I was intimidated. Actually, let me be honest, I feared a thrashing at the hands of the River God. Trembling muscles warned me to just shoulder my boat and walk. I couldn't. I traveled all the way from Pennsylvania to run these rivers, how could I back out now? I had to run Sunshine Falls...the largest rapid on the Royal Gorge section of the Arkansas River. When would I make it back to Colorado to run this river? I considered the the portage again; it's an impressive drop with no shame in walking. But what if they dam the Arkansas?
I had the pleasure of kayaking about fifteen miles of the Arkansas river, in Colorado, this summer. Flowing from its headwaters near Buena Vista, the Arkansas is a virgin river. Only a trickle during the winter, "The Ark," is reborn every spring with the life bearing waters of fresh mountain snow melt. The greening of river valleys throughout Colorado occurs during the month of June, and traveling from the east I realized how vital the snowmelt waters are to life in the western United States. Without water, something which we take for granted even in brutal summers, life in the west is a struggle.
Now the struggle for the Arkansas begins. Plans to dam the river below the Royal Gorge are pending. Devastating. I can't imagine the powerful currents of the Arkansas trapped behind an enormous wall of concrete. I find it hard to justify the damming of the Arkansas. It defines recreation for central Colorado.
Kayakers, rafters, and fishermen flock to the Ark for much of the summer. However, Colorado is a state with rapid population growth. People need water reservoirs and electricity from somewhere. Should the Arkansas be one of those sources?
I now realize the ma...
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The primary purpose of Friend dam is to help regulate the flow of San Joaquin into available uses of its environmental, wildlife, and farmer’s impacts. The dam controls the flow of water delivery where it needs authorization first before the schedule can release any delivery waters into canals, steam, and wild life habitats. There will be agreements and many protocols to do with it first to avoid unnecessary spilling. There are 5 release schedules which include quantity of water available, time water, flood control requirements, release schedules from storage reservoir above Millerton Lake, and water user requirements. These benefits of flood control, storage management, modification into Madera and Friant-Kern Canals, to stop salty water from abolishing thousands of lands in Sacramento and throughout San Joaquin Delta, as well as deliver masses of water into agricultural lands in 5other counties in the San Joaquin Valley.
As I looked out the window of the restaurant, I could see the sun bouncing off the sparkling water below. Boats and other water craft scatter the water as well as people on water-skis and inner tubes. The picturesque view makes life seem so much better and just looking at the river makes a person calmer. The scene just described is the view from the window of a restaurant called Sophia in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the corresponding river is the mighty Mississippi. Although Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, this scene could be found right here in the valley of Phoenix. The way this is possible is through the Rio Salado Project.
Barry opens by contrasting the views of other credible intellectuals in stating his fascination with the mechanics of the river. His initial two paragraphs fail to identify the Mississippi River itself, but hint at the rivers magnificence by mentioning its “turbulent effects” and “river hydraulics.” Barry continues to awe his audience with extensive discussion of all its velocities
The one feature common to the Hoover Dam, The Mississippi river and the three gorges dam is that they all tried to control nature’s swings, specifically in the form of flooding. Before the Hoover dam was built, the Colorado river “used to flood spectacularly…but after 1900 the Colorado provoked a vehement response” (Pg 177). The response was simple, but large. The U.S. built several large dams, including the Hoover dam, on the Colorado to decrease its flooding and increase power and irrigation. Unfortunately, just as human control of the Colorado’s flooding increased, its organisms and habitats were detrimentally influenced, and the water became more and more salinated.
Gabrysh, R. K. "Land surface subsidence in the Houston-Galveston region." IASH Publ. (1969): pp. 43-44.
The negative aspects of Glen Canyon Dam greatly exceed the positive aspects. The dam’s hydroelectric power supply is only three percent of the total power used by the six states that are served by the facility. There is a surplus of power on the Colorado Plateau and with more and more power-plants being created in the western hemisphere, Glen Canyon Dam’s power is not needed (Living Rivers: What about the hydroelectric loss). Although the ‘lake’ contains twenty seven million acre feet of water, one and a half million acre feet of water are lost yearly due to evaporation and seepage into the sandstone banks surrounding the ‘lake’ (Living Rivers: What about the water supply?). The loss of that much “water represents millions, even billions of dollars” (Farmer 183). If the government were to employ more water efficient irrigation practices, as much as five million acre feet of water per year could be saved.
I did this passage because I can only imagine what it was like to see himself after two years, and how much he had changed since then, he really must have looked like a different person. I am sure that he must have been shocked and I am not surprised that that memory has stayed with him for so long.
The issue that confronts many Kentuckians is whether or not the Williams and Boardwalk Pipeline, commonly called the Bluegrass Pipeline, serves for public use. Many people say that the pipeline will benefit the economy and provide jobs, while others complain that the pipeline will cause more harm than good. I am here to argue with the latter, the pipeline will cause much more harm than good. The pipeline is less for public use and more for national and international.
Americans today tend to believe that the Colorado River drought has been a recent occurrence, although drought relief strategies have been implemented since early 1997. To summarize, in the book The Colorado River Basin Drought Planning and Organizations, Colorado is named as the original state to acquire a drought relief plan. For instance, various assume water levels are diminutive in the Colorado and blame is due to the previous ten years of drought throughout the United States. Although it is true that water levels are at a record low, initial plans in the early 1920’s to introduce manufactured structures into the water basin is the original reason Colorado’s water system began to be compromised. It follows, then the supplementary natural
The Colorado River, which has so many uses and serves so many, is running out of water. The river delivers water and power to nearly 30 million people who live in the basin states. (River Uses) That includes people who live in Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, California, Wyoming and Mexico. In addition, the river is crucial to the economy because “throughout the seven basin states, the Colorado River provides water for people and for business and industry - creating jobs for millions, jobs that contribute to local economies and billions of dollars to the nation.” (River Uses) The river is also important as it provides irrigation to about 1.4 million acres of land for fa...
6 American Community Survey Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2008. U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau. http:// factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&- qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_DP5&-ds_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_&-_ lang=en&-redoLog=false&-format=
The tragic poem, “The Ballad of Birmingham,” begins with a young child asking an imploring question to her mother, “May I go downtown instead of out to play” (Randall, 669)?
in the form of a swan, violated a young woman, who gave birth to Helen
thrown from the horse, the best thing you can do is to get back on as
Miller, Debra A. Will the World Run out of Fresh Water? Detroit: Greenhaven, 2007. Print.