Washington and Oregon Dams

By Taylor Holmes

 

Table of Contents:

 

 

HOW DO DAMS WORK?

 

 

MSN Encarta 2006
 
Text Box: Dams are structures that are constructed on rivers and are built to control the volume of water that is passed by them.  Man-made dams are built to create hydroelectricity with the immense force behind them.  Hydroelectricity is created as water flows through the turbines and the incredible force of the water creates kinetic energy.  This energy causes the turbines to turn the generators which create power (WiseGEEK, 2006).                                                         

 

 

 

 

Additional resources and articles:

    

What is a dam, specifically?      

 

Different types/styles of man-made dams       

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

 

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WASHINGTON DAMS

 

Text Box: According to the Bureau of Reclamation, the Grand Coulee Dam is the largest concrete structure ever built.  It raises water surface 350 feet above the old riverbed.  Looking at it you would never guess that it is 5,233 feet long, 550 feet high and contains 11,975,500 cubic yards of concrete.  It contains four power plants and 33 generators.  Grand Coulee Dam is the largest hydroelectric generator in North America and the third largest in the world.  It is located in on the Columbia River in Eastern Washington and generates 21,000 GWh per year (Wikipedia, 2006).

 

Additional resources and articles:

 

Grand Coulee Dam.  Steve’s Digicams 2006
 
What about other Washington dams?        

 

Any case studies on Grand Coulee dam?    

 

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OREGON DAMS

 

The Columbia River starts in Canada, meanders through Washington and eventually finds itself on the border between Washington and Oregon before dumping into the Pacific Ocean.  There are  14 federal dams on the Columbia River, 136 non-federal dams that provide hydroelectricity and approximately 3,600 additional “smaller dams in Oregon that provide water for municipal, industrial, irrigation, livestock and rural uses” (Gentle, 1998).  There is much debate regarding dams on the Columbia River because of the severe decrease in salmon spawning occurring due to the destruction of habitat caused by all of the dams. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional resources and articles:

 

What about other Oregon dams?                   

 

 

 

 

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WHAT ARE THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF DAMS?

 

 

Text Box: Text Box: Dams are opposed by many because of the destructive impacts they cause to the natural environment.  Impacts like sediment reduction and displacement (causing devastation to microorganisms and ecosystems), increased contamination, dams act as a barrier to migration of many types of animals including fish and birds, therefore reducing the numbers of these species.  Dams are also known for the social problems they create, like riparian rights of Native American tribes and the relocation of residents living in the area where new dams will be built (Grossman, 2004).                                        

 

 

 

Additional resources and articles:

 

You mean shoreline erosion is a cause too? (WA State Dept Ecology)

 

Construction of Shasta Dam.  Library of Congress 2005
 
What does the International Commission on Large Dams say?

Construction of Katse Dam in South Africa.  Transformation Resource Centre 2006  

 
 
 


 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                   

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BENEFITS OF DAMS

 

 

Text Box: Text Box: Dams are used to create a cleaner “renewable” energy, electricity.  They are also used to control floods, create storage of potable water, recreation, and support urban/suburban life, industry and navigation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional resources and articles:

 

What are the percentages of each use?    

                                

What does the International Commission on Large Dams say?      

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harvard People

 

Eltodo
 
 

 

 

 


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

 

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WHO ARE THE CONFLICTS BETWEEN?

 

Text Box: As with anything else there are major conflicts occurring between groups over the use of dams.  These disputes are between groups like fishermen vs farmers, developers vs environmentalists, Fish & Wildlife Service vs Bureau of Reclamation and Native Americans vs farmers  (Symmes, 2003).     

 

Fishermen vs Farmers:  One of the uses of dams is the storage of potable water, which most of the time is used as irrigation of farmer’s crops.  However, as we now know, dams significantly reduce the reproduction of many types of aquatic life, mainly fish.  Therein lies the problem, who is to determine which is more valuable, crops or fish?  This in turn causes the conflicts between the fishermen and the farmers. 

 

Developers vs Environmentalists:  These two groups are basically fighting over the now or the later.  Developers who create these massive structures are interested in the NOW impacts of dams (electricity now, water storage now, profits now).  Whereas the environmentalists are concerned of FUTURE generations of species and sustainability as well as the current impacts they have.

 

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service vs Bureau of Reclamation: Dam construction causes the death of countless aquatic species as well as the destruction of ecosystems which thrive only when there is sufficient wildlife biodiversity.  The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is concerned first and foremost for “Conserving The Nature of America.”  Their mission is directly challenged by the negative impacts caused by dam construction.  The Bureau of Reclamation is concerned with “Managing Water in the West” and they succeed at this by building and maintaining dams.  Conflict?  Of course!

 

Bucknell
 
Native Americans vs Farmers:  Similar to fishermen, many local Native American tribes rely heavily on fishing as their primary income (Symmes, 2003).  The fish that are caught on Indian land inland are often contaminated with pollutants that are used to fertilize farmlands.  Again, the conflict is which are more important, crops or fish?

                                                                                                                                                       

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WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?

 

Text Box: If we are able to reduce our reliance on dams then we can significantly reduce the need for dam construction.  If we are able to reduce our reliance enough, we may even be able to enable some dams to become removed.  In order to do this we would simultaneously decrease the amount of waste that we create (for example, making paper out of recycled fibers uses much less electricity and water than creating paper out of virgin fibers).

 

Here are some things we can do:

 

Reduce electricity, reduce water consumption, recycle that waste, support farmers that use drip irrigation, buy green power (i.e., wind and solar), purchase more fuel efficient automobiles, contact your senators and/or congressperson, join coalitions that oppose dam construction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional resources and articles:

 

What is dam decommissioning? 

 

 

 


 

 

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REFERENCES

 

Gentle, Tom (1998).  Dams [Online].  Available: http://eesc.orst.edu/salmon/human/dams.html  [2006, December 10].

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Grossman, E (2004).  What’s Wrong with Dams? Yes!, 28: 29.

 

Symmes, P. (2003). River impossible. Outside, 28(8): 64-68, 108-111.

 

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (2005).  Grand Coulee Powerplant [Online].  Available: http://www.usbr.gov/power/data/sites/grandcou/grandcou.html  [2006, October 13].

 

Washington State Department of Ecology (No Date).  Dams [Online]. Available: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/coast/erosion/dams.html  [2006, November 19].

 

Wikipedia (2006). Grand Coulee Dam [Online]. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Coulee_Dam  [2006, November 19].

 

WiseGEEK (2006) How do Dams Work? [Online]. Available: http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-dams-work.htm  [2006, November 7].

 

 

PHOTO REFERENCES

 

Bucknell (No Date). Picture: Spray Irrigation [Online]. Available: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/mvigeant/univ270_05/jake_aq/images/spray%2520irrigation4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/mvigeant/univ270_05/jake_aq/irrigation.htm&h=1500&w=2100&sz=150&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=4l0Fn5drkmzhxM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbucknell%2Bspray%2Birrigation%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG   [2006, December 2].

 

Cefrino (No Date). Picture:  Windmills in California [Online]. Available: http://www.cefiro.com.ar/eng/losmolinos.htm  [2006, November 27].

 

Eltodo (No Date). Picture: Elektromontaze [Online]. Available: http://www.eltodo.cz/Webova_prezentace/1_Elektromontaze_a_ridici_systemy/2_Energetika/2_Venkovni_elektricka_vedeni/Venkovni_elektricka_vedeni.html  [2006, December 4].    

 

EPA (2005). Picture: Columbia River Basin [Online]. Available: http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/WATER.NSF/ac5dc0447a281f4e882569ed0073521f/5896e9e63772fad288256a31005570b8!OpenDocument  [2006, December 9].

 

Harvard People (No Date). Picture: NewYorkSky [Online]. Available: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~margocsy/boston/newyorksky.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~margocsy/boston/newyork.htm&h=472&w=314&sz=43&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=00TjsqQ1Mi2l7M:&tbnh=129&tbnw=86&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dharvard%2Bnewyorksky%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG   [2006, December 2].

 

Library of Congress (2005). Picture: Shasta Dam Under Construction: [Online]. Available: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/boundforglory/glory-exhibit.html  [2006, December 9].

 

MSN Encarta (2006).  Picture: Cross-Section of a Dam [Online]. Available: http://encarta.msn.com/media_461517921/Cross-Section_of_a_Dam.html  [2006, November 27].

 

Steve’s DigiCams (2006). Picture: Grand Coulee Dam [Online]. Available: http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=96021&forum_id=81 [2006, November 19].

 

Transformation Resource Centre (2006). Picture: Lesoth Highlands Water Project [Online]. Available: http://www.trc.org.ls/picture_galleries_pages/picturegallerylhwp.htm  [2006, December 9].

 

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