Hoover Dam
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The image on the left showcases construction taking place at the Hoover Dam. The middle showcases the Hoover Dam at night. The right photo shows the generators for the Hoover Dam.
Introduction
Between the 1930s and 1970s, a significant number of dams were constructed in the United States as a result of advancements in hydropower and infrastructural technologies (Macy, 2010). The demand for dams stemmed from the fact that there was a demand for increased electricity (National Geographic, 2022). The government worked on initiatives that contributed to the development of dams despite the poor economic conditions during the Great Depression (National Geographic, 2022). These initiatives boosted the economy, with citizens having jobs and more electricity being produced (National Geographic, 2022). Dams are built to control or stop water flow (Serralheiro-O'Neill, 2020). They are built for various reasons, such as creating reservoirs that can be used for human consumption, fishing, recreation, or hydroelectricity (Serralheiro-O'Neill, 2020). Another common reason for the development of dams is to prevent floods from occurring by restricting water flow (Serralheiro-O'Neill, 2020). Currently, there are over 60 000 large dams worldwide and over 3 700 dams in construction (Lovgren, 2021). Due to the popularity and the construction of dams, hydroelectric power now provides 16 percent of the world's electricity (Nunez, 2019). Water entering the intake system causes the blades of a turbine to rotate, spinning a generator to produce electricity, known as hydroelectricity (Nunez, 2019). The electricity is then sent from the generator to the power lines that supply homes, industries, and commercial establishments (Nunez, 2019). According to Statista, in 2020, the United States produces the world's fourth most hydroelectric power, with 285.35 terawatt hours being generated (Jaganmohan, 2022). In the United States, most hydropower dams are located in western United States (USA eia, 2022). Another factor that affects hydroelectricity generation is the amount of rainfall (USA EIA, 2022). With the US government focusing on renewable energy, it has led to an increase in hydroelectricity usage. As of 2022, 20.1% of the United States' electricity is powered through renewable sources, with hydropower accounting for 6.3% (USA EIA, 2022). One of the tallest dams in the United States is the Hoover Dam, and this dam once stood as the Earth's tallest dam. The construction of the Hoover Dam started on April 20, 1931, and finished on May 29, 1935 (Bureau of Reclamation, 2015). This concrete arch-gravity dam stands at 726.4 feet (Bureau of Reclamation, 2015). Yearly the Hoover Dam has 7 million visitors making it the most popular dam in the world (National Park Service, 2018).
This map showcases the renewable energy consumption in California, Nevada, and Arizona. The Hoover Dam produces hydropower which is a common source of renewable energy. In the United States, hydropower accounts for 6.3% off all electricity produced.
This map showcases the view of the Hoover Dam from satellites.
Hoover Dam Background Information
The Hoover Dam is a symbol of 20th-century industrial and hydropower technological advancement as well as an American establishment (National Park Service, 2018). The construction of this five-year-long concrete arch-gravity dam began in 1931 and was completed in 1935 (Bureau of Reclamation, 2015). The Hoover Dam stands at the height of 726.4 feet and weighs over 6, 600, 000 tons (Bureau of Reclamation, 2015). The dam spans on the border of Arizona-Nevada and is used to control the water flow of the Colorado River (National Park Service, 2018). The Hoover Dam's regulated water flow fills Lake Mead's 110-mile reservoir (National Park Service, 2018). This dam helps provide electricity to power 1.3 million houses and irrigate 2 million acres in the California, Arizona, and Nevada region (History, 2020). The Hoover Dam was constructed to offset flooding caused by the Colorado River (History, 2020). This helped protect cities and farms near the Colorado River. The irrigation system was another motive for constructing the dam, which would benefit the local vegetation (History, 2020). With the Hoover Dam in place, regions in Nevada, Arizona, and California may use Lake Mead water for agricultural purposes rather than relying on rainfall (History, 2020). With the advancement of electricity use in the early 20th century, the dam was also built for the purpose of hydroelectric use (History, 2020). The Hoover Dam was built during the Great Depression, and this helped the economy expand slightly by creating jobs for people (National Geographic, 2022). The process of building the Hoover Dam started in 1922 when Bureau director Arthur Powell Davis proposed the Boulder Canyon Project (History, 2020). This project outlined the fact that the dam would help control flooding, help with irrigation, and it would help produce hydroelectricity (History, 2020). On December 1928, the President at the time, Calvin Coolidge, approved the project (History, 2020). To help construct the dam, a contract was awarded to Six Companies (History, 2020). The first stage of constructing the dam involved exploding the canyon walls, which allowed for tunnels for the water (History, 2020). During the next stage, the goal was set to clear the walls that would hold the dam (History, 2020). In order to do this, workers were suspended in the air with tools to knock out any loose material blocking the path (History, 2020). In the dried riverbed, the powerplant, intake towers, and the dam were being constructed (History, 2020). To help with cementing on the canyon, cableways were used and to help reduce heat from cooling, and concrete pipe loops were used with water being circulated (History, 2020). The dam's creation led to water being displaced into a reservoir in Lake Mead behind the dam (History, 2020). The controlling of flooding and increased electricity produced led to the growth of cities on the west coast, such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoneix (History, 2020). The formation of the areas surrounding the Hoover Dam initially began with a shallow sea that then expanded and shifted, resulting in rivers, ocean shorelines, dunes, and volcanoes (National Park Service, 2017). Seventeen million years ago, the earth's crust was stretching, which resulted in earthquakes that caused mountains and valleys to be formed (National Park Service, 2017). A unified river was formed due to fractured areas obtaining the water from small lakes (National Park Service, 2017). With volcanoes present on the site in the past, rocks such as metamorphic, sedimentary, volcanic, plutonic, and igneous are seen (National Park Service, 2017). The Hoover Dam was built to withstand large earthquakes (Hendrix, 2019). This was showcased in 2019 with the Ridgecrest earthquake in California (Hendrix, 2019). During this 6.4 and 7.1 magnitude earthquake, no damage was done to the Hoover Dam (Hendrix, 2019). The Hoover Dam was the subject of negotiations between the states (History, 2020). Since the property was in a canyon, neither acquiring nor negotiating for the land was necessary to build the Hoover Dam
This video explains how irrigation reservoir work. One of the uses of the Hoover Dam is for irrigation of crops in nearby land.
The first photo showcases the reservoir created my the Hoover Dam in Lake Mead. The Hoover Dam provides electricity and irrigation in California, Arizona, and Nevada. The dam helps provide electricity to power 1.3 million houses and irrigate 2 million acres in the California, Arizona, and Nevada region.
Benefits of Hoover Dam
Numerous groups are impacted by the various kinds of benefits that dams may provide. Flood control, irrigation, electricity generation, and the provision of residential and drinking water, are a couple of advantages that dams offer (Tahmsciog̃lu et al, 2011). By limiting water outflow and only recirculating water into the water source at a controlled rate, dams help prevent flooding (Tahmsciog̃lu et al, 2011). The Colorado River flooded multiple times between 1905 and 1907, destroying farmland. Later on, in 1922, the Bureau of Reclamation proposed the Hoover Dam project to control the Colorado River and provide hydroelectric power and an irrigation system (Bureau of Reclamation, 2017). Additionally, it makes sure there is no extra water by rerouting if necessary. Dams also serve as a dependable water source for agriculture since they have irrigation systems to support farming and agricultural growth, benefiting farmers and forestry. The Hoover dam was built to provide hydroelectric power and an irrigation system to prevent seasonal floods in local communities (Gracon, 2022). Historically, dams were made to benefit the civilization by providing water for both consumption and domestic use and controlling the streams to avoid flooding (Tahmsciog̃lu et al, 2011). By transforming potential energy of flowing water, dams are a highly helpful way to generate hydroelectric energy which plays an important role in a nation's socio-economic growth and benefits citizens in states using the power generated (Enbridge, n.d). In contrast to other renewable energy sources, hydroelectric energy may be stored in reservoirs and used as needed (Boye et Vivo, 2016). Due to its annual hydroelectricity power production of around 4 billion kilowatt-hours, Hoover Dam is one of the nation's largest hydroelectric facilities (Bureau Of Reclamation, 2018). Hydropower is still regarded as the most inexpensive method of producing electricity (Simmons, 2022). Idaho, Oregon, and Washington are just a few states that consume high hydropower(Simmons, 2022). Other advantages of hydroelectricity produced by dams include a dependable source of water for irrigation, proper water quality, job opportunities, and recreation activities (Simmons, 2022). Between 3,500 to 5,218 workers were hired on average during the Great Depression to build the Hoover Dam (Bureau Of Reclamation, 2017). With the Hoover Dam being an engineering masterclass, it has led to being an inspiration for other projects of this magnitude (Kwak et al, 2013). Companies and businesses use the Hoover Dam construction as a template for building their projects (Kwak et al, 2013). Several dams around the US offer recreational activities like boating, swimming and fishing (Simmons, 2022). Tourists are also drawn to the historic site, which boasts the state's tourism industry (Simmons, 2022). Nearly 7 million people visit the Hoover Dam annually, making it the most visited dam in the world (Simmons, 2022). Dams have also contributed to economic growth, creating job opportunities (Collier, 2003). Dams can significantly affect the biological processes involved in ecosystems and the way water travels (Water Encyclopedia, n.d.). For instance, before the construction of the Hoover Dam, the Colorado River carried a significant amount of sediment, but, following the dam's construction, the Colorado river currently releases no sediment (Water Encyclopedia, n.d.). As the dam regulates the flow of dangerous materials, this is advantageous for the aquatic life in the river (Hassan, n.d). Large fluctuations in the hydrologic cycle are caused, in part, by storms and seasonal shifts (Bhakra Beas Managment Board, n.d.). The water cycle from the earth to the atmosphere is known as the hydrologic cycle (US, 2019). Given these variations in the hydrologic cycle, dams are constructed to store water when there is an overabundance and conserve it in a reservoir until needed (Bhakra Beas Management Board, n.d.). Dams are also ecologically friendly since they lower greenhouse gas emissions (Hassan, n.d.). Due to the usage of renewable resources, the power generated by turbines emits minimal amounts of CO2 (Boyé, 2016). The dam also helps provide electricity to power 1.3 million houses and irrigate 2 million acres in the California, Arizona, and Nevada region (History, 2020).
The photo on the left displays recreational activites that take place in the reservoir of Lake Mead. Recreational activities include boating, fishing, and swimming. The middle photos includes a neighbourhood in California. The Hoover Dam powers over 1.3 million houses in California, Arizona, and Nevada. The image on the right showcases the generator of the Hoover Dam. This dam provides renewable energy in hydroelectricity.
Soil Suitability In California, Nevada, Arizona, When Irrigation is Used
Negative Effects of the Hoover Dam
While dams have many benefits, such as preventing flooding, helping with agriculture, and producing hydroelectricity, they also have negative effects. One of the initial negative aspects of building the Hoover Dam was the cost of it. The cost to build this American icon was $49 million, translating to $860 million with today's inflation (Bechtel, 2022). This was also built during a period of time when the economy was in the Great Depression (Bechtel, 2022). Additionally, 96 people have died due to the Hoover Dam's many effects, including falls, rock strikes, drowning, and explosions (Bureau of Reclamation, 2015). Dams have several detrimental effects, one of which is that they cause climate change by releasing greenhouse gases (Stahl, 2018). As of 2016, reservoirs contribute 1.3% of the total amount of greenhouse gases produced by people worldwide (Cornwall, 2016). Reservoirs such as Lake Mead produce greenhouse gases because underwater microbes consume organic matter that gets trapped within the dam, producing methane (Cornwall, 2016). A study by the University of Waterloo reveals that around one-fifth of the organic carbon that moves from land to the ocean is trapped in dams (Kelly, 2017). The study also articulates that dams not only have a local impact on the environment but also disrupt the global carbon cycle (Kelly, 2017). Humans have impacted the ecosystem through reservoir construction due to dams (Morley, 2007). A journal by Neil J. Morley discovers that several parasite populations have dropped precipitously (Morley, 2007). A negative correlation associated with dams is that it impacts aquatic life (Barbarossa et al, 2020). Fish migration to feeding and spawning places is impacted by controlling the water flow of dams (Barbarossa et al, 2020). The installments of dams threaten freshwater biodiversity by changing water flow and fragmentation (Barbarossa et al, 2020). Fragmentation has resulted in the migration routes, feeding, and spawns of aquatic life being changed (Barbarossa et al, 2020). Water dams also lead to pollution of water sources, distribution networks having leakages, non-revenue water, and unequal water insecurity (Godinez-Madrigal et al, 2022). The construction of large dams also leads to many financial and social burdens on the government (Godinez-Madrigal et al, 2020). In a journal written by Grill and his peers, he articulates that the use of dams and reservoirs and the downstream fragmentation have led to the loss of river connectivity (Grill et al, 2019). The natural ecosystem suffers from reservoirs altering the normal flow of water, which also causes a reduction in biodiversity and ecosystem health. The environment is forced to adapt to the dam (Grill et al, 2019). With these dams producing reservoirs, it also alters basins in the ecosystem (Hecht et al, 2019). In an article by Sokolow and his peers, she states that nearly 400 million people are at risk of schistosomiasis due to migration routes being blocked which results in snail-eating prawns not doing there job (Sokolow et al, 2016). Another downfall of the Hoover Dam is the potential disaster if the dam collapses. As seen in 2019, a dam in Brumadinho collapsed, which led to the death of 259 people (Rotta, 2020). If the Hoover Dam collapsed, the water would cover approximately 10 million acres and be 1 foot deep (Rasmussen, 2020). Cities downstream of the river would take the most damage (Rasmussen, 2020). The reservoir flooding cities will also affect the water used for irrigation in desert areas (Rasmussen, 2020). 1.3 million people will also be out of power since hydroelectricity will not be produced (Rasmussen, 2020). Dams have also led to the extinction and endangerment of aquatic species. In Idaho, there have been requests to remove the dam due to the fact that it affects the migration routes of native salmon (Barker, 2020). The use of dams in this region has led to the warming of the water, which has led to fish having reduced reproduction and being more likely to have diseases (Barker, 2020). A large reservoir also leads to the risk of spreading diseases if the water source gets contaminated (Kibret et al, 2015). The construction of the Hoover Dam also disrupted the home of wildlife species.
Dams produce 1.3% of total greenhouse gases emitted by humans. Another negative affect of dams is that they affect the migration routes that aquatic species must take.
This video discusses what would occur if the Hoover Dam collasped.
This map showcases that areas near dams have lower aquatic biodiversity. In the map eastern California which connects with the Hoover Dam has relatively less aquatic biodiversity compared to the rest of California. Factors such as migration routes, spawning routes, and reduced reproduction due to warm water has alterted the diversity.
This map also showcases that the Hoover Dam has a high potential downstream hazard and a high maxiumum storage. If the Hoover Dam collapsed, the water would cover approximately 10 million acres and be 1 foot deep Cities downstream of the river would take the most damage.
Conclusion
The Hoover Dam, which was built during the Great Depression and is still in place today, helps regulate the flow of water in the Colorado River and produces hydroelectric power. This dam has both positive and harmful effects on society and on the environment. The use of irrigation systems, job prospects, the prevention of flooding, and assistance in the development of communities upstream are all advantages of using clean, renewable hydroelectricity. This icon's drawbacks include the production of greenhouse gases, impact on ecosystem biodiversity, disruption of normal river flow, alteration of aquatic migration pathways, possibility of catastrophic disaster, and extinction of species. Overall, dams across the world have potential for further development and can be made more ecologically friendly with the application of cutting-edge technology, to minimize shortcomings in present designs