Dams & river regulation have become an integral part of 20th-century landscape & livelihood. Virtually every river in the lower 48 states is now regulated by dams, locks, or diversions. This report illustrates the downstream consequences of dams & explains the basis on which rivers can be scientifically managed. Following a look at a free-flowing river -- the upper Salt River of Arizona -- & its natural cycles of flow & sediment, 6 regulated rivers are examined. Each of these rivers -- the Snake, Rio Grande, Chattahoochee, Platte, Green & Colorado -- highlights a particular use of a dam or a particular downstream effect.
Outlines the role of science in restoring or otherwise altering unwanted downstream effects of dams, including eroding river banks, changes in waterfowl habitat, threats to safe recreational use, and the loss of river sand bars, examining seven selected areas of the country -- the upper Salt River in central Arizona; the Snake River in Idaho, Oregon and Washington; the Rio Grande in New Mexico and Texas; the Chattahoochee River in Georgia; the Platte River in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska; the Green River in Utah; and the Colorado River in Arizona -- to focus on specific downstream effects of dams and the management issues related to their operation.
The American West at Risk summarizes the dominant human-generated environmental challenges facing the 11 contiguous arid western United States. The importance of this story is that protecting lands and soil also protects air and water quality, and water supplies, which are critical support for our lives and our health.
A guide to white-water boating, with information on rivers in the United States and Canada, equipment, various types of inflatable craft, the routine of an expedition, and safety and emergency procedures.
This book addresses the various factors affecting fluvial systems, the processes governing them, system responses arising from human-nature interventions, and geospatial and geo-ecological modeling to understand system behaviour better and restore degraded ecosystems around the globe. Thanks to their hydrological and agro-ecological advantages, humans have settled along riverbanks since the dawn of civilization. Thus, the ancient "ecumene" (settlements) were located near major rivers worldwide. This legacy of river-based civilizations continues to this day in many forms. However, in the course of the 'Anthropocene' era, countless fluvial systems have been altered by human interventions in the form of large-scale dams and barrages, changes in land use and land cover, road-stream crossings, mining of sand and gravel, mushrooming of brickfield, expansion of modern agriculture, industrial growth, and urbanization. Thus, the present-day development pattern threatens fluvial systems, especially riverine morphology and ecosystems. In brief, human-induced morphological changes, water pollution, eutrophication, and related damages to aquatic organisms are the major threats to fluvial systems. Thus, maintaining the 'environmental flow' of the world's major rivers to preserve the proper functioning of riverine ecosystems and promote sustainable development is a global challenge.
