Term Paper on "High Aswan Dam Benefits and Loses"

Term Paper 6 pages (1629 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Aswan High Dam. The writer explores its history, its use, its benefits and its liabilities. There were two sources used to complete this paper.

Throughout the world there are thousands of manmade dams. They come in different sizes and serve different purposes but the commonalty they share is their duty to hold back water.

Dams are built to try and control river and lake flow as well as used to hold back up supplies of water for the surrounding areas (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).

One of the most interesting dams in the world is the Aswan High Dam of Egypt. The Aswan Dam was built for the purpose of controlling the flow of the Nile River.

In addition to controlling the flood potential of the river the dam also stores a significant amount of water for the purpose of alleviating drought conditions.

The final benefit of the dam is its ability to provide hydroelectric power to the surrounding areas (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).

While there are several strong benefits for the dam's existence those benefits do not come without a high price tag.

Hussein M. Fahim, who has been studying the impacts of the Aswan dam since 1963, writes "I view dams as engineering works, supposedly constructed to serve people; they, of course, have their technical specifications and requirements, but their potential humanistic implications should neither be overlooked nor underestimated (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/)." Engineers and governments must carefully weigh the benefits and the cost of any new technology. Huge environmental projects such as dams must entail even more thought and consideration than a new car engine or a faster microprocessor."

The High dam was actually the second dam at Aswan, with the first dam, the low dam being built in 1889(the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).

It was when Egypt was still controlled by Britain that the low dam was constructed and it was for the purpose of irrigation capabilities for cotton and many other cash crop possibilities.

Over the years the low dam had to have its height raised so that it could continue to serve its purposes however problems soon resurfaced. Amid discussions about raising the dam again the decision was made instead to build a newer, bigger, super dam.

It took until 1952, following the Egyptian revolution before plans for the new dam could be studied. It was called a technical marvel from the first blueprint and is still considered one of the world's most interesting dams (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).

The Dam

The dam had a tremendous impact on surrounding areas, including the nation of Nubia. It flooded the country and the Egyptian government quickly made arrangements to relocate those residents. While providing a new location was an upstanding thing for the Egyptian government to do the fact will always remain that the dam's construction destroyed the lifestyle of an entire nation's population (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).

In fact many of the nomadic tribes in the area were not warned of the changes that would be happening to the river, which affected their routines in caring for their livestock (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).Prior to the appearance of Lake Nasser, as the northern part of the reservoir created by the dam is known, the Nubians cultivated plots along the shore (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).Those areas are now completely underwater (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).Many people have left the settlements that were created for them and returned to the lake's edge, trying to recreate their lost culture (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/)."

The Aswan High Dam (http://www.proutworld.org/features/nile.htm)

The Aswan dam is made of granite and earth fill and forms a large ridge that spans the Nile River to hold it back so that it can be controlled.

The High Dam is built approximately six miles up the river from the Low dam and it is located 400 miles south of the city of Cairo (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).

The location was selected after extensive studies and investigations by geologists.[5] it was selected because both banks rise steeply from the riverbed and there is a very deep wide valley upstream which provides the excellent storage capacity of the present Lake Nasser reservoir (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/)."

The dam was an extensive project that used the labor of 30,000 workers that labored 24 hours a day seven days a week. It is five kilometers long and 107 meters above sea level (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).

None of the materials that were used on the dam were brought in from outside the area. Every material used came from local sources and holds a lake that is 500 miles long. At the time the dam was built the lake was the largest artificial lake in the world (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).

The dam provided great financial benefits for the nation of Egypt but with those benefits there were also some problems. One of the problems that the dam created was the destruction of history. Ancient monuments dating back many thousands of years had to be submerged when the dam was created and the water was filled.

A foundation stepped in and provided more than $40 million to move the artifacts.

The dam is built in an area that is primarily desert and looks every bit as impressive as the ancient pyramids look.

The benefits of Aswan High Dam are significant. One of the most important benefits it provides is that it generates electricity by releasing stored water through many turbines and those turbines spin together to generate electricity.

Some nations get all of their electric power from dams. Egypt has several sources for their electric power; however, the Aswan High dam does continue to provide hydroelectric power for much of the nation.

Another benefit that the dam provides in a secondary manner is the reduction of emissions. Hydroelectric power provides electricity without producing the carbon dioxide that other fuels are used. There are many emissions that fossil and coal fuel produce that the Aswan Dam does not (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).

The dam is also responsible for reducing air pollutions because of the clean hydroelectric power that it generates. This means that there are many health concerns that are reduced and eliminated because of the dam.

The largest benefit of the Aswan dam is the fact that it provides flood control (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).

Before the dam was constructed both sides of the Nile River frequently experienced flooding and destruction. Once the dam was built the flooding was stopped which allowed villages, and other growth to occur (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).

Today goods can be shipped by water across deep pools which have replaced rocky river beds. Finally, the huge reservoirs sitting at the top of the large dams provide big scope for recreation, including sailing, water sports, fishing and house-boating. Due to the earlier geography, these sports were hitherto not available (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/)."

The water ways created by the dam allow cargo to be shipped and carried to various areas of Egypt.

When the water in the river becomes to low the gates of the dam are opened and water flows into the river so that it can be used by cargo boats.

The dam did destroy much of the geographic area which had a negative impact on vegetation and the environment.

For example, silting affects the productivity of dams, regardless of whether the dams are built for power generation or for irrigation (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).As fast-flowing rivers are exchanged for slow-flowing reservoirs, sediment falls through the water column and becomes trapped behind the dams (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).This nutritious sediment is thus prevented from nourishing the floodplains downstream, and the estuaries become clogged with silt (the Aswan Dams (http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/aswan1/).As the dams silt up, they lose their storage capacity and hence their ability to generate electricity or to… READ MORE

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