What are some political, social, environmental, and economic problems with water diversions.
What would happen to the great lakes if we keept taking out water?
I already have habitat loss
Thanks :)Problems that Come From Water Diversions?Why water diversion is an ecological problem for lakes
by Maxwell Payne
Water diversion is one of the main causes of ecological problems for lakes. When water is diverted from a lake, generally the amount diverted is far more then the lake can safely afford to lose. In order for a lake to remain ecologically sound its water content and level must remain relatively consistent. If the water level drops too low, this can be hazardous for many species of lake dwelling animals especially since many species require deeper water to live in. Also lower water levels bring more sunlight to the bottoms of lakes where light sensitive creatures of both plants and animals reside. This can cause increased harm to those types of creatures.
Also since the cycle of rainfall to land and back again relies on pools of surface water to continue the cycle, removing too much water from a lake via pipes, pumps, and underground canals prevents nature's system of condensing the water which will later become rainfall. Generally diverted water is in uncovered canals, but sometimes passes through or is channeled through methods and locations in which natural condensation can not take place, the molecules of water are unable to return to the atmosphere.
http://www.helium.com/items/225198-why-w鈥?/a> -------------------- Why water diversion is an ecological problem for lakes http://www.helium.com/knowledge/45533-wh鈥?/a> ------------------------ A primary purpose of many dams, both large and small, is to facilitate water diversions. Although existing water supplies can be stretched much further and new water infrastructure can be delayed using water conservation and efficiency strategies described below, people will continue to divert water from rivers and other surface sources for various purposes.
Nearly 80 percent of water consumed in the United States comes from surface supplies鈥攔ivers, creeks and lakes. In California alone, there are more than 25,000 points of diversion from streams. Thus, there are at least 25,000 locations in the state at which fish and other river organisms can be harmed in the process of meeting our need for water. In many dam investigations, the question comes down to: could we still divert water if the dam is removed or modified, or not built at all? In many cases, the answer is yes. Several, more river-friendly alternatives to traditional permanent dam diversion methods are discussed below, including:
Infiltration galleries and wells
Screened pipe intakes
Seasonal dams
Consolidated diversions More....................http://www.appropedia.org/Water_diversio鈥?/a> ----------------- Irrigated agriculture is the largest consumer of water in all of the Southwestern states. The water used for irrigation in the Southwestern United States is obtained from both surface and groundwater sources (El-Ashry and Gibbons 1986). The ecological impacts of the extensive use of both of these water sources will be addressed in this section of our web page.
The main impacts of irrigated agriculture in the Southwest are due to the building of dams and the diversion of water, the waterlogging of soils, the overdraft of groundwater resources, and the salinization of soil and water. "Consumptive" use is a term used for water which is lost after its use, rather than immediately returned to its source for reuse. Consumptive use of water by irrigation can reach as high as 90% in the Southwest, and the table below lists the irrigated acreage for all the Southwestern states and the percentage of the total consumptive use of water that is accounted for by irrigation practices
More............... http://www.earlham.edu/~biol/desert/irri鈥?/a> ------------------- Service for voluntary fish screening and passage projects associated with water diversions in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and western Montana. http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/fish鈥?/a> ---------------- India's River Diversion Plan: Its impact on Bangladesh
Indian plans to divert vast quantities of water from major rivers, including the Ganges and Brahmaputra, threaten the livelihoods of more than 100 million people downstream in Bangladesh, the Bangladeshi government fears. Ministers are so concerned that they are considering appealing to the United Nations to redraft international law on water sharing, said a report of the leading British daily The Guardian. More................ http://search.com.bd/articles/bangladesh鈥?/a>
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