The Projects - Princeton High School

The Columbia River
Mr. A’s Sample
The Promise
•  "To build an industrial empire from the wasted power of the
Columbia...They moved mountains and froze a land
slide...Bonneville and Grand Coulee are only the beginning. Ten
million horsepower of new energy swiftly can be harnessed on
America's mightiest stream. Tame the hazardous rapids. Open
the Columbia waterway to navigation 500 miles inland. Provide
endless water power...Reclaim another million acres of dry but
fertile land." --Bonneville Power Administration film The Columbia,
circa 1950
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20ZffI6by3A
Successes
•  1339 miles of irrigation canals
•  2.2 million Acres Irrigated (670 million acrer potential)
$630,000,000 of crops annually
•  Falls .41 m/km, meaning it has a ton of potential energy
•  38,760 MW Generated in all Columbia River Dams
worth $950,000,000
•  $20,000,000 in flood control benefit
•  $50,000,000 in recreation economy
Problems
•  Impacts to Migratory Fish
•  Recognized impact by 1890s in legislation prohibiting dams without
ladders
•  Ladders fail to pass all fish upstream + dowstream
•  Grand Coulee has no ladder (it would have to be 5 miles long…fish
would die in the process)
•  River flow is reduced
•  Increased nitrogen in water
•  Logging in the basin increases silt, reduces shade
•  Navigation
•  Construction of jetties, Dredging, canals, navigation locks
REFERENCES
•  http://www.funbeach.com/attractions/
shipwrecks.html
•  http://www.oregon.gov/OSMB/library/docs/
CoastalBoating/ColumbiaRiver.pdf
•  http://web.bryant.edu/~langlois/ecology/
columbiahomepage.html
•  http://www.nwcouncil.org/history/Chronology.asp
•  http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/anth481/sal/
crintro1.htm
High Aswan Dam
Grace Stephenson, Harmony Kingsley,
Cathy Gonzalez, Zaynab Zaman
Site Map
Key Reasons
•  control flooding
•  provide irrigation water
•  generate hydroelectricity
•  Before the dam was built, the
Nile river would flood annually
every late summer. This lead
to enriched soil during ancient
times, but following the floods
there would be severe
drought. The Aswan Dam was
created to ultimately control
the release of water to prevent
flooding and droughts.
Successes
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
majority of the population depends on the river for irrigation, drinking water,
electricity, or transportation
dam allowed for irrigation systems to be built which increased the amount of land
that farmers could utilize to cultivate their crops
30% of economy based on agriculture
3.3 million hectares of land irrigated in Egypt in 1997
control water levels
could build cities without tsunamis destroying them
List of Negative Effects
•  Coastline Erosion
•  Soil salinity problems
•  Negative health effects
•  Environmental impact
•  Drains money from economy, requiring annual repairs.
Original project costed 450 million dollars.
Most Crucial Negative Effect
Environmental Impact:
•  Before construction of the dam, the river used
• 
• 
to flood annually, depositing 12 million tonnes
of silt on land along the Nile, fertilizing the
farms along the banks of the river.
Number of islands in the river declined from
150 to 36 before and after construction.
After the dam was built, the annual flooding
stopped, forcing farmers to use approx.
13,000 tonnes of line-nitrate fertilizer instead.
References
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/sec004_gp5/
the_aswan_high_dam_benefits
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/40203/Aswan-HighDam
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/
aswan_high.html
http://www.mbarron.net/Nile/envir_nf.html
http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/nile.htm
http://www.ci.uri.edu/ciip/FallClass/Docs_2006/UrbanWaterfronts/
Abu-Zeid%20and%20El-Shibini.pdf
http://www3.giz.de/E+Z/zeitschr/de602-11.htm
High Aswan Dam
Quinn Cummings, Asha Cheerath, Jessie
Campisi, Melody Ting
Site Maps
Key Reasons for Diversion
•  The Nile River flooded every year during the summer
• 
• 
• 
and water flowed down the valley
During high water years, whole crops could be wiped
out, whereas low water years there was widespread
drought and famine occasionally occurred
With Egypt's population growing, there was a need to
protect and support farmland, as well as the important
cotton crop
The reservoir storage of the Aswan Dam allowed floods
to be lessened and the water could be stored for later
release.
Success Measure
- Annual Nile flood is stopped
- provides 10 billion KW-hours annually
- As of 1997, 3.3 million hectares irrigated
(this figure is increasing as population
increases)
- produces 15% of Egypt's energy yearly
- estimated national income: 225 million
•  140 million agricultural production
•  100 million from hydropower
•  10 million from flood production
•  5 million from improved navigation
Negative Impacts of the Dam
• 
• 
• 
• 
No more yearly flooding of the Nile
o  Erosion– More silt and sediments trapped
in the soil has begun to cause erosion of the
river bank, and this lack of sediment has
accelerated the erosion of coastlines and
along the eastern Mediterranean.
o  Problems for Farmers– As a result of the
loss of flooding, all farmers downstream
have to use fertilizers for their crops, which
is very expensive.
Sardine Decreasing
- When the dam was first built in the 1960's, the
sardine fish population decreased dramatically.
They have only begun recovering 20 years ago
(reason still unknown).
Lake Evaporation
-Lake Nassar in Egypt was built in a very hot and
dry area. River flow has changed, causing the
lake to lose water. Now it is steadily evaporating,
hurting the fishing industries as well as the
ecosystem there.
Loss of Archaeological Artifacts
-Due to the flooding of the area, many of
the artifacts located there have been
lost.
Negative Impact: Increase in Soil Salinity
How?
-The groundwater levels in the Nile Valley fluctuated between 8-9 m/yr with the
water level
-When evaporation was highest (summer), the groundwater level was too deep
to allow salts in the water to be pulled to the surface
-The distance between the surface and the groundwater (1-2 m) was small
enough to allow water to be pulled up by evaporation
-These relatively small concentrations of salt have accumulated over the years
The Effects
-Most farmland did not have proper subsurface drainage to lower the
groundwater table
-As a result, 2.1 million hectares requires subsurface drainage, and the cost of
this was greater than the construction of the Dam
-This increase in salinity has also hurt the life forms which live in the water,
such as fish
References
-http://sitemaker.umich.edu/sec004_gp5/the_aswan_high_dam_benefits
-http://www3.giz.de/E+Z/zeitschr/de602-11.htm
-http://sitemaker.umich.edu/sec004_gp5/the_aswan_dam_disadvantages
http://www.umsl.edu/~naumannj/Geography%20PowerPoint%20Slides/ecology/Egypt%20-the
%20aswan%20dam%20environmental%20impact.pptx
Aral Sea Dam Ben, Mara, Tomaz, and Lawrence Basic Informa9on •  The Aral Sea Dam is a seven-­‐mile dam built across a small northern sec9on of the shrunken Aral Sea in Central Asia •  Loca9on of the dam itself is Kazakhstan. Reasons for construction.
In the late 1960’s the Soviet union diverted the
Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers in order to
irrigate cotton crops in Uzbeki and Kazakh stan.
The effects were disastrous, within 30 years the
Aral sea which had been the fourth largest inland
body of water, had shrunk to a quarter of it’s size.
The Aral sea Dam was built to feed water back
into the Aral sea, and hopefully bring back fishing
as a local industry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=xwxhKE_Lx7c&sns=em
Successes
•  At the Aral Sea’s low point, rising salt levels
and desertification brought salt storms, which
ravaged the surrounding area. Almost all of
the fish living died off leaving thousands of
fishermen out of work.
•  The Aral sea dam has returned 40% of the
water missing.
•  Fishing has returned to the Aral sea as a
thriving industry.
List of Negative Impacts
•  •Decrease in Water Levels
•  •Negative Correlation of Salinity in water
levels
•  •Salinization of soil
•  •Sea Surface Temperature Changes
•  •Desertification
•  •Dust Storms carried from the Aral Sea
Region
•  •Desiccation
Water Levels
• 
• 
• 
• 
The positive feedback between evaporation and the
Sea Surface Temperature
Heat of smaller volumes of water leading to an increase
of water temperature at the surface
Lowers the specific humidity which increases the
evaporation rate
Another factor is poor salt concentration distribution
leading to increase in evaporation
References •  Brown, Paul. "The Guardian." Guardian. n. page. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. <hPp://
www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2003/oct/
29/sciencenews.theguardianlifesupplement>. •  •hPp://www.columbia.edu/~tmt2120/
environmental%20impacts.htm •  hPp://www.aralsea.org/ •  hPp://nailaokda.8m.com/north.html Aral Sea
Christopher Sims, Nicolas Firbas
Site Map
The Aral Sea is locdated on the
border of Kazakhstan and
Uzbekistan
Key Issues
Soviet union: " WE NEED MORE WHITE
GOLD!"
- Need more cotton and rice but they require
water for irrigation
Success Measure
Uzbekistan is the world’s second largest
exporter of cotton
300 thousand tons in 1950
5 million tons today
Heres the twist, cotton yields are declining
due to the negative impacts of the aral sea
diversion project
Negative Impacts
•  water level fell 20m
•  Total volume of aral sea decreased ~1000km3
1,060 km3 to 210 km3
•  salinity up from 10 ppt to 92 ppt(ocean salinity 35ppt
•  fish caught 43,430 tons in 1960 to 0 in 1980
•  Temperature varies more in the region around the Aral
sea (water is a air conditioner)
•  20 species of fish to 1.
•  salinization of soil, which prevents anything from
growing there
•  Desertification(land and natural resourses can no longer
be used)
Focus On One Negative Aspect
In the last 15 years there has been a
3,000% increase in reported chronic
bronchitis, anemia, tuberculosis, kidney
and liver diseases, respiratory infections,
The Aral Sea was once home to a thriving
waterborne industry allergies, and cancer,
while arthritic diseases have increased by
6,000%.
live expectancy down 4 years
infant mortality rate is amoung the highest in
the world ( 1 in 20)
References
http://www.columbia.edu/~tmt2120/impacts
%20to%20life%20in%20the
%20region.htm
http://gallery.mailchimp.com/
31982f6e4937945bfaddf6712/files/
Aral_Sea_cotton_impacts.pdf
http://www.zef.de/module/register/media/
83a8_Abdullaev%20100807.pdf
http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/measure_sat2/
NYC Water Supply
Arielle, Casey, Meggie, Zoe
Site Map
Reasons for Diversion
•  Before the NYC Water Supply was established, the
• 
• 
• 
• 
water supply was polluted and insufficient.
Waste and sewage was originally disposed in pits
and open dumps, effective until the population grew
many citizens died and grew ill with diseases, such
as typhoid fever, due to contaminated water
As the population grew rapidly, the demand for clean
water became prominent.
To assure the high quality of NYC's water supply by
providing a balanced assessment of the impacts of
natural gas development activities
Success Measure
•  Without the Croton system the city would not have
• 
• 
grown from 300,000 to 3.5 million, delivering 30
million gallons a day
As population grew, the Ashokan reservoir was built
and water was transported over 92 mile distance
Today, 50% of the city's water comes from the
Delaware system, 40% from the catskill system,
and 10% from the Croton system, containing 19
reservoirs
Potential Weaknesses-
•  One bacteria invading in the water in E.coli, a
• 
• 
• 
bacteria that grows in the colon of humans and
animals
High e.coli count increases the probability of the
water contaminated by giardia and cryptosporidium,
responsible for diseases such as hepatitis and
Salmonella
It cannot expand its water use or tolerate a break in
one of the aqueducts supplying water to the city
The system is aging, chlorination can’t handle all
problems with pathogens
Water Withdrawals
•  Exaggeration of drought conditions
•  Freezing of streams at lower levels
•  Irregular water temperature
•  Poor water quality- pollutants are concentrated and
• 
not diluted
Reduction of aquatic animals and plant species as
a result
Sources
•  www.dec.ny.gov/docs/
• 
• 
materials_minerals_pdf/
ogdsgeischap6.pdf
http://www.eserc.stonybrook.edu/cen514/
info/nyc/watersupply.html
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/
drinking_water/history.shtml
Colorado River Water
Diversion
Patrick, Evan, Zack, and John
Site Map
Key Reasons for Diversion
•  To irrigate Imperial Valley in Southern California (Hoover
Dam)
•  To provide electricity to Arizona, Nevada, and Southern
California (Hoover Dam)
•  To create reservoirs/provide stored water to Upper Basin
states (Lake Powell- Glen Canyon Dam)
•  To help stimulate the economy/create jobs and to prevent
future depressions (during the Great Depression)
Success Measure (Quantitative)
•  Hoover Dam has 17 Turbines that can produce an
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
output is of 2.08 Gigawatts.
Average= approx. 4 billion Kilowatt-hours/year
4 billion Kilowatt serves 1.3 million people per year.
Irrigation-More than one million acres of land in the
United States and nearly half a million acres in
Mexico.
Glen Canyon has 8 turbines and can produce
around 1,320 megawatts
730,000 acres of irrigation in the average year
Creates 32.3km^3 of reservoir area (Lake Powell)
Impacts
•  Predicted higher temperatures- shorter winters and
• 
• 
• 
• 
increased evaporation- less water supply
Increased allocation of water- to seven states and
Mexico
Dramatically changing water levels in the two
largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell
Supply for larger cities with increasing population
Silt trapped behind dams- limits extent of river
habitats
Lake Powell and Lake Mead's water
levels
Data taken in the summers of 2012 and
2011
Lake Powell and Lake Mead's water
levels
•  Steady high flows wash away beaches
• 
• 
and backwater habitats
Occasional heavy floods are preferred
because it mimics the natural spring
floods down the river
The steady high flow is for more electricity
and does not take the environmental
impact into account
References
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/
environment/freshwater/colorado-rivermap/
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/sciencenature/The-Colorado-River-Runs-Dry.html
http://cpluhna.nau.edu/Change/
waterdevelopment5.htm
http://w3.geo.arizona.edu/ceam/
Colorado River
By: James, Alex, Timmy, and Riley
Site Map
Key Purposes
•Supplies over 30,000,000 people with water
–Mostly sanitary purposes
•Turbines that create hydropower for
Arizona and Southern California
•Irrigation
– Laguna Dam – Provides water to farms in
the Yuma area
–Palo Verde Diversion Dam – Provides
irrigation water to the Palo Verde Irrigation
District
Success of Dam Work
•  Eight turbines at Glen Canyon Dam
•  Revenues from selling electricity have
• 
• 
paid off completely the cost of the dam.
Dam Cost $272 million dollars in 1963
and will keep generating money.
Other dams provide irrigation and lakes
that fill giving opportunities of tourist
revenue.
Negative Impacts
1) Dams depleting lake water in Lake Mead
and Lake Powell- behind the Hoover and
Glen Canyon Dam.
2) Salinity- 9,000,000 tons of salt flows down
the river which diminishes water quality.
3) Temperature Change killing wildlife
Specific Negative Effect: Thermal
Pollution
The Humpback Chub has been endangered due to loss of
dam construction on the Colorado River. Typically, the
water released from the dams are too cold for the Chub
to reproduce. The cold water has also introduced nonnative predators, such as rainbow trout, have put the
Humpback Chub nearly into extension.
References
-http://www.usbr.gov/lc/yuma/facilities/dams/yao_dams_map.html
-http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/colorado-river-map/
-http://www2.kenyon.edu/projects/Dams/gec02tfin.html
-http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/investigations/esu401/
esu401page09.cfm
-http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2012/finalwebsite/problem/coloradoriver.shtml#overdraw
http://studentweb.fortlewis.edu/MRWHITEHAIR/Main.html
-http://www.coloradoriverrecovery.org/documents-publications/technical-reports/rsch/
WWHBCPopEst98-00.pdf
Tennessee Valley Authority
Jamie Choy, Irene Klimoff, Jelani McMath, Amara Qureshi
Site Map
Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.
41,000 square miles
Reasons for Diversion
•  The TVA was created in 1933 (New Deal) for:
–  Navigation
–  Flood control
–  a national defence
–  Generate/sell surplus electricity
–  Prevention of waste of water power
–  Control of water resources required building a dam
—designed to maintain 9-ft navigation tunnel (650
mi)
Successes
•  Today, TVA manages 50 dams to:
•  control floods,
•  provide electricity,
•  increase water supply,
•  provide recreational lakes
Major Dams:
–  Wilson Dam (completed before creation of TVA)
–  Wheeler Dam in Alabama (1936)
•  land eroded from excess farming & deforestation
•  taught farmers to:
•  improve crop yields,
•  produce fertilizers,
•  replant forests,
•  control forest fires,
•  improve wildlife and fish habitats
•  34,000 barges annually travel the Tennessee
•  The flood-controlling saves $194 million in annual damage
List of Negative Impacts
• 
• 
• 
• 
Flooded land
TVA-subsidized electricity worse than others
Became monopoly
Confiscated private land + had relocation
programs that infuriated families
•  TVA’s nuclear power program created debt
•  TVA’s coal-fired plants put greenhouse gases
and toxic fumes into the atmosphere
Focus on One Negative Impact
•  2011 - EPA accused TVA of not complying with Clean
Air Act at 11 of its plants
•  Coal-fired plants found to emit greenhouse gases, sulfur
dioxide, and nitrogen oxides
•  18 units shut down that emitted 15 mill tons of carbon
dioxide in 2008
•  By end of 2018, almost 1% of nation’s coal-fired power
capacity offline
•  TVA to replace capacity with low or zero emission
electricity sources such as renewable energy, natural
gas, nuclear power, energy efficiency
•  Will shrink TVA’s carbon footprint by about 10%
References
•  http://www.irwinator.com/126/w544.jpg
•  http://www.archives.gov/atlanta/exhibit/images/photos/
photo-5-1-13.jpg
•  http://newdeal.feri.org/guides/tnguide/ch09.htm
•  http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/St-Ts/TennesseeValley-Authority.html
•  http://reason.com/archives/2009/03/02/how-biggovernment-infrastruct
•  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=onepercent-us-coal-plants-closed-avoid-pollution
James Bay Project
By Dmitry Styrkas, Tom Cacciola, Maddy
Besselaar, and Will Hare
James Bay Project Site Map
Goals for James Bay Project
1. The James Bay project original goal was
to provide Quebec with hydroelectric
power.
2. In addition to the initial goal, it was also
provides new jobs and expands the area
by altering 19 waterways and creating 27
new reservoirs.
Success measure of James Bay
Project
1. Produce 83 Terawatts-hour, enough to
supply a small developed economy, like
Belgium
2. 150 km (93 mi) coastal plain, a rolling
plateau with a maximum elevation of 400
m (1,300 ft)[3] and the Otish Mountains to
the east of the territory, with peaks
Negative Impacts of the Project
1. Diversion of 4 major waterways, changing
dynamics of the land.
2. Geological tremors.
3. Change in physical lay out of the land.
4. Changes in animal migration, salmon
spawning and destruction of wildlife
areas.
Diversion of 4 Main Waterways
2 of the major waterways (the Caniapiscau
and Eastmain rivers) that are being
diverted and thus submerging about
11,000 km²
of boreal forest and
substantially affecting the
water flow of the La Grande
River. Also the water flow
was reduced by 90% at
the mouth of the Eastmain
references
1. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/
What_is_the_purpose_of_the_James_ba
y_project
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
James_Bay_Project
3. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/
articles/james-bay-project
Three Gorges Dam
Alex Costin ~ Menelaos Mazarakis ~ Liv Rand ~ Jeni Schapire
Site Map
Key Reasons for Building
The controversial Golden Waterway's Three Gorges
Project (TGP) has been proposed for three reasons:
to produce more efficient hydroelectric power
(power generation) for the country
flood control
waterway navigation purposes (Ryder, 1990).
• 
• 
• 
Immediate goal is to provide China with clean,
renewable energy, while reducing greenhouse gas
emissions.
One Measure of Success
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
Immediate goal is to provide China with clean, renewable energy,
while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Currently, China relies heavily on coal, a highly polluting fossil fuel,
to supply a large percentage of their energy needs.
It takes about 366 grams of coal to generate 1 kWh of electricity, and
since the dam started generating power over 5 years ago, its total
power production is equivalent to 84 million tonnes of standard coal.
Dam aims to reduce the coal consumption by 31 million tonnes per
year, cutting the atmospheric emission of 100 million tonnes of
greenhouse gas, millions of tonnes of dust, one million tonnes of sulfur
dioxide, 370,000 tonnes of nitric oxide, 10,000 tonnes of carbon
monoxide, and a significant amount of mercury.
will also reduce the carbon footprint of supplying 31 million tons of
coal to other regions of China.
Negative Impacts
- harder to sustain economic capital
- benefits of must compensate for the initial cost
- forces relocation of 727,000 civilians
due to resettlement
•  Number of countries affected are 19
•  Total number of population affected: 14
million
•  Number of towns submerged: 104
•  Urban centers submerged
- destructive to the environment
The Environment
The building of the dam can have a negative effect on the surrounding
environment:
1. water pollution which includes ground water contamination of Shanghai
2. water loss of the "Great Lakes" of China
3. disruption of fish migration
4. inundation-possible flooding
5. landslides along the banks of the Yangtze River
6. sedimentation
7. soil erosion
8. increase in water borne diseases
9. the aggravation of droughts which can affect the productivity of farmlands
in the lake areas
10. possible termination of land formation which can aggravate the saltwater
intrusion at the estuary.
References
http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/state/
kmin.html
http://www.greeniacs.com/GreeniacsArticles/
Energy/Three-Gorges-Dam.html
Three Gorges Dam
Key Reasons for diversion
•  To produce more effective hydroelectric
power for China.
•  To assist in flood control.
•  For navigation purposes. On land and sea.
•  Create a deep water port for the city
Chongqing, which will thus become one of
the largest seaports in the world, as a
result of the increased sea navigation.
Success Measure
Success Measure continued
Success Measure Continued
List of negative impacts
• 
• 
• 
• 
Downstream water supply issues.
Negative impact on natural lakes.
Loss of sedimentation.
Forced resettlement of people living in
flooded areas.
•  Potential failure.
•  Siltation issues.
Negative sedimentation
• 
Sedimentation often plays a large role
as well. For the Yangtze Delta, the
agriculture and fishery depends on the
constant sedimentation flow from the
upper Yangtze River. The sedimentation
acts as a "natural" fertilizer for the down
stream Yangtze Delta.
• 
Because of intensified use of land, an
accelerated rate of soil erosion is
displayed. Since the agricultural land is
depleted of its natural fertilizer, the
Referenes
•  http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/state/
kmin.html
•  http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~vanti20m/
classweb/website/
socialconsequences.html
•  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Three_Gorges_Dam
•  http://toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Three
+Gorges+Dam
James Bay Project
Raz, Taylor, Bobby, and Adam
Site Map
•  Expands over a
region of 620 km
•  There are a total of
215 ditches and dams
•  Entire project cost
17.5 billion dollars
Key Reasons for Diversion
•  From 1950-1970, studies began to show
• 
• 
the hydroelectric potential of the region of
Quebec east of the James Bay.
Can provide (Quebec) and export (to US)
large amounts of hydroelectricity
Opens up area for development
o 
Would clear Native Americans from the land
Success Measure
•  Brought the price of electricity down
•  No chemical or waste heat pollution
•  Reservoirs can be used to breed fish.
•  Produces more than half of Quebec's
hydroelectricity (16,530 Megawatts)
Negative Impacts
•  affects migration of caribou
•  leads to the destruction of wetland
• 
• 
• 
• 
habitats for moose and beavers
too expensive to make another dam
because the price of electricity has gone
down so much
large levels of organic mercury are
released into environment
interrupts the river flow
interference with fish populations- sucked
into turbines
Negative Impact: Dead Caribou
•  the diversion of rivers in the James Bay
• 
affects the river flow and the river water
discharge into the sea
the change in the water proved to be too
much for the caribou population, who
follow a migration through those rivers,
and therefore large numbers drowned
during flooding (about 10,000)
References
•  http://www.hydroquebec.com
•  http://jamesbayroad.com/hydro/index.html
•  http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/
• 
articles/james-bay-project
http://www.culturalsurvival.org/
publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/
canada/hydro-quebec-and-native-people
Mekong River dams
By: Bonnie Davis, Victoria Kim, and
Nicole Kahn
Site map- Mekong River-2,700 miles
Key reasons for diversion
•  Laos proposed building the dam on the
• 
• 
• 
Mekong at Thahouy district in Xayaburi
province, to generate more than 1,000
MW of power to sell to Thailand.
To produce hydropower and electricity
Electricity for Vietnam, Laos, China,
Cambodia, and Thailand. Developing
countries-growing industries-new reliance
on electricity
Shipping farther indam-transportation
Success measure
•  Estimated potential of lower Mekong
• 
Basin-excluding China- 30,000 MW
Upper Mekong basin- 28,930 MW; Lower
Mekong Basin- 3,235 MW; 3,209 MW
under construction
Negative impacts
•  Block critical fish migration routes-the
• 
• 
• 
highly endangered Mekong giant Catfish
Block spawning grounds for fish
Block sediment flows and affect
agriculture in Thailand and Vietnam
People depend on the river for food and
general living
Migratory flows/Mekong Giant
Catfish
•  Sayabouly Province, Northern Laos- Giant
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
Catfish habitat-spawning grounds
Sahong channel-migration route for fish
Because the river is so large, it can
accommodate large fish such as the Giant
Catfish.
Floodplains and flooded forests- source of food
for fish during rainy season.
3rd most biodiverse river on Earth.
Fisheries and people depend on fish/giants
Critically endangered already
References
•  http://www.nationmultimedia.com/
• 
• 
national/Mekong-river-dam-will-kill-usprotesters-tell-PM-30190576.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Mekong_River_Basin_Hydropower
http://
environment.nationalgeographic.com/
environment/freshwater/lessons-from-thefield-mekong-giant-fish/
St. Lawrence Seaway
by Katie Hastings, Dana Barry, and Sarah
Anderson
Site Map
Site Map
Reason For Diversion
They made all these
diversions to connect
all the great lakes and
to have a system that
connects the great
lakes to the Atlantic
Ocean. Many vessels
use these channels for
carrying cargo but it
was first made to
create better trade.
Success Measure
Economic Success: "Each navigation season, more than 2,000 commercial vessel
transits are made through the Seaway System's locks to call on major U.S. and
Canadian ports. The Great Lakes region, home to North America's industrial
and agricultural centers, directly benefits from shipping commerce on the
Seaway. In fact, every 10,000 tons of general cargo handled by a Great Lakes
port community. "
Negatives
•  The Seaway has introduced 57 invasive species of aquatic
• 
animals, most importantly the Zebra Mussel which have
seriously affected other species in the system.
"eight major environmental issues: mercury contamination,
PCB contamination, the presence of other contaminants,
bacterial (fecal) contamination, excessive growth of nuisance
aquatic plants, habitat destruction and degradation, impacts of
exotic species, and fish and wildlife health effects."
The Zebra Mussel
•  Zebra mussels were accidentally brought to the great
lakes on ships going through the seaway.
•  The organisms are filter feeders so they have taken
• 
• 
away a vast majority of the food from competing
organisms.
They grow so densely they clog pipelines and water
supplies.
Eliminated many types of fish and hurt the fishing
industry.
References
http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/en/
seaway/history/index.html
http://www.glwi.freshwater.uwm.edu/
ourwaters/documents/DiversionsCWeb.pdf
http://www.vsr.cape.com/~powens/
riverhistory.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_mussel
http://www.glwi.freshwater.uwm.edu/
ourwaters/documents/DiversionsCWeb.pdf
NYC Watershed
Jeremy Louis Andrew Molly
Site Map
Reason
•  Water is transported from Croton watershed area and
• 
• 
• 
Catskill/ Delaware watershed area because of the high
demand for water in NYC
Wells were sufficient until about 1842 when they
became too polluted for the fast growing New York so
the decision was made to impound water from the
Croton River and build an aqueduct to transport the
water
Later the Catskill watershed area was added to their
water supply because of the population growth
Approximately 95% of the water is transported by
gravity
Success
•  1.4 Billion Gallons of water/day to NY state (90% of
NYC's water supply).
•  The New York City drinking water supply system is the
largest unfiltered water supply in the United States.
•  It provides high quality drinking water to nearly one-half
the population of New York State every day.
•  95% of total water is supplied by gravity, very little
pumping is required since the water runs downhill.
Negatives
•  Stop Fish migrations to upstream of dams
•  Consumes potential real estate land
•  Creates low oxygen concentrations
Negative Focus
NY's Decrepit Dams:
"They're older structures down your way, some 100
years old or more," said Alon Dominitz, an engineer and
chief of the state's dam safety program in Albany. "It's
rare that we inspect a dam and find no deficiencies."
New York has had a large population since it's founding,
so many dams were constructed as soon as the
technology was available (~100 years ago)
The 389 dams in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam
average 75 years old, with the oldest dating to 1800
Dam failures could cause flash-flooding, and large loss
of life in such a densely populated area
• 
• 
• 
• 
References
http://www.epa.gov/region2/water/nycshed/
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/25599.html
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/drinking_water/
history.shtml
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/76065.html
NYC Watershed
Jeremy Louis Andrew Molly
Site Map
Reservoir Levels
Reason
•  Water is transported from Croton watershed area and
• 
• 
• 
Catskill/ Delaware watershed area because of the high
demand for water in NYC
Wells were sufficient until about 1842 when they
became too polluted for the fast growing New York so
the decision was made to impound water from the
Croton River and build an aqueduct to transport the
water
Later the Catskill watershed area was added to their
water supply because of the population growth
Approximately 95% of the water is transported by
gravity
Success
•  1.4 Billion Gallons of water/day to NY state (90% of
NYC's water supply).
•  The New York City drinking water supply system is the
largest unfiltered water supply in the United States.
•  It provides high quality drinking water to nearly one-half
the population of New York State every day.
•  95% of total water is supplied by gravity, very little
pumping is required since the water runs downhill.
Negatives
•  Stop fish migrations upstream of dams
•  Consumes potential real estate land
•  Creates low oxygen concentrations
•  Sediments can transport pathogens and interfere with
• 
• 
• 
effectiveness of water filtration and disinfection
Excess nutrients- high phosphorus causes algae
blooms that effect oder, taste, and color
Excess phosphorus can cause eutrophic water
conditions and increased carbon
This water mixed with chlorine can result in the
formation of "disinfection byproducts" (may cause risk of
early term miscarriages)
Negative Focus
NY's Decrepit Dams:
"They're older structures down your way, some 100
years old or more," said Alon Dominitz, an engineer and
chief of the state's dam safety program in Albany. "It's
rare that we inspect a dam and find no deficiencies."
New York has had a large population since it's founding,
so many dams were constructed as soon as the
technology was available (~100 years ago)
The 389 dams in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam
average 75 years old, with the oldest dating to 1800
Dam failures could cause flash-flooding, and large loss
of life in such a densely populated area
• 
• 
• 
• 
References
http://www.epa.gov/region2/water/nycshed/
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/25599.html
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/drinking_water/
history.shtml
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/76065.html