Tungabhadra Dam

Such reservoirs are required for three main purposes: (1) provision of a dependable water supply for domestic and/or irrigation use, (2) flood mitigation, and (3) generation of electric power (Best 1998).

MAHARASHTRA

In this week’s blog, we take a look at the seven most strange and beautiful dams around the world.

• 7) Hoover Dam – Nevada/Arizona, United States.
• 6) Three Gorges Dam – Hubei, China.
• 5) The Karun-3 Dam – Khuzestan, Iran.
• 4) The Inguri Dam – Jvari, Georgia.
• 3) Vajont – Erto E Casso, Italy.
• 2) Sand Dams – Kenya.

Mosul dam

50 years

Understanding Dam Incidents While all dams are potentially dangerous, low-head dams are especially dangerous because the water around them often appears to be tranquil and inviting. Many drowning victims deliberately jump from or float over them without knowing the risks.

Key problems included the danger of dam collapse, the displacement of some 1.3 million people (critics insisted the figure was actually 1.9 million) living in more than 1,500 cities, towns, and villages along the river, and the destruction of magnificent scenery and countless rare architectural and archaeological sites …

Growing Risk. The Three Gorges Dam is only one of several dams built along the Yangtze. This is becoming a problem in 2020, because the entire Yangtze River basin, including rivers that feed the main Yangtze, have been subjected to an unprecedented series of massive rainstorms.

China is responsible for manufacturing almost a third of the world’s products. More than half of that output happens in the Yangtze River Economic Basin, which would be flooded within a day if the Three Gorges Dam burst. So if the Three Gorges Dam breaks, somewhere around 15% of the world’s manufacturing would stop.