A meandering river is flowing in a broad, alluvial valley and the river is silt-laden but also moves sand and a small amount of gravel. The government decides to build a dam across the valley for power and flood control. What will happen to the river downstream of the dam?

Question

Andrew Chung

Physics

27 August, 22:21

A meandering river is flowing in a broad, alluvial valley and the river is silt-laden but also moves sand and a small amount of gravel. The government decides to build a dam across the valley for power and flood control. What will happen to the river downstream of the dam?

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Corbin Heath · Answer 1

Dams are constructed in order to generate electricity as well as to control the level of flood. In order to do so, various types of problems are being faced.

Due to the construction of the dam in a meandering river comprising of silt, sand, and gravel, both the upstream and downstream side of the river is affected. The setting of the dam results in the accumulation of the sediments at the reservoir, that blocks the water and when the water is released it becomes a braided type.

On the other hand, in the downstream side, the quality of the water gets degraded, as a result of which the fishes and other aquatic organisms are affected, thereby affecting the ecosystem of that particular area.