Hydropower and Flood Control – Managing Water Resources for Energy and Conservation
Hydropower is one of the world’s most sustainable sources of electricity, drawing energy from water flowing naturally through lakes, streams and oceans.
However, climate change is expected to impact how much hydropower will be produced in the future, potentially having an adverse effect on America’s power grid.
Hydroelectricity
Hydropower is an invaluable source of energy that can be utilized to manage water resources for both energy production and conservation. It utilizes the kinetic energy released when water spills from dam tops, rolls down hillsides, or stores itself in reservoirs.
Kinetic energy can be harnessed to power turbines that produce electricity and distribute it to homes and businesses around the world. As a renewable resource, this type of energy is growing in popularity around the globe.
Hydropower can have serious potential risks if not properly managed. For instance, hydropower projects could alter river flow patterns downstream which could negatively impact riparian and aquatic species.
Another issue is siltation of reservoirs, which can fill them and make them unusable. Siltation also reduces the amount of energy produced by hydropower plants.
Waterfalls
Waterfalls are a natural phenomenon that occur where rivers run through upland areas. They are the result of erosion caused by running waters on rocks in these upland areas.
Waterfalls can be divided into 10 general categories according to their average volume of water that passes over them. These include block, cascade, horsetail, plunge, punchbowl, segmented, tiered and multistep falls.
They also depend on the type of rock eroded by water. Some types (like shale) are more resistant to erosion than others such as limestone and sandstone.
One distinctive feature of waterfalls is the presence of a plunge pool, or shallow basin that forms out of the river channel beneath falling water. Plunge pools serve to measure erosion progress and can contribute to both waterfall retreat and cliff face collapse.
Dams
Dams are an integral part of water management around the world. Not only do they store water to meet people’s needs during droughts, but also protect buildings from flash floods and storms while producing hydropower.
They can also be utilized for flood control by impounding and diverting water away from one area to reduce the risk of flooding. This helps keep communities safe while creating more land to build on.
Dams are essential for protecting the environment by trapping hazardous materials in water and collecting sediment that could contain hazardous or toxic substances. Furthermore, dams enable efficient processing of mine tailings while being environmentally friendly.
Flood Control
Flood control techniques encompass terracing hillsides, planting vegetation, creating alluviums (man-made channels to divert flood waters), dams, reservoirs, and retention ponds.
In addition to preventing flooding, these methods can also be employed for managing water resources for energy production and conservation. This becomes increasingly crucial as global climate changes impact coastal systems.
The Dutch have long used flood control as a way of protecting themselves against sea level rise. Recently, however, they have revised their priorities and methods for increasing flood barriers naturally.
Flood improvement strategies can be divided into two categories: structural and non-structural. Structural activities reduce harm through landscaping, floodwalls, elevation or diversion; on the other hand, non-structural measures minimize destruction through zoning regulations, subdivisions and building codes.