What are the advantages and disadvantages of building Dams?

Answer 1

Advantages: Can produce hydro electric power, acts as flood control, impounds water for drinking and other uses.It also becomes a tourists spot.

Disadvantages: Destroys whole ecosystems, causes heavier silt deposits on the down stream river beds. Poor design can lead to failure and mass flooding along with lose of life below the dam.

Answer 2

The Advantages of building Dams is that it controls the water running through a specific river. Building the Dam will stop the river flooding and destroying people's living areas.

Not only does it provide protection from certain areas, it also provides H.E.P (Hydro-Electric Power) which gives millions of people cheap electricity.

But the problem with Dams is that they are extremely expensive to build and maintain. It would take several decades to make a profit out of it.

The 3 Gorges Dam is an example of a Dam and so is the Hoover Dam!

(Case Study) By Lewis Ian Latham from Knowsley Park CFL.

The 3 Gorges Dam is the largest of its kind in Asia and located on the Yangzte River. The power created from this dam supplies China one tenth of their requirements which is a great deal as it is more than 3x larger than the UK alone. The people protected from this dam have risen over the years to above 2 million civilians, the power is clean which helps ecosystems, wildlife and air purity (a big problem in China)

However.... Over 2 million civilians were therefore displaced and had to move many miles to relocate mainly travelling to Chongqing. Both land slides and Earthquakes have been triggered from this dam as the water fluctuates over 30m annually so the flow can be maintained to protect the rural area. The weight from the dam puts pressure on the ground below and continues on to trigger earthquakes throughout the local areas. Behind every dam ever created can be found a resevoir, the one located behind the 3 Gorges is VERY LONG and DEEP. Over 100 Heritage Sites were lost and 13 Cities, 140 towns, 1300 villages, 1500 factories and 100,000 acres of land were submerged by the resevoir....