The Hoover Dam

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

It divides the flow of water between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. So the Colorado River results from the divide that forces the snow of the Colorado Rockies to flow towards the Pacific Ocean. This geographical journey then continues into the boundary of Utah where it heads towards Arizona. This is where this water created, by way of pushing, biting, and carving its way into the Earth for millions of years, the massive canyon called the Grand Canyon. After this natural wonder, the river flows into the boundary of Nevada, then makes it journey into California. The end of the river passes through Baja California before making its finale of fluid flow in Sonora Mexico.

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.

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

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

of Lake Mead. The graph calculates when the reservoirs level increases and when there is a drought. The reservoir was formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in

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 will be the largest hydropower station and dam in the world, with a 1.2 mile stretch of concrete and a 370 mile-long reservoir and 525 feet deep.”[4] To put that into understandable dimensions it will be the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, and twice as tall. “The reservoir created by the backflow of the dam will extend 360 miles up river to Chongqing, a distance equal to nearly half the length of California.”[5] So what is the point of this monstrosity? The major prospective benefits will be power generation, flood control, and increased navigability of the Yangtze River. Many people debate whether these attributes will actually be as beneficial as builders expect. The drawbacks of the dam are its flood plain and the effects of the flood plain, environmental damage, resettlement, historical and cultural loss, and the ideas of speculators about whether or not some of the dam’s abilities are true.

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

The economic goal was to create more and cleaner power. In addition, they wanted the Three Gorges Dam to improve shipping.

     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

Unfortunately for this growth, the demand far exceeds the available supply. The Bureau of Reclamation completed the last major dam (Glen Canyon) in 1966. The Bureau built several smaller dams, along with Glen Canyon, under the auspices of the Colorado River Storage Project

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.