why do dams release water during floods

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Naturally flowing rivers are often cleaner and clearer in water quality than water held by a dam, since nutrients and sediment can be naturally discharged in flowing water. If less water maintained in the dams, then there is no water left if the state experiences droughts. Officers face problems, as as there is pressure on them to use dams mainly for storage while at the same time control/manage floods . Dams must also maintain a minimum downstream flow to protect aquatic resources. For example, the 2019 floods in Sangli, Kolhapur and Satara and the recent floods in Pune worsened as the water did not have any place to percolate due to massive encroachments in the area leading to significant loss of lives and property. This often creates a dilemma for officers who manage dams and its water storage capacity in Maharashtra. Watch Part 1 of the video: Dams and Floods by Jeevitnadi in Marathi here. Climate change is further adding more challenges as episodes of extreme rainfall, floods, droughts, cloudbursts and landslides are increasing in the state. Please view earlier episodes on floods here: India Water Portal is an Jeevitnadi Living River Foundation, in this third video Part 1 & 2: Dams and floods released on 25th June 2021 from the series on 'Everything about floods', highlights the role that dams can play in managing floods and the challenges faced at the policy and planning level to manage floods. They are run-of-the-river dams designed to hold relatively stable water levels in the impoundment. What are floods, why do we have floods at all? Dams left to deteriorate in place can also pose a threat to the life and health of the public using waterways for swimming and boating. And challenges are increasing day by day. This plan is known as an inspection, operation and maintenance plan. Recent removals of dams in Wisconsin have also shown a decrease in carp populations and increase in trout species in the area of removal, and have shown a higher water quality and biodiversity after removal. For more information on removals, see Dam removal. endstream endobj 34 0 obj <>>> endobj 35 0 obj <> endobj 36 0 obj <. All content on this website is published Do dams worsen floods?

Currently we do not have very efficient flood control mechanisms. While we can look at the last 100 years data, this might not be useful to predict the new challenges that are arising due to climate change. hb```c``Z!AX.00 :E\g``h ;y9b!jy,ko All dams should have a written plan for when it is appropriate to open or close gates. Dams in Maharashtra also do not have gates to control and manage floods. We need infrastructure that involves different institutions and organisations that need to work together in a coordinated fashion to deal with floods. However, to develop a better understanding of dams to cope with floods, we need regular monitoring systems in place and better data and methods to help in real time data analysis to predict floods earlier on. They will also be potentially liable of any damage caused by the misoperation or failure of their dam. under aCC BY-NC-SA 2.5 INlicense. This needs better management and communication at the central, state, district, local and community levels and use of new and advanced technologies to predict and manage floods. Dams are usually built to temporarily slow the flow of water, creatingan artificial impoundment, or lake, just upstream of the dam. Dam removals are often a necessity caused by the high cost of dam reconstruction and maintenance or the liability of dam ownership. However, once rivers get flooded, we have to consider not only the river basin, but the dam or chain of dams constructed on the river basins and all stakeholders involved in managing floods right from government officials at the centre, state, local levels to communities and people at the ground level experiencing and bearing the brunt of floods. Dams prevent native fish from utilizing different stream segments thatcan be important seasonally or during different stages in their life.

Also, flood zoning is not only an engineering matter, it has a number of economic, social, cultural and political dimensions that makes implementation difficult. Beavers and muskrats are also attracted to dams. This naturally results in higher water upstream of the dambut auxiliary spillways are designed to pass excess floodwaters downstream. This is not the case with Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka as they traditionally do not experience floods. A Reservoir Operation Schedule has been developed over the years wherein steps are undertaken to deal with the evolving situation by planning for every 15 days, when excess of water is released and water stored according to the water level and time by taking into consideration the evolving situation. Dams are an important part of this process and have an important role to play in the journey of a river from flow to floods. It is not possible to manage floods at the individual level. This too gets complicated as larger river basins such as the Krishna, Godavari have multiple dams or chains of dams making analysis difficult. endstream endobj startxref Although in the case of small floods, it might not be necessary to involve the Ministry, all in the chain need to be informed on what is happening at the ground level. Prevention of this unchecked and uncontrolled urbanisation and encroachment of water bodies in urban areas is an urgent necessity to cope with the growing impacts of climate change and increasing floods in the future. Flood control officers in the Ministry of Water Resources provide information to Municipal Corporation, Zilla Parishad, tehsil, villages and home department in flood prone areas for provision of resources, medical care etc in emergency situations.

This worsens the impacts of floods. Water held by the dam is often warmer than the natural water temperatureand attracts different fish and mammal species. Watch Part 2 of the video: Dams and Floods by Jeevitnadi in Marathi here. You may also check out our owner responsibility fact sheet [PDF] for more information about the legal responsibilities faced by dam owners. Impoundments created by dams sometimes need to be dredged to remove sediment buildup behind the dam. In Wisconsin, prospective dam owners must be able to prove they are financially capable of maintaining a dam before ownership can be transferred. We have restricted the flow of rivers while all water bodies such as streams, lakes, ponds are gradually disappearing due to encroachments in urban areas. 0 Gates might be opened when water levels are high and the impoundment needs to be lowered, and may be closed if water levels in the impoundment are low. 53 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<0B75123813CC45039DEF44171F02E0A4><00329B2165B07A42B165089F82E856BA>]/Index[33 39]/Info 32 0 R/Length 106/Prev 150445/Root 34 0 R/Size 72/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream Dams need constant maintenance and repairs. hbbd```b`` "@$d{@t7P" R\&O^"%@t81$c\ )Pn#FFo| 0 EN Dams and floods, the challenges in Maharashtra. While we tend to think of dams as large structures constructed to store water and control floods, do dams really help in reducing floods? In heavy rainfall or flooding, some dams are designed to hold back some of the water flowing downstream, protecting people and property downstream from higher water. Fish such as carp prefer the warm water of dams, while trout prefer the cooler, flowing water of a river. Decisions based on a narrow set of market values of nature underpin the global biodiversity crisis, Tracking the outcome of select water conservation structures with the community in Aurangabad, Large Dams, barrages, reservoirs and canals, Mapping carbon reserves to fight climate change, Need to consider multiple values of nature in policy decisions, Evaluating water use reduction strategies in Marathwada. We as citizens should understand these dilemmas that they face. This study found a high concentration of trihalomethanes (THMs) in water treatment plants in Delhi that were associated with increased risk of cancer. Thus when floods occur, this space is filled and then the water is released later. Even water for industries and drinking was added later. These videos by Jeevitnadi Living River Foundation highlight the role of dams in controlling floods and the emerging challenges to flood management in India. Many of the dams in Wisconsin were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. We have now developed some understanding of the situation over the last fifty years since the state has a lot of dams. 71 0 obj <>stream In Maharashtra for example, dams were not constructed to deal with floods, but mainly for irrigation. Reservoir operation procedures are not followed properly. We also need modern technology and real time flood forecasting is now used to look at what happens at watershed level and data is collected regularly to evaluate the situation in flood prone areas. This has been started in the Krishna basin and can be even done for Karnataka for the Almatti dam which can help in lessening the intensity of floods by working together. The earlier video highlighted the role of dams in controlling floods. However, most dams in the state are not designed to function as flood control structures. We thus have guidelines made to plan storage and prevent floods gradually. Call 1-888-936-7463 (TTY Access via relay - 711) from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. inspection, operation and maintenance plan, Fact sheets section of the owner/consultant info, Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) [exit DNR], Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) [exit DNR], Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) [exit DNR], Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) [exit DNR], Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) [exit DNR]. Graphical examples of dams and their components, Information on legal responsibilities, erosion and more. The possibility for loss of life and property damage makes dam maintenance an important issue. The most common problems found during dam inspections are undesirable woody vegetation on the embankment, deteriorated concrete, inoperable gates and corroded outlet pipes. Flood situations can sometimes exceed the capabilities of either type dam, resulting in a failure and a more drastic and sudden flooding of downstream property. Hirakud, India's oldest dam (Image source: India Water Portal on Flickr), Indias potential for carbon reserves among top ten countries, says study. For example, flood prone areas are increasing due to rise in events such as cyclones, cloud bursts in Maharashtra. For example, in states such as Bihar, Assam, Uttar Pradesh that experience frequent floods, dams are built for flood management and some space is maintained to absorb floods. 33 0 obj <> endobj A range of institutions are involved in managing floods right from the Water Resources Department that needs to work with the Indian Metereological department, Panchayat Raj Institutions, Revenue Department, Home Department and also the police department, in times of emergency. Many dams have authorized levels that they must try to maintain in the impoundment.

Rainfall, river discharge, water level data must be available and analysed with the help of new software, so that flood control officials get this information early. If dams are allowed to naturally degrade, they have a greater risk for problems such as sudden breaks during flood conditions. How does the flood control system function? They can burrow into embankments and compromise the integrity of the structure creating public safety concerns. Over time, water pressure and weathering will slowly break down a dam. We do not have flood absorption capacity. Constant maintenance of damsand awareness of dam operators is essential to protecting the public in flood situations.

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