Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Peat bogs—where peat grows abundantly—are benei cial because they remove carbon
dioxide from the air, but the construction of dams can destroy the bogs.
Governments sometimes force people to leave their homes
when large dams are being built. The lakes and reservoirs that
the dams create l ood the land where the people once lived and
worked. The reservoirs also force wildlife from their homes.
The reservoir's waters can also l ood over historic sites. This
happened when Egypt built the Aswan High Dam.
Dams can affect people and wildlife in other ways. Slowing a
river's l ow reduces the amount of water that runs downstream,
which means that people living there have less water for
drinking or irrigation. In addition, i sh, such as salmon, i nd
their usual routes for traveling upstream blocked by the dams.
