Discuss the problems associated with building dams. [5 MARKS]
Each point: 1 Mark
1. Dams are extremely expensive to build and must be built to a very high standard. The high cost of dam construction means that they must operate for many decades to become profitable.
2. The flooding of large areas of land means that the natural environment is destroyed.
3. People living in villages and towns that are in the valley to be flooded, must move out. This means that they lose their farms and businesses.
4. The building of large dams can cause serious geological damage. For example, the building of the Hoover Dam in the USA triggered a number of earth quakes and has depressed the earths surface at its location.
5. Although modern planning and design of dams is good, in the past old dams have been known to be breached (the dam gives under the weight of water in the lake). This has led to deaths and flooding.