Reservoir

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This article is about an artificial body of water. For other uses, see Reservoir (disambiguation).

The Jhonghua Dam on the Dahan River in Taoyuan County, Taiwan.

A reservoir (etymology: from French rservoir a "storehouse [1]), artificial lake or
impoundment from a dam[2] is used to store water. Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by
the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional
construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.
The term reservoir may also be used to describe naturally-occurring underground reservoirs such
as those beneath an oil or water well.

Contents
[hide]

1 Types
o

1.1 Valley dammed reservoir

1.2 Bank-side reservoir

1.3 Service reservoir

2 History

3 Uses

3.1 Direct water supply

3.2 Hydroelectricity

3.3 Controlling watercourses

3.4 Flow balancing

3.5 Recreation

4 Operation
o

4.1 Terminology

4.2 Modelling reservoir management

5 Safety

6 Environmental impact
o

6.1 Whole life environmental impact

6.2 Climate change

6.3 Biology

6.4 Human Impact

6.5 Limnology

6.6 Seismicity

6.7 Microclimate

7 List of reservoirs
o

7.1 List of reservoirs by area

7.2 List of reservoirs by volume

8 See also

9 References

10 External links

[edit] Types
[edit] Valley dammed reservoir

Lake Vyrnwy Reservoir. The dam spans the Vyrnwy Valley and was the first large stone dam
built in the United Kingdom.

Stocks Reservoir in Lancashire, England.

A dam constructed in a valley relies on the natural topography to provide most of the basin of the
reservoir. Dams are typically located at a narrow part of a valley downstream of a natural basin.
The valley sides act as natural walls with the dam located at the narrowest practical point to
provide strength and the lowest practical cost of construction. In many reservoir construction
projects people have to be moved and re-housed, historical artifacts moved or rare environments
relocated. Examples include the temples of Abu Simbel[3] ( which were moved before the
construction of the Aswan Dam to create Lake Nasser from the Nile in Egypt ) and the relocation of the village of Capel Celyn during the construction of Llyn Celyn.[4]
Construction of a reservoir in a valley will usually necessitate the diversion of the river during
part of the build often through a temporary tunnel or by-pass channel.[5]

In hilly regions reservoirs are often constructed by enlarging existing lakes. Sometimes in such
reservoirs the new top water level exceeds the watershed height on one or more of the feeder
streams such as at Llyn Clywedog in Mid Wales.[6] In such cases additional side dams are
required to contain the reservoir.
Where the topography is poorly suited to a single large reservoir, a number of smaller reservoirs
may be constructed in a chain such as in the River Taff valley where the three reservoirs Llwynon Reservoir, Cantref Reservoir and Beacons Reservoir form a chain up the valley.[7]

[edit] Bank-side reservoir

Where water is taken from a river of variable quality or quantity, bank-side reservoirs may be
constructed to store the water pumped or siphoned from the river. Such reservoirs are usually
built partly by excavation and partly by the construction of a complete encircling bund or
embankment which may exceed 6 km in circumference.[8] Both the floor of the reservoir and the
bund must have an impermeable lining or core, often made of puddled clay. The water stored in
such reservoirs may have a residence time of several months during which time normal
biological processes are able to substantially reduce many contaminants and almost eliminate
any turbidity. The use of bank-side reservoirs also allows a water abstraction to be closed down
for extended period at times when the river is unacceptably polluted or when flow conditions are
very low due to drought. The London water supply system is one example of the use of bankside storage for all the water taken from the River Thames and River Lee with many large
reservoirs such as Queen Mary Reservoir visible along the approach to London Heathrow
Airport.[8]

[edit] Service reservoir

Service reservoirs[9] store fully treated potable water close to the point of distribution. Many
service reservoirs are constructed as water towers, often as elevated structures on concrete pillars
where the landscape is relatively flat. Other service reservoirs are entirely underground,
especially in more hilly or mountainous country. In the United Kingdom, Thames Water has
many underground reservoirs built in the 1800s by the Victorians, most of which are lined with
brick. A good example is the Honor Oak Reservoir, constructed between 1901 and 1909. When it
was completed it was the largest brick built underground reservoir in the world[10] and is still one
of the largest in Europe.[11] The reservoir now forms part of the Southern extension of the Thames
Water Ring Main. The top of the reservoir has been grassed over and is now the Aquarias Golf
Club.[12]
Service reservoirs perform several functions including ensuring sufficient head of water in the
water distribution system and providing hydraulic capacitance in the system to even out peak
demand from consumers enabling the treatment plant to run at optimum efficiency. Large service
reservoirs can also be managed to so that energy costs in pumping are reduced by concentrating
refilling activity at times of day when power costs are low.

[edit] History

Five thousand years ago, the craters of extinct volcanoes in Arabia were used as reservoirs by
farmers for their irrigation water.[13]
Dry climate and water scarcity in India led to early development of water management
techniques, including the building of a reservoir at Girnar in 3000 BC.[14] Artificial lakes dating
to the 5th century BC have been found in ancient Greece.[15] An artificial lake in present-day
Madhya Pradesh province of India, constructed in the 11th century, covered 650 square metres
(7,000 sq ft).[14]
In Sri Lanka large reservoirs have been created by ancient Sinhalese kings in order to save the
water for irrigation. The famous Sri Lankan king Parkramabhu I of Sri Lanka stated " do not
let a drop of water seep into the ocean without benefiting mankind ". He created the reservoir
named Parakrama Samudra(sea of King Parakrama),[16] which has astonished archaeologists.
[original research?]

[edit] Uses
[edit] Direct water supply

Gibson Reservoir, Montana

Many dammed river reservoirs and most bank-side reservoirs are used to provide the raw water
feed to a water treatment plant which delivers drinking water through water mains. The reservoir
does not simply hold water until it is needed; it can also be the first part of the water treatment
process. The time the water is held for before it is released is known as the retention time. This is
a design feature that allows particles and silts to settle out, as well as time for natural biological
treatment using algae, bacteria and zooplankton that naturally live within the water. However
natural limnological processes in temperate climate lakes produces temperature stratification in
the water body which tends to partition some elements such as manganese and phosphorus into
deep, cold anoxic water during the summer months. In the autumn and winter the lake becomes
fully mixed again. During drought conditions, it is sometimes necessary to draw down the cold
bottom water and the elevated levels of manganese in particular can cause problems in water
treatment plants.[17]

[edit] Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectric dam in cross section.

A reservoir generating hydroelectricity includes turbines connected to the retained water body by
large-diameter pipes. These generating sets may be at the base of the dam or some distance away.
Some reservoirs generating hydroelectricity use pumped re-charge in which a high-level
reservoir is filled with water using high-performance electric pumps at times when electricity
demand is low and then uses this stored water to generate electricity by releasing the stored water
into a low-level reservoir when electricity demand is high. Such systems are called pump-storage
schemes.[18]

[edit] Controlling watercourses

Reservoirs can be used in a number of ways to control how water flows through downstream
waterways.
Downstream water supply water may be released from an upland reservoir so that it
can be abstracted for drinking water lower down the system, sometimes hundred of miles
further down downstream
Irrigation water in an irrigation reservoir may be released into networks of canals for
use in farmlands or secondary water systems. Irrigation may also be supported by
reservoirs which maintain river flows allowing water to be abstracted for irrigation lower
down the river.[19]
Flood control also known as an "attenuation" or "balancing" reservoir, flood control
reservoirs collect water at times of very high rainfall, then release it slowly over the
course of the following weeks or months. Some of these reservoirs are constructed across
the river line with the onward flow controlled by an orifice plate. When river flow
exceeds the capacity of the orifice plate water builds behind the dam but as soon as the
flow rate reduces the water behind the dam slowly releases until the reservoir is empty
again. In some cases such reservoirs only function a few times in a decade and the land
behind the reservoir may be developed as community or recreational land. A new
generation of balancing dams are being developed to combat the climatic consequences
of climate change. They are called "Flood Detention Reservoirs". Because these
reservoirs will remain dry for long periods, there may be a risk of the clay core drying out
reducing its structural stability. Recent developments include the use of composite core
fill made from recycled materials as an alternative to clay.

Canals Where a natural watercourse's water is not available to be diverted into a canal,
a reservoir may be built to guarantee the water level in the canal; for example, where a
canal climbs to cross a range of hills through locks.[20]

Recreational-only Kupferbach reservoir near Aachen/Germany.

Recreation water may be released from a reservoir to artificially create or supplement
white-water conditions for kayaking and other white-water sports.[21] On salmonid rivers
special releases (in Britain called freshets) are made to encourage natural migration
behaviours in fish and to provide a variety of fishing conditions for anglers.

[edit] Flow balancing

Reservoirs can be used to balance the flow in highly managed systems,
taking in water during high flows and releasing it again during low flows. In
order for this to work without pumping requires careful control of water
levels using adjustable sluices. Accurate weather forecasts are essential so
that dam operators can plan drawdowns prior to a high rainfall or snowmelt
event. Dam operators blamed a faulty weather forecast on the 20102011
Queensland floods. Examples of highly managed Reservoirs are Burrendong
Dam in Australia and Llyn Tegid in North Wales. Llyn Tegid is a natural lake
whose level was raised by a low dam and into which the River Dee flows or
discharges depending upon flow conditions at the time as part of the River
Dee regulation system. This mode of operation is a form of hydraulic
capacitance in the river system.

[edit] Recreation
The water bodies provided by many reservoirs often allow some recreational
uses such as fishing, boating, and other activities. Special rules may apply
for the safety of the public and to protect the quality of the water and the
ecology of the surrounding area. Many reservoirs now support and
encourage less informal and less structured recreation such as natural history,
bird watching, landscape painting, walking and hiking and often provide
information boards and interpretation material to encourage responsible use.

[edit] Operation
Water falling as rain upstream of the reservoir together with any groundwater
emerging as springs is stored in the reservoir. Any excess water can be
spilled via a specifically designed spillway. Stored water may be piped by
gravity for use as drinking water, to generate hydro-electricity or to maintain

river flows to support downstream uses. Occasionally reservoirs can be

managed to retain high rain-fall events to prevent or reduce downstream
flooding. Some reservoirs support several uses and the operating rules may
be complex.

Spillway of Llyn Brianne dam in Wales.

Most modern reservoirs have a specially designed draw-off tower that can
discharge water from the reservoir at different levels both to access water as
the reservoir draws down but also to allow water of a specific quality to be
discharged into the downstream river as compensation water.
The operators of many upland or in-river reservoirs have obligations to
release water into the downstream river to maintain river quality, support
fisheries, maintain downstream industrial uses. maintain recreational use or
for a range of other requirements. Such releases are known as compensation
water.

[edit] Terminology
The terminology for reservoirs varies from country to country. In most of the
world reservoir areas are expressed in km2 whilst in the USA acres are
commonly used. For volume either m3 or km3 are widely used with acre feet
used in the USA.
The capacity, volume or storage of a reservoir is usually divided into
distinguishable areas. Dead or inactive storage refers to water in a reservoir
that cannot be drained by gravity through a dam's outlet works, spillway or
power plant intake and can only be pumped out. Dead storage allows
sediments to settle which improves water quality and also creates hydraulic
head along with an area for fish during low levels. Active or live storage is
the portion of the reservoir that can be utilized for flood control, power

production, navigation and downstream releases. In addition, a reservoir's

flood control capacity is the amount of water it can regulate during flooding.
The surcharge capacity is the capacity of the reservoir above the spillway
crest that cannot be regulated.[22]
In the United States the water below the normal maximum level of a
reservoir is called the conservation pool.[23]
In the UK top water level describes the reservoir full state whist fully drawn
down describes the minimum retained volume.

[edit] Modelling reservoir management

There is a wide variety of software for modelling reservoirs, from the
specialist Dam Safety Program Management Tools (DSPMT) to the
relatively simple WAFLEX, to integrated models like the Water Evaluation
And Planning system (WEAP) that place reservoir operations in the context
of system-wide demands and supplies.

[edit] Safety
In many countries large reservoirs are closely regulated to try to prevent or
minimise failures of containment.[24][25]
Whilst much of the effort is directed at the dam and its associated structures
as the weakest part of the overall structure, the aim of such controls is to
prevent an uncontrolled release of water from the reservoir. Reservoir
failures can generate huge increases in flow down a river valley with the
potential to wash away towns and villages and cause considerable loss of life
such as the devastation following the failure of containment at Llyn Eigiau
which killed 17 people.[26](see also List of dam failures)
A notable case of reservoirs being used as an instrument of War involved the
British Royal Air Force Dambusters raid on Germany in World War II
(codenamed "Operation Chastise" [27]), in which three German reservoir dams
were selected to be breached in order to impact on German infrastructure and
manufacturing and power capabilities deriving from the Ruhr and Eder
rivers. The economic and social impact was derived from the enormous
volumes of previously stored water that swept down the valleys wreaking
destruction. This raid later became the basis for several films.

[edit] Environmental impact

Main article: Environmental impacts of reservoirs

[edit] Whole life environmental impact

All reservoirs will have a monetary cost/benefit assessment made before
construction to see if the project is worth proceeding with.[28] However, such
analysis can often omit the environmental impacts of dams and the reservoirs
that they contain. Some impacts such as the greenhouse gas production
associated with concrete manufacture are relatively easy to estimate. Other
impact on the natural environment and social and cultural effects can be
more difficult to assess and to weigh in the balance but identification and
quantification of these issues are now commonly required in major
construction projects in the developed world [29]

[edit] Climate change

Depending upon the circumstances, a reservoir built for hydro-electricity
generation can either reduce or increase the net production of greenhouse
gases. An increase can occur if plant material in the flooded areas decays in
an anaerobic environment releasing (methane and carbon dioxide). This
apparently counterintuitive position arises because much carbon is released
as methane which is approximately 8 time more potent as a greenhouse gas
than carbon dioxide [30]
A study for the National Institute for Research in the Amazon found that
Hydroelectric reservoirs release a large pulse of carbon dioxide from abovewater decay of trees left standing in the reservoirs, especially during the first
decade after closing.[31] This elevates the global warming impact of the dams
to levels much higher than would occur by generating the same power from
fossil fuels.[31] According to the World Commission on Dams report (Dams
And Development), when the reservoir is relatively large and no prior
clearing of forest in the flooded area was undertaken, greenhouse gas
emissions from the reservoir could be higher than those of a conventional
oil-fired thermal generation plant.[32] For instance, In 1990, the impoundment
behind the Balbina Dam in Brazil (inaugurated in 1987) had over 20 times
the impact on global warming than would generating the same power from
fossil fuels, due to the large area flooded per unit of electricity generated.[31]
A decrease can occur if the dam is used in place of traditional power
generation, since electricity produced from hydroelectric generation does not
give rise to any flue gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion (including
sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide and carbon monoxide from coal). The Tucurui
dam in Brazil (closed in 1984) had only 0.4 times the impact on global
warming than would generating the same power from fossil fuels.[31]

[edit] Biology

Dams can produce a block for migrating fish, trapping them in one area,
producing food and a habitat for various water-birds. They can also flood
various ecosystems on land and may cause extinctions.

[edit] Human Impact

Dams can severely reduce the amount of water reaching countries
downstream of them, causing water stress between the countries, e.g. the
Sudan and Egypt, which damages farming businesses in the downstream
countries, and reduces drinking water.
Farms and villages, e.g. Ashopton can be flooded by the creation of
reservoirs, ruining many livelihoods. For this very reason, worldwide 80
million people (figure is as of 2009) have had to be forcibly relocated due to
dam construction.

[edit] Limnology
The limnology of reservoirs has many similarities to that of lakes of
equivalent size. There are however significant differences.[33] Many
reservoirs experience considerable variations in level producing significant
areas that are intermittently underwater or dried out. This greatly limits the
productivity or the water margins and limits the number of species able to
survive in these conditions.
Upland reservoirs tend to have a much shorter residence time than natural
lakes and this can lead to more rapid cycling of nutrients through the water
body so that they are more quickly lost to the system. This may be seen as a
mismatch between water chemistry and water biology with a tendency for
the biological component to be more oligotrophic than the chemistry would
suggest.
Conversely, lowland reservoirs drawing water from nutrient rich rivers, may
show exaggerated eutrophic characteristics because the residence time in the
reservoir is much greater than in the river and the biological systems have a
much greater opportunity to utilise the available nutrients.
Deep reservoirs with multiple level draw off towers can discharge deep cold
water into the downstream river greatly reducing the size of any
hypolimnion. This in turn can reduce the concentrations of phosphorus
released during any annual mixing event and may therefore reduce
productivity.
The Dams in front of reservoirs act as knickpoints-the energy of the water
falling from them reduces and deposition is a result below the Dams.

[edit] Seismicity
The filling (impounding) of reservoirs has often been attributed to reservoirtriggered seismicity (RTS) as seismic events have occurred near large dams
or within their reservoirs in the past. These events may have been triggered
by the filling or operation of the reservoir and are on a small scale when
compared to the amount of reservoirs worldwide. Of over 100 recorded
events, early examples include the 60 m (197 ft) tall Marathon Dam in
Greece (1929), the 221 m (725 ft) tall Hoover Dam in the U.S. (1935). Most
events involve large dams and small amounts of seismicity. The only four
recorded events above a 6.0-magnitude (Mw) are the 103 m (338 ft) tall
Koyna Dam in India which registered a Mw of 6.3 along with the 120 m
(394 ft) Kremasta Dam in Greece which registered a 6.3-Mw as well.
Following those two, the next largest were the 122 m (400 ft) high Kariba
Dam in Zambia at 6.25-Mw and the 105 m (344 ft) Xinfengjiang Dam in
China at 6.1-Mw. Disputes occur over when RTS has occurred due to a lack
of hydrogeological knowledge at the time of the event. It is accepted though
that the infiltration of water into pores and the weight of the reservoir do
contribute to RTS patterns. For RTS to occur, there must be a seismic
structure near the dam or its reservoir and the seismic structure must be close
to failure. Additionally, water must be able to infiltrate the deep rock stratum
as the weight of a 100 m (328 ft) deep reservoir will have little impact when
compared the deadweight of rock on a crustal stress field which may be
located at a depth of 10 km (6 mi) or more.[34]

[edit] Microclimate
Reservoirs may change the local micro-climate increasing humidity and
reducing extremes of temperature. Such effects are claimed by some South
Australian winerys as increasing the quality of the wine production.

[edit] List of reservoirs

Main article: List of reservoirs

[edit] List of reservoirs by area

Lake Volta from space (April 1993).

The following are the world's ten largest reservoirs by surface area:
1. Lake Volta (8,482 km2 or 3,275 sq mi; Ghana) [35]
2. Smallwood Reservoir (6,527 km2 or 2,520 sq mi; Canada)[36]
3. Kuybyshev Reservoir (6,450 km2 or 2,490 sq mi; Russia)[37]
4. Lake Kariba (5,580 km2 or 2,150 sq mi; Zimbabwe, Zambia)[38]
5. Bukhtarma Reservoir (5,490 km2 or 2,120 sq mi; Kazakhstan)
6. Bratsk Reservoir (5,426 km2 or 2,095 sq mi; Russia)[39]
7. Lake Nasser (5,248 km2 or 2,026 sq mi; Egypt, Sudan) [40]
8. Rybinsk Reservoir (4,580 km2 or 1,770 sq mi; Russia)
9. Caniapiscau Reservoir (4,318 km2 or 1,667 sq mi; Canada)[41]
10. Lake Guri (4,250 km2 or 1,640 sq mi; Venezuela)

[edit] List of reservoirs by volume

Lake Kariba from space.

Main article: List of reservoirs by volume
1. Lake Kariba (180 km3 or 43 cu mi; Zimbabwe, Zambia)
2. Bratsk Reservoir (169 km3 or 41 cu mi; Russia)
3. Lake Nasser (157 km3 or 38 cu mi; Egypt, Sudan)
4. Lake Volta (148 km3 or 36 cu mi; Ghana)
5. Manicouagan Reservoir (142 km3 or 34 cu mi; Canada)[42]
6. Lake Guri (135 km3 or 32 cu mi; Venezuela)
7. Williston Lake (74 km3 or 18 cu mi; Canada)[43]
8. Krasnoyarsk Reservoir (73 km3 or 18 cu mi; Russia)
9. Zeya Reservoir (68 km3 or 16 cu mi; Russia)

[edit] See also

Water portal

Ab Anbar

Colourful lakelets (in Poland)

Drainage basin

Drought

Hydroelectricity

Dam failure

Mill pond

Multipurpose reservoir

Spillway

Coastal sediment supply

[edit] References
1.

^ Online Etymology Dictionary Reservoir

2.

^ The Australian National Dictionary (Oxford University Press) dam: An artificial

pond or reservoir for the storage of water, usu. run-off rainwater; tank n

3.

^ Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae UNESCO World Heritage

Centre

4.

^ Capel Celyn, Ten Years of Destruction: 19551965, Thomas E., Cyhoeddiadau

Barddas & Gwynedd Council, 2007, ISBN 978 1 900437 92 9

5.

^ Construction of Hoover Dam: a historic account prepared in cooperation with the

Department of the Interior. KC Publications. 1976. ISBN 0-916122-51-4.

6.

^ Llyn Clywedog Llanidloes mid-Wales

7.

^ Reservoirs of Fforest Fawr Geopark

8.

^ a b Queen Mary and King George V emergency draw down schemes

9.

^ Open University Service Reservoirs

10. ^ "Honor Oak Reservoir". London Borough of Lewisham.

http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/ForestHillAndHonorOakSe
cretsLeaflet.pdf. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
11. ^ "Honor Oak Reservoir". Mott MacDonald.
http://www.projectmanagement.mottmac.com/projects/?mode=type&id=130093.
Retrieved 2011-09-01.
12. ^ Golf Club website
13. ^ Smith, S. et al. (2006) Water: the vital resource, 2nd edition, Milton Keynes, The
Open University

14. ^ a b edited by John C. Rodda, Lucio Ubertini. (2004). Rodda, John; Ubertini,
Lucio. eds. The Basis of Civilization Water Science?. International Association of
Hydrological Science. ISBN 1-901502-57-0. OCLC 224463869
15. ^ Wilson & Wilson (2005). Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. Routledge. ISBN
0415973341. pp. 8
16. ^ International Lake Environment Committee Parakrama Samudra
17. ^ Water problems Manganese
18. ^ How pump storage works
19. ^ Thinking about an irrigation reservoir?
20. ^ Huddersfield narrow canal reservoirs
21. ^ Water Release information for The River Tryweryn at the National Whitewater
centre
22. ^ Vojtch Broa, Ladislav Votruba, (1989). Water management in reservoirs.
Elsevier Publishing Company. p. 187. ISBN 0-444-98933.
http://books.google.com/?
id=j8dIlPJITH0C&pg=PA187&lpg=PA187&dq=active+storage+reservoir#v=onep
age&q=active%20storage%20reservoir&f=false.
23. ^ Lower Colorado River Authority Water Glossary
24. ^ North Carolina Dam safety law
25. ^ Reservoirs Act 1975 The Reservoirs Act 1975 (UK)
26. ^ Snowdonia Llyn Eigau
27. ^ Commonwealth War Graves Commission Operation Chastise
28. ^ CIWEM Reservoirs:Global Issues
29. ^ Proposed reservoir Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Scoping Report
30. ^ Houghton, John (4 May 2005). "Global warming". Reports on Progress in
Physics (Institute of Physics) 68 (6): 1362. doi:10.1088/0034-4885/68/6/R02.
http://stacks.iop.org/RoPP/68/1343.
31. ^ a b c d Fearnside, P.M. 1995. hydroelectric dams in the Brazilian Amazon as
sources of 'greenhouse' gases. Environmental Conservation 22(1): 719.]
32. ^ Hydroelectric power's dirty secret revealed earth 24 February 2005 New
Scientist
33. ^ Ecology of Reservoirs and Lakes

34. ^ "The relationship between large reservoirs and seismicity 08 February 2010".
International Water Power & Dam Construction. 20 February 2010.
http://www.waterpowermagazine.com/story.asp?storyCode=2055399. Retrieved 12
March 2011.
35. ^ International Lake Environment Committee Volta Lake
36. ^ The Canadian Encyclopaedia Smallwood Reservoir
37. ^ International Lake Environment Committee Reservoir Kuybyshev
38. ^ International Lake Environment Committee Lake Kariba
39. ^ International Lake Environment Committee Bratskoye Reservoir
40. ^ International Lake Environment Committee Aswam high dam reservoir
41. ^ International Lake Environment Committee Caniapiscau Reservoir
42. ^ International Lake Environment Committee Manicouagan Reservoir
43. ^ International Lake Environment Committee Williston Lake

[edit] External links

7.2.3. Environmental Considerations and Local Land Use Planning
0

Sharing policies respond to environmental and public health concerns, particularly with respect
to mobile network transmission facilities, and to issues related to local land use planning. People
generally view wireless communication masts and antennas as negative additions to the
landscape. Local communities may object to the construction of new sites because of the visual
impact or environmental considerations. Also, residents may fear public exposure to
electromagnetic fields around masts and antennas. [1] Site sharing can limit such concerns and potential negative effects, since it
limits the number of sites while achieving the required coverage. Another beneficial aspect of site sharing is the amount of energy that can be saved when operators
share electrical power, which is often in limited supply in developing countries. [2]

Box 1: The EU Framework Directive and Facility Sharing

[1] Site sharing can limit such concerns and potential negative effects, since it limits the number o
[2]

The EU Framework Directive contains a number of provisions related to facility sharing.

These provisions are relevant to policy objectives related to environmental considerations
and local land use planning.
Recital 23:

Facility sharing can be of benefit for town planning, public health or environmental
reasons, and should be encouraged by national regulatory authorities on the basis of
voluntary agreements. In cases where undertakings are deprived of access to viable
alternatives, compulsory facility or property sharing may be appropriate. It covers inter
alia: physical collocation and duct, building, mast, antenna or antenna system sharing.
Compulsory facility or property sharing should be imposed on undertakings only after
full public consultation.
Recital 24:
Where mobile operators are required to share towers or masts for environmental
reasons, such mandated sharing may lead to a reduction in the maximum transmitted
power levels allowed for each operator for reasons of public health, and this in turn may
require operators to install more transmission sites to ensure national coverage.
Article 12: Co-location and facility sharing
1. Where an undertaking providing electronic communications networks has the right
under national legislation to install facilities on, over or under public or private property,
or may take advantage of a procedure for the expropriation or use of property, national
regulatory authorities shall encourage the sharing of such facilities or property.
2. In particular where undertakings are deprived of access to viable alternatives because
of the need to protect the environment, public health, public security or to meet town and
country planning objectives, Member States may impose the sharing of facilities or
property (including physical co-location) on an undertaking operating an electronic
communications network or take measures to facilitate the coordination of public works
only after an appropriate period of public consultation during which all interested parties
must be given an opportunity to express their views. Such sharing or coordination
arrangements may include rules for apportioning the costs of facility or property
sharing.
Source: Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March
2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and

services (Framework Directive).

While sharing reduces the number of sites marking the landscape, it can also have adverse
impacts. Because antennas generally have to be separated from each other by a minimum
distance in order to avoid interference, mast sharing usually requires taller (and more visually
disruptive) masts. (See Recital 24 of the European Framework Directive, outlined in Box 1,
above.) Local planning authorities actually may prefer several small towers to one large one.
More discrete (or disguised) structures reduce visual intrusion, but cannot support more than one
operators antenna.
Sharing may also help operators address what can often be a very expensive and nettlesome
aspect of network deployment: obtaining the rights of way to lay fibre strands and obtaining
local permission to breakup public roads and other places necessary to build trenches, conduits,
and ducts. With good planning and foresight, trenches, conduits, and ducts can be built large
enough to accommodate more than one operator. Sharing access to trenches, conduits, and ducts
reduces the fees and red tape surrounding the obtaining of permission to lay fibre and to
undertake the related construction. From the perspective of local authorities, sharing access to
trenches, conduits, and ducts leads to less disruption on public roadways and other places since
each operator does not have to undertake its own construction.
In addition to helping to address environmental concerns and local land use issues, sharing also
offers a way of balancing the need for communications infrastructure such as antennae and the
preservation of historic sites. Maintaining the integrity of historic sites generally requires
minimizing external structures such as communications infrastructure. Strategies such as tower
sharing and collocation help to manage the coexistence of modern communications infrastructure
and historic sites. In the United States, for example, the Federal Communications Commission,
the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, and the Advisory Council on
Historic Preservation developed an agreement aimed at preventing the construction of
unnecessary new communications towers by mandating collocation. This agreement, the
Nationwide Programmatic Agreement for the Collocation of Wireless Antennas, is linked
below as a reference document.
[1] Current scientific evidence indicates that exposure to radiofrequency fields, such as those
emitted by mobile phones and antennas, is unlikely to have negative health effects. In response to
health concerns raised by certain communities, the World Health Organization (WHO)
established a project to assess the scientific evidence of possible health effects of electromagnetic
fields (see www.who.int/peh-emf/en/index.html). The International Commission for Nonionizing Radiation Protection (www.icnirp.de) has established guidelines for the maximum level
of radiofrequency levels in areas of public access from antennas and for users of mobile
handsets.

[2] Todays standard 3G equipment consumes about 4,000 KWh of Grey energy per year per
node, which corresponds to 2.5 tons of CO2, or the equivalent need of 120 trees per node to
compensate for the environmental effect. In a developing country with no or little alternative
Green energy, network sharing can significantly reduce the environmental impact.
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Reference Documents

EU Framework Directive

More

United States -- Nationwide Programmatic Agreement for the Collocation of Wireless

Antennas

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Subject

Environmental impact of reservoirs

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The environmental impact of reservoirs is coming under ever increasing scrutiny as the world
demand for water and energy increases and the number and size of reservoirs increases.
Dams and the reservoirs can be used to supply drinking water, generate hydroelectric power,
increasing the water supply for irrigation, provide recreational opportunities and to improve
certain aspects of the environment. However, adverse environmental and sociological impacts
have also been identified during and after many reservoir constructions. Whether reservoir
projects are ultimately beneficial or detrimentalto both the environment and surrounding
human populations has been debated since the 1960s and probably long before that. In 1960
the construction of Llyn Celyn and the flooding of Capel Celyn provoked political uproar which
continues to this day. More recently, the construction of Three Gorges Dam and other similar
projects throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America have generated considerable environmental
and political debate.

The Wachusett Dam in Clinton, Massachusetts.

Contents
[hide]

1 Upstream impacts
o

1.1 Creation of a reservoir

1.2 Fragmentation of river ecosystems

1.3 Reservoir sedimentation

2 Impact below dam

2.1 Riverline and coastal erosion

2.2 Water temperature

3 Effects beyond the reservoir

o

3.1 Effects on humans

3.2 Effects on flood-dependent ecology/agriculture

3.3 Effects on the Earth itself

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

[edit] Upstream impacts

Lake Nasser behind the Aswan dam, Egypt, 5250 km, displaced 60,000 people [1]

[edit] Creation of a reservoir

The damming of a river creates a reservoir upstream from the dam. The reservoir waters spill out
into the surrounding environments, flooding the natural habitats that existed before the dams
construction. To date, over 400,000 km2 of the earth have been flooded due to damming. The
newly created reservoir has more surface area than the river would have had, and therefore more
evaporation occurs than previously. This can lead to a loss of up to 2.1 meters in depth per year
in some climates. Reservoirs can also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.[2]

The initial filling of a reservoir floods the existing plant material, leading to the death and
decomposition of the carbon-rich plants and trees. The rotting organic matter releases large
amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. The decaying plant matter itself settles to the nonoxygenated bottom of the reservoir, and the decompositionunmitigated by a flow pattern that
would oxygenate the waterproduces and eventually releases dissolved methane.

[edit] Fragmentation of river ecosystems

A dam also acts as a barrier between the upstream and downstream movement of migratory river
animals, such as salmon and trout.[3] Dams block their migration upstream to spawning areas,
threatening to decrease reproduction numbers and reduce the species population. In light of this
consequence, efforts have been made to allow the fish a passage upstream, and newer dams often
include artificial "fishways" or "fish ladders".
Some communities have also begun the practice of transporting migratory fish upstream to
spawn via a barge.[3] Fish sometimes have difficulty migrating downstream through a dam,
meaning that downstream populations are often reduced, unless the fish are able to swim safely
through the dams spillways. Permanent inundation caused by reservoir flooding also alters the
wetlands, forests and other habitats surrounding the river. Further ecosystem disruption occurs
along the banks of the river and downstream. The areas surrounding riverbanks are of a
particularly rich bio-diversity, supported by the natural flooding of a dam-free river. Dammed
rivers reduce flood rates, and this has negative consequences on the floodplains downstream that
depend on seasonal waters for survival. The comparatively invariable ecosystem created by a
reservoir-river supports a far-reduced range of wildlife. Dams hold back sediments that would
replenish down stream ecosystems naturally. Endemic species may or may not survive the
environmental change, and new species are likely to adopt the altered habitat as a home.
However, since dams change a key ecosystem to which all surrounding ecosystems have
adapted, dam construction nearly always reduces wildlife diversity, for better or for worse. It also
results in the loss of habitat of many living organisms.

[edit] Reservoir sedimentation

Rivers carry four different types of sediment down their riverbeds, allowing for the formation of
riverbanks, river deltas, alluvial fans, braided rivers, oxbow lakes, levees and coastal shores. The
construction of a dam blocks the flow of sediment downstream, leading to downstream erosion
of these Sedimentary depositional environment, depositional environments, and increased
sediment build-up in the reservoir. While the rate of sedimentation varies for each dam and each
river, eventually all reservoirs develop a reduced water-storage capacity due to the exchange of
storage space for sediment.[4] Diminished storage capacity results in decreased ability to produce
hydroelectric power, reduced availability of water for irrigation, and if left unaddressed, may
ultimately result in the expiration of the dam and river.[5]

[edit] Impact below dam

[edit] Riverline and coastal erosion

As all dams result in reduced sediment load downstream, a dammed river is said to be hungry
for sediment. Because the rate of deposition of sediment is greatly reduced since there is less to
deposit but the rate of erosion remains nearly constant, the water flow eats away at the river
shores and riverbed, threatening shoreline ecosystems, deepening the riverbed, and narrowing the
river over time. This leads to a compromised water table, reduced water levels, homogenization
of the river flow and thus reduced ecosystem variability, reduced support for wildlife, and
reduced amount of sediment reaching coastal plains and deltas.[5] This prompts coastal erosion,
as beaches are unable to replenish what waves erode without the sediment deposition of
supporting river systems. Channel erosion of rivers has its own set of consequences. The eroded
channel could create a lower water table level in the affected area, impacting bottomland crops
such as alfalfa or corn, and resulting in a smaller supply.[6]

[edit] Water temperature

The water of a reservoir is usually warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than it would
be without a dam. As this water flows into its river, the altered temperature also affects the
temperature of the river. This impacts the plant and animal life present in both the reservoir and
the river, often creating environments that are unnatural to the endemic species. A substantial
decrease in fishing success for Atlantic salmon and Sewin on the River Towy has been shown to
be related to the reduced water temperature caused by the bottom water discharge from Llyn
Brianne, a dam created in the 1960s. Recent shifts in the populations of fish in the Snake River
and Klamath region have, for example, prompted the renewal of research and restoration projects
aimed at relieving the stress of temperature change.

[edit] Effects beyond the reservoir

[edit] Effects on humans
Diseases
Whilst reservoirs are helpful to humans, they can also be harmful as well. One negative effect is
that the reservoirs can become breeding grounds for disease vectors. This holds true especially in
tropical areas where mosquitoes (which are vectors for malaria) and snails (which are vectors for
Schistosomiasis) can take advantage of this slow flowing water.[7]

Lake Manantali, 477 km, displaced 12,000 people.

Resettlement
Dams and the creation of reservoirs also require relocation of potentially large human
populations if they are constructed close to residential areas. The record for the largest
population relocated belongs to the Three Gorges dam built in China. Its reservoir submerged a
large area of land, forcing over a million people to relocate. "Dam related relocation affects
society in three ways: an economic disaster, human trauma, and social catastrophe", states Dr.
Michael Cernea of the World Bank and Dr. Thayer Scudder, a professor at the California Institute
of Technology.[1]

[edit] Effects on flood-dependent ecology/agriculture

In many developing countries the savanna and forest ecology of the floodplains depend on
seasonal flooding from rivers. Also, flood recession cropping is practiced extensively whereby
the land is cultivated taking advantage of the residual soil moisture after floods recede. Dams
attenuate floods which may affect the ecology and agriculture seriously.

Water becomes scarce for nomadic pastoralist in Baluchistan due to new dam + irrigation
developments [8]
Case studies

The Manatali reservoir formed by the Manantali dam in Mali intersects the migration
routes of nomadic pastoralists and destroyed 43000 ha of savannah, probably leading to
overgrazing and soil erosion elsewhere. Further, the reservoir destroyed 120 km of forest.
The depletion of groundwater aquifers, which is caused by the suppression of the seasonal
flood cycle, is damaging the forests downstream of the dam.[9]

In the case of the Lower Omo River, Ethiopia, hundreds of thousands of nomads will be
affected because the flood recession agriculture on which their livelihoods are based would
disappear once the Gibe III dam will be completed.

After the closure of the Kainji dam, Nigeria, 50 to 70 per cent of the downstream area of
flood-recession cropping was lost.[10]

[edit] Effects on the Earth itself

Reservoirs may contribute to changes in the Earth's climate. Warm climate reservoirs generate
methane, a greenhouse gas when the reservoirs are stratified, in which the bottom layers are
anoxic (i.e. they lack oxygen), leading to degradation of biomass through anaerobic processes.[11]

In some cases, where flooded basins are wide and biomass volumes are high the amount of
biomass converted to methane results in pollution potential 3.5 times more than an oil-fired
power plant would for the same generation capacity.[12]

[edit] See also

Environmental impact of irrigation

[edit] References
^ a b A comparative survey of dam-induced resettlement in 50 cases by Thayer Scudder and John

1.
Gray [1]
2.

^ Hydroelectric power's dirty secret revealed - earth - 24 February 2005 - New Scientist

3.

^ a b Mann, Charles C; Mark L. Plummer (August 2000). "Can Science Rescue Salmon?". Science,
New Series 289 (5480): 716719.

4.

^ Silenced Rivers: The Ecology and Politics of Large Dams, by Patrick McCully, Zed Books,
London, 1996. ISBN 1856499022

5.

^ a b Reservoir Sedimentation Handbook; Morris, Gregory & Fan, Jiahua; McGraw-Hill

Publishers; 1998.

6.

^ Sedimentation Engineering; American Society of Civil Engineers Committee; American Society

of Civil Engineers Headquarters; 1975.

7.

^ William R. Jobin, 1999. Dams and Disease: Ecological Design and Health Impacts of Large
Dams, Canals, and Irrigation Systems, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0419223606 [2]

8.

^ ILRI, 1982. Modern interferences in traditional water resources in Baluchistan. In: Annual
Report 1982, pp. 23-34. ILRI, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Reprinted in Water International 9 (1984), pp.
106- 111. Elsevier Sequoia, Amsterdam. Also reprinted in Water Research Journal (1983) 139, pp. 53-60.
Download from : [3] , under nr. 10, or directly as PDF : [4]

9.

^ A. deGeorges and B.K. Reilly, 2006. Dams and large scale irrigation on the Senegal river:
impacts on man and the environment. UNDP Human Development Report. On line:
http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2006/papers/DeGeorges%20Andre.pdf

10.

^ C.A.Drijver and M.Marchand, 1985. Taming the floods. Environmental aspects of the floodplain
developments of Africa. Centre of Environmental Studies, University of Leiden, The Netherlands.

11.

^ Climate Change and Dams: An Analysis of the Linkages Between the UNFCCC Legal Regime
and Dams.

12.

^ http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7046 Hydroelectric Power's Dirty Secret

[edit] External links

Rivers No More: The Environmental Effects of Large Dams at International Rivers (an
excerpt for Rivers No More: The Environmental Effects of Large Dams)
World Commission on Dams
[hide]

Human impact on the environment

AgricultureFishing Irrigation Meat production Palm oil
Biodiesel Coal mining and burning Electricity
Energy industrygeneration Nuclear power Oil shale industry
Petroleum Reservoirs Wind power
Cause
s

Cleaning agents Concrete Nanotechnology Paint

Manufactured productsPaper Pesticides Pharmaceuticals and personal care
products
TransportAviation Roads Shipping
OtherMining War

Effects Coral reefs Nitrogen cycle

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