Water Dams

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Recommended: Positive and negative consequences of dams and reservoirs

Water Dams

Most dams are designed to accomplish a variety of functions, which include flood control, flat water recreation, hydropower electricity generation, and water supply. Although these seem like good reasons for the existence of dams, this type of constructions bring greater negative effects than good ones. The "environment effects of dams include loss of land and biological resources to inundation, reservoir sedimentation and downstream erosion, and hydrological changes unfavorable to many native or desirable species." Dams just strangle rivers and the perfect example of the damage dams cause to rivers is what is happening to the Mekong River in Asia.

The Mekong river covers more than 4500 kilometers through 6 countries. It crosses through the Chinis providence of Yunnan, borders Birmania, It divides Thailand and Laos, cuts through Cambodia, passes through South Vietnam, and finally ends in the China Ocean. The Mekong sustains 100 million people, who not only depend on this river for their alimentation or water, but also for irrigation, and for traveling, and sometimes just for recreation. The Thailandese people call it the "Mother "of rivers.

Today like many rivers in the world, the Mekong is in danger. The reason is the massive and not well planned construction of dams. These constructions have started to threaten the ecosystem of the river, as well as the subsistence of dozens of communities along its shore. This dams, which have mostly been build last decate, provide energy to southwest Asia. But they also stop the natural migration of fishes, and affect their reproduction and alter the level and quality of water. Some people who live around the river refer to the dams constructions as evil and they say that...

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... of the fishermen have moved to Bangkok in look for lower jobs. The study stated that if the Moon project was to be evaluated for construction today it wouldn't be accepted. Thanks to this it is believed that constructions of dams in Thailand wont be accepted for now. A director from Terra, an environmental group, says that this dams are only a threat to the Mekong river.

As the Mekong River, many rivers around the world are being strangle by dams. Although they may seem as useful constructions to improve the economic development of countries, in the end the negative effects from them bring more cost than gains. Countries should make deeper studies of the impacts of dams in their ecosystem before jumping into there construction. Without the proper study, headaches are the only thing countries are going to get from dams and the Mekong river is the perfect example.

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