Warragamba Dam’s Importance for Sydney’s Water Supply
What is it?
Warragamba supplies water to over 3.7 million each day who live in Sydney and areas in the lower Blue Mountains. The Dam is one of the largest in the world and Warragamba Dam is located in Wallacia, New South Wales around 65 kilometers to the west of Sydney. It is managed and run by Sydney Catchment Authority.
History-
In 1845, the dam was first recognised as a perfect place for a dam due to its profound narrow gorge with a flowing river through it. This idea for a dam to be built there was brought about by a Polish explorer of the time named Count Paul Strezelecki. This idea finally turned into a reality over a century later in 1948 when Warragamba Dam was built in order to establish a reliable new water supply for Sydney’s growing population. The dam took around 12 years to build and was finally opened in 1960. It demonstrated the hard work of over 1800 workers who helped to build it.
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Just over 55% of teachers and students surveyed believed that Warragamba Dam was either built as water was at unsustainable level for Sydney’s water supply or that it was built to offer jobs for engineers in the 20th century. Though both of these answers were incorrect. Warragamba Dam was built as it offered two important things essential for a dam being a large catchment area and a river flowing through a thin gorge.
Why is it important?
83% of people surveyed believe that Warragamba Dam is very important for Sydney’s water supply. A fellow member of the Ascham staff said that they believed this because
“With a growing population, we need to keep our water supplies available for use.”
Warragamba Dam is vital for Sydney’s water supply as it supplies the highest quality of raw water available. The Sydney Catchment Authority ensures this and it is their goal to make sure that water quality continues to meet the Australian Drinking
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.
The primary goal of the dam, irrigation, was forgotten as the war time need for electricity increased. Aluminum smelting was vital to the war effort. Aluminum smelting requires substantial amounts of electricity and hydroelectric power plants are often built to provide electricity for these smelts. The electricity was also used to produce uranium for the Manhattan Project. After the war ended the original goal of irrigation resumed. Additional dams, siphons and canals were constructed that turned the coulee into a vast supply network that allowed the desert to bloom.
Over the years Glen Canyon Dam has been the spark for hundreds of debates, rallies, and protests. These debates have been going on for almost forty years now. The fact is that the dam created a huge lake when it was built, this is what bothers environmentalists. This lake is called Lake Powell and thousands of people depend on its tourists for income. The lake also filled up a canyon called Glen Canyon, some people say it was the most beautiful place on earth. The anti-dam side of the debate has its basis in the fact that Lake Powell is currently covering Glen Canyon. It was very remote so few people got to witness its splendor. This is probably the reason the dam was built in the first place, ignorance.
This statement ensures the reader that the dam was built “for the people” doing this without stating any facts that prove the statement. This statement also does not state why the U.S. government built Glen Canyon dam.
Based on the events that lead to the devastating floods in Queensland and the eventual case that was brought against the engineers of the dam, there have been views from both sides of the divide as to whether or not the actions taken by the engineers were actually ethical or otherwise. We have explored this avenue and have found that both sides of the divide have good reasons to justify their actions. Firstly, we shall explore the avenue that the engineers decisions were appropriate and ethical. It can be said that the engineers did employ act utilitarianism in their decisions and actions, hence causing these decisions to be ethically correct. Act utilitarianism is essentially doing the right thing, which would benefit the majority of people, based on the situation that is currently taking place. One of the reasons that explains why the actions taken could be considered as ethically fine, was that if the dam was not opened, there would have been no other way to solve the increasing water levels in the dam. If no action was taken, there could have been seriously devastating effects, like the dam wall eroding due to water spilling over the dam wall, thus weakening the structure, or a loss of water flow control. Professor Hubert Chanson, a professor in hydraulic engineering in the University of Queensland, mentioned that the Wivenhoe Dam was actually designed as an embankment dam, hence it should not be overtopped, that is water should not be allowed to flow over the limits of the dam (Andersen 2011). Despite there being a secondary spillway, however it is recommended that spillway is not put to use, as the use of that spillway would mean that there would be a surge of water leaving the dam, and a loss of control of the water flow, w...
What: it gave jobs to unemployed workers. 726 ft high and 1,244 feet long. World's tallest dam, and second largest dam. Provided electricity and flood control, and regular water supply.
The Hoover Dam is a modern marvel and a testament to American ingenuity. At over six million six hundred thousand tons and jetting seven hundred sixty feet from the canyon floor, six hundred sixty feet across the bottom and, one thousand two hundred forty four feet across the top, the structure is awe inspiring even to a modern audience. Three quarters of a century since its completion it still stands as a symbol of one of the greatest construction projects of the ages. The need for a dam to block the Colorado River was not a new idea when construction began in 1931, but had been mulled around since the dawn of the century. Flooding due to runoff from the Rocky Mountains had devastated crops, and a need for hydroelectric power increased the need for a dam. In 1922 Black Valley was chosen as the spot for the dam’s construction. No one construction company was large enough to take on the project alone, so a group of companies formed a joint venture in order to bid the job. The Six Companies Inc. made up of Morrison-Knudson, the J.F. Shea Company of Portland, MacDonald & Kahn Ltd, Pacific Bridge Company of Portland, Henry J. Kaiser, Bechtel Company of San Francisco were awarded the winning bid for the dam at forty eight million eight hundred ninety thousand nine hundred fifty five dollars. The construction management team had a Herculean task in building this behemoth and faced many problems in its construction. A few of the major issues posed to the team were diverting the Colorado River, provisioning the men and material to get the job done, and the actual construction of the Hoover Dam. The heights involved with project led to many safety obstacles that had to be overcame.
Primary sources used in this paper are those which were collected by the author. The data collected from Natural Bridge and Numinbah Hall may not be completely accurate as it only gave a representation of the results from that particular day, which may differ to another day’s results depending on the amount of rain, part of the river reviewed, biased sampling, etc.
The Murrumbidgee River is the 3rd longest river in Australia and in the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB), after the Murray and Darling rivers. The area of catchment is 8% of the total area of the MDB Basin and provides almost 16% of inflow for the Basin (Burrell, 2017). In Murrumbidgee regulated river, water source is defined as the water between the banks of all rivers, from the upper limit of Burrinjuck Dam water storage (being the Taemas Bridge crossing) and Blowering Dam water storage (being the dam wall and spillway for Jounama Pondage), downstream to the junction of the Murrumbidgee River and the Murray River
There is good reason for concern over water sustainability in Western Australia. Water is connected to all spheres of sustainability: environmental, social and economic. Using Systems Analysis to explore the reasons why water consumption is the way it is in WA, three key factors have emerged: a drying climate, affluence in WA, and community awareness and education. These three factors are interwoven, and they are influenced by one another. While consumption of water in Western Australia may be.. I’ll finish this later.
The state offered to sell the canal, the railroad company bought it for the right of ways yet had no need to maintain the dam, which due to neglect, broke for the first time in 1862. McCullough stresses that man was responsible for the dam and its weaknesses nearly thirty years before the great flood as he explains how the initial repair work was carried out by unqualified people and how the discharge pipes were blocked up.... ... middle of paper ... ... McCullough makes a firm argument for the responsibility of man, and asserts the blame on the necessary people, therefore I feel he makes a fair and accurate assertion which I would agree with.
Uluru, also commonly known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock located in the Northern Territory, Australia. Uluru is the Aboriginal name of the rock however it officially has dual names, both Uluru and Ayres Rock, and this official dual naming policy was introduced in 1993 to allow both names and cultures (Aboriginal and English) to be recognised. It is believed to be over 600 million years old and has an extreme climate. Winter nights can be as cold as -8oC, and summer days as hot as 48oC! Its average temperatures are from 5.6oC to 38.6oC. It stands 348m above the desert and 863m above sea level, and is 3.6km long by 1.9km wide! Approximately 2.5km of the rock is underground. The rock has valleys and ridges and no vegetation. The area around Uluru does however, have many
In the film produced by Deepa Mehta, Water, mainly focuses on the experiences of Hindu widows in India. I enjoyed the film and in which it was taken in a country whose culture is very foreign to me. The film introduces where a young eight year old girl named Chuyia, becomes a widow after her husband’s death. At such a young age she does not remember her marriage to her husband, assuming it was arranged by her family. After being widowed, she is sent to a widow home in which she has to live there for the rest of her life and in which they are no accepted by society.
IYER, R.I. (19X9) "Large Dams: The Right Perspective.' Economic and Political Weekly, 14, 107- 116.
Diversion dams are mainly built to lessen the effects of floods and to trap sediment.3 Overflow dams are designed to carry water which flow over thier crests, because of this they must be made of materials which do not erode. Non- overflow dams are built not to be overtopped, and they may include earth or rock in their body. Often, two types of these dams are combined to form a composite structure consisting of for example an overflow concrete gravity dam, the water that overflows into dikes of earthfill construction.4 A dam's primary function is to trap water for irrigation. Dams help to decrease the severity of droughts, increase agricultural production, and create new lands for agricultural use.