Problem
Environmental hazards from hydropower
Other Names:
Environmental damage from hydro-electric projects Nature:
The construction and implementation of hydropower plants involves considerable environmental costs: relocation of populations; loss of land; dramatic changes in species composition; unsurmountable obstacles to migrating fish, such as salmon; and a multitude of other changes in the ecological balance. In addition, the functioning of the dam is not hazard- free: marginal cultivators denude the watershed of forest cover which eventually leads to erosion of the cultivable soil and siltation of the dam reservoir; and waterborne diseases and water weeds breed easily in the reservoir.
Incidence:
In the 1880s there were an estimated 16 million wild Pacific salmon in the Columbia and Snake River System of north western USA. In 1993, there are perhaps 100,000 left. Roughly one third of all species of fish are imperilled in the USA and dams are the main causes.
Broader Problems:
Environmental impacts of power stationsEnvironmental degradation due to creation of dams Narrower Problems:
Dam failuresReservoir induced increases in seismicity Reduced By:
Underutilization of hydropowerStrategies:
Opposing development of rivers Subject(s):
Environment → Environment Fundamental Sciences → Liquid state
Resources → Energy
Societal Problems → Destruction
Societal Problems → Hazards
Technology → Electricity
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
E: Emanations of other problems Date of last update
04.10.2020 – 22:48 CEST