverside, California. The Colorado River Aqueduct consists of more than 90 miles of tunnels, 55 miles of conduit, 30 miles of siphons, five pumping stations, 5 treatment plants, and 9 reservoirs. All of this can supply about 1.2 million-acre-feet of water every year, which is more than a billion gallons a day. This caused phenomenal growth of Los Angeles, San Diego and neighboring areas. The aqueduct is capable of lifting more than 1600 cfs to a static height of 1600 feet as it takes a path through mountains and deserts. Upon the completion of the Colorado River Aqueduct in 1941, the Municipal Water District began to wholesale Colorado River water to its member agencies. Today those agencies include 14 cities, 12 municipal water districts, and a county water authority. More than 130 municipalities and many unincorporated areas are served by this project of the DWP’s and Mulholland’s vision. Before Mulholland died on July 22, 1935, he lived to see the inaugurations of the Colorado River Aqueduct and Hoover Dam, constructed in the spirit of significance he had always

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.

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

were very poor, but somehow, many architectural feats were being made. The U.S. Government was still building the greatest dam in the world before the Depression, the Hoover Dam, which lasted five years to build. It takes a lot of manpower and materials for the Government to build this great dam, so they hired contractors to build it and the The U.S. provides the materials. Men of six companies were hired to build the dam in 7 years or penalties will ensue; the men were called, Six Companies, Inc. Remarkably, the contractors banded together to build the dam because of the immense size of the structure, one contractor cannot do the task alone (America's Experiences). The Dams magnificent feat in becoming USA’s greatest dam inspired the same contracting firm to work on a certain bridge in the west (Hiktzik). During the time Hoover Dam was being constructed, out in the west, another architectural feat was occurring. In 1933 San Francisco, California, construction starts on what will soon to be one of America’s greatest landmarks, The Golden Gate Bridge. One of the bridges architects, Joseph B. Strauss, a man who built many bridges across the U.S., was involved in the bridge project. Strauss and his colleagues had to deal with many problems about the bridge such as people saying it had to be impossible or it was expensive and a hazard to the environment (History.com). Once the bridge was funded with thirty-five million dollars,

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

However, the dams were of faulty construction. Dam number one which caused the flooding was constructed of coarse mining refuse that Pittston had dumped into the Middle Fork of Buffalo Creek starting in 1968. This dam failed first on the heels of heavy rains. The water from Dam number three then took out dams number two and then number one. Dam number three had simply

When they finally got the dam built they could now start to allow for the construction of other dams and irrigation systems farther down river. Also another great thing of the dam is it helps with agriculture and with making more building for what they need and it help in a way way big difference with the flooding. The year this happened was the year 1931 was when this dam went up. But a little before that in the year 1912, and it seems over time the irrigation started and the siphon was made this year of 1912 but that actually attracted more and more people. That means that the state will grow I’m population and other products. But with the “Steamboats still cruised up the Colorado River from Mexico, packed with goods, when the bureau started building the Laguna Dam around 1906.” But during the year of 1994 we made a treaty with mexico with the 1.5MAF of water in Colorado River to share with Mexico. “Today nearly 17 million people depend on the Colorado’s waters.” All american canal serves the Palo Verde Imperial irrigations also the yuma project lands in imperial and coatehand valley. Also the present perfected right- Palo Verde Imperial irrigation district and Reservation Division, Yuma project California division (non-indian portion) has present perfect rights. But for the Colorado River actually dried up at one point, the people really relied on the river and water, but sadly the water takes a long time

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

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

     As previously mentioned, the Boulder Dam was one of the most famous, and certainly most expensive (with the whole project costing about $385 million) public works program. To provide jobs and much needed money to unemployed Americans, the Bureau of Reclamation, under President Hoover, authorized the Boulder Canyon Project on the Colorado River in 1928. The entire project included a hydroelectric power plant and a reservoir to control floods of the Colorado River and supply power to the Pacific Southwest. The dam reservoir is Lake Mead, which can store approximately 28 million acre-feet of water, making it one of the world’s largest artificially created bodies of water. Besides providing many jobs, the project responsible for the officially named Hoover Dam (as of 1947), added about 3 million acres of national parks and monuments and expanded

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.

INTRODUCTION: Water assets building is growing massively today. Dams have the most vital part in using water assets. They were developed taxing year before increasing present data about hydrology and hydro mechanics. All through the historical backdrop of the world, dams have been utilized effectively as a part of gathering, putting away and overseeing water expected to manage human advancement. Dams have a lot of positive and negative impacts on the earth. Their advantages like controlling stream administration, subsequently forestalling surges, getting local and water system water from put away water and creating vitality from hydro control. While dam give noteworthy advantage to our general public, their effect on the encompassing incorporates resettlement and migration, financial effect, natural concerns, sedimentation issue, security angles and so on. Notwithstanding their vital social and natural advantages, it is vital to minimize the negative impacts of the hoover dam on the earth with respect to feasible advancement.