This Essay is about the advantages and disadvantages of damming. I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of damming, as well as a dam's main purpose. Each paragraph has a different point: functions, types, advantages and disadvantages, and I'll end the essay with my conclusion.
A dam has multiple functions. Storing water for agriculture is one of them. The creation of storage allows dams to generate electricity. While a dam's main function is to restrain water, other structures like floodgates and dike's are used to manage and prevent water flow into a certain area. A dam provides many things, but there are some disadvantages to building a dam.
There also are different types of dams: arch, embankment and gravity. Embankment dams are built across broad valleys near sites where the huge amount of construction materials needed can be stored. Arch dams are limited to narrow canyons with strong rock walls. An arch dam is in form like a normal architectural arch pushed onto its back, with its curved top facing upstream and its feet braced against the sides of its canyon. A gravity dam is basically a thick, straight wall of concrete build across relatively narrow valleys with firm bedrock.
Building a dam has many advantages: When water is stored behind the dam, it can continuously generate electricity. The water in the lake that has formed behind the dam flows through a tunnel with a turbine in it, which powers a generator. Because the water of the lake is used as the power source, there are no greenhouse gasses produced while generating electricity. The build up of water in the lake also means energy can be stored until needed, for example when energy demands are very high. The lake can also be used for leisure/pleasure activities and water sports.
But building dams also has disadvantages. Dams are very expensive, and because of that, they have to operate for many decades before they become profitable. The people who live in the valley to be flooded must move out. The flooding of the valley destroys the natural environment as well. And while the structure of modern-day dams are strong, in the past old dams have be known to be breached(The dam couldn't take the weight of the water and collapsed). This has led to deaths and flooding.
But I think dams are necessary in some countries. The country I come from, Cape Verde, has almost no downfall, and because of that, has to import a lot from other countries. If a dam were to be build there, it would allow them to grow crops themselves, and become independent from other countries. So my conclusion is: Dams should be build in countries where there is not enough rain.
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School Essays
Non-FictionIn this book, i'll post all my essay's i've had to write for school. Maybe they'll help you when you need to write one!
