Team Popeye Hoover Dam

By: Jack Pardi, Mitchell Barber, Andy Hall

Research Question

What is the influence of the Hoover Dam separating two ecosystems for hydroelectricity?

https://www.google.com/search?q=hoover+dam+cool+pics&es_sm=91&biw=1280&bih=684&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIrvehkuXjyAIVSOcaCh2hpAg3#imgrc=RlA0OkMuIxwTWM%3A

History of Hoover Dam Built in 1935 during Great Depression on

Colorado River

Cost 49 million dollars

Built using locally quarried materials

First time anyone tried to construct a dam of that scale.

Needed to provide power and regulate the Colorado River

http://www.history.com/topics/hoover-dam

1."Hoover Dam and the Negative Effects on Environment." Hoover Dam and the Negative Effects on Environment. LinkedIn Corporation, 21 May 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.2. Petroski, Henry. "Engineering: Hoover Dam." American Scientist 81.6 (1993): 517-21. JSTOR. ITHAKA. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <www.jstor.org>.

1

1

2

2

3

Background

The dam became a barrier within an ecosystem and turned it into two

Altered the rivers natural flow of water1

Changed the climate near it's location from desert to farmable land2

http://www.slideshare.net/Lengkengs/hoover-dam-and-the-negative-effects-on-environment-4204612

1. “Hydropower Basics.” Green Energy Ohio RSS. Green Energy Ohio, 23 Feb. 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

2. Petroski, Henry. "Engineering: Hoover Dam." American Scientist 81.6 (1993): 517-21. JSTOR. ITHAKA. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <www.jstor.org>.

Significance of Dam

Makes the water level more reliable by controlling flooding and droughts1

Hoover Dam provides power to millions of people

It's water supply also impacts millions of people, along with many acres of farmland

Hoover Dam was viewed as a "conquest of nature" and paved the way for future projects2

1. Petroski, Henry. "Engineering: Hoover Dam." American Scientist 81.6 (1993): 517-21. JSTOR. ITHAKA. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <www.jstor.org>.

2. Leslie, Jacques. "The Struggle Over Dams, Displaced People and the Environment." Deep Water: The Epic Struggle over Dams, Displaced People, and the Environment. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. Print.

http://www.geekygirlengineer.com/2012/

11/28/hoover-dam-and-bypass-bridge/

Current State Scouring of the bottom of river increases rate of erosion1

Dams prevent the natural order of disturbances from occurring2

Floods used to take fish eggs no longer happen

Floods also are used to take fertile soil into the water

Fish no longer can migrate up stream to reproduce

Ion concentration increases3

Creates an imbalance of nutrients as dissolved salt can pass the dam but nutrients cannot

1. "Environmental Impacts of Dams." International Rivers. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <http://www.internationalrivers.org/environmental-impacts-of-dams>.2. The Ecology of Dams. Chamisa Freeshell. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <http://chamisa.freeshell.org/dam.htm>.3. Manyari, Waleska Valenca, and Osmar Abilio De Carvalho, Jr. "Environmental considerations in energy planning for the Amazon region: Downstream effects of dams." Energy Policy. 12th

ed. Vol. 35. N.p.: Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals, 2007. PDF file.

Debate

Pros

Provides hydroelectric power to people around the area1

Regulates water levels more effectively and controls flooding1

Cons

Increases ion concentration of water2

Prevents fish migration3

Increases rates of erosion3

1. Petroski, Henry. "Engineering: Hoover Dam." American Scientist 81.6 (1993): 517-21. JSTOR. ITHAKA. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <www.jstor.org>.Manyari, Waleska Valenca, and Osmar Abilio De Carvalho, Jr. "Environmental considerations in energy planning for the Amazon region: Downstream effects of dams." Energy Policy. 12th ed. Vol. 35. N.p.: Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals, 2007. PDF file.2. "3.Environmental Impacts of Dams." International Rivers. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <http://www.internationalrivers.org/environmental-impacts-of-dams>.

Future Improvements

Provide fish ladders that are safer and more convenient for fish to use1

Agitate water on downstream side so oxygen dissolves2

Reduce the number of ions allowed to pass through the dam3

http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/fish_passage/about_dams_and_fish/

fish_ladders.html

1. The Ecology of Dams. Chamisa Freeshell. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <http://chamisa.freeshell.org/dam.htm>. 2. "Environmental Impacts of Dams." International Rivers. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <http://www.internationalrivers.org/environmental-impacts-of-dams>. 3. Manyari, Waleska Valenca, and Osmar Abilio De Carvalho, Jr. "Environmental considerations in energy planning for the Amazon region: Downstream effects of dams." Energy Policy. 12th ed. Vol. 35. N.p.: Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals, 2007. PDF file.

Works Cited

"Environmental Impacts of Dams." International Rivers. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <http://www.internationalrivers.org/environmental-impacts-of-dams>.

“Hydropower Basics.” Green Energy Ohio RSS. Green Energy Ohio, 23 Feb. 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

Manyari, Waleska Valenca, and Osmar Abilio De Carvalho, Jr. "Environmental considerations in energy planning for the Amazon region: Downstream effects of dams." Energy Policy. 12th ed. Vol. 35. N.p.: Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals, 2007. PDF file.

The Ecology of Dams. Chamisa Freeshell. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <http://chamisa.freeshell.org/dam.htm>.

Leslie, Jacques. "The Struggle Over Dams, Displaced People and the Environment." Deep Water: The Epic Struggle over Dams, Displaced People, and the Environment. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. Print.

Petroski, Henry. "Engineering: Hoover Dam." American Scientist 81.6 (1993): 517-21. JSTOR. ITHAKA. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <www.jstor.org>.

"Hoover Dam and the Negative Effects on Environment." Hoover Dam and the Negative Effects on Environment. LinkedIn Corporation, 21 May 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.