ADVANTAGES:
1. Once a dam is constructed, electricity can be produced at a constant rate.
2. Dams are designed to last many decades and so can contribute to the generation of electricity for many years / decades.
3. If electricity is not needed, the sluice gates can be shut, stopping electricity generation. The water can be saved for use another time when electricity demand is high.
4. The lake that forms behind the dam can be used for water sports and leisure / pleasure activities. Often large dams become tourist attractions in their own right.
5. The lake's water can be used for irrigation purposes.
DISADVANATGES:
1. Dams are extremely expensive to build and must be built to a very high standard.
2. The high cost of dam construction means that they must operate for many decades to become profitable.
3. People living in villages and towns that are in the valley to be flooded, must move out. This means that they lose their farms and businesses. In some countries, people are forcibly removed so that hydro-power schemes can go ahead.
4. The flooding of large areas of land means that the natural environment is destroyed.
5. Building a large dam alters the natural water table level. For example, the building of the Aswan Dam in Egypt has altered the level of the water table. This is slowly leading to damage of many of its ancient monuments as salts and destructive minerals are deposited in the stone work from rising damp caused by the changing water table level.
No comments:
Post a Comment