JorgeBugarinTello

JoshDimon
ESPM50ACFPF2014
2December2014
ThoseDamnDams
Thehistoryofdambuildingcanbetracedbacktotheearly19thcenturyintheMidwest,
andspreadfromthere.HereinCalifornia,damswerenotbuiltforanothercentury.Startingin
theearlypartsofthe20thcentury,andcontinuingonthroughoutthecentury,damswerebuiltall
overCaliforniainaspreeoffrenziedactivity.Therearenowabout1400damsand1300
reservoirsinCalifornia.Damsarebuiltforavarietyofreasons,butthethreemostcommon
reasonsareforhydroelectricpower,waterstorage,andirrigation.Damscanbeseenasawayof
therapidlygrowingcountryassertingitspowerofallthenaturalresources,becauseineffect
damsareawayoftamingrivers,makingthemmoretangiblyusefulforhumans.Damsgiveus
productsthatwecanseeandcalculate,butthecreationofthesedamsoverriverecosystemshave
subtleeffectsthroughoutthestate,andcountry,withfurtherrepercussionsglobally.TheEarth
shouldbethoughtofasonebiosphere,whilebeingmadeupofdifferentparts,thatis
interdependentandinterconnected.Wecanactuallytaketheideaofalocalfoodchain
globallythatis,ifonepartofitdisappears,therewillbeconsequencesforthewholesystem.In
manyrespectsdambuildingisakintoclimatechange.Withclimatechange,habitatsandhabitat
rangeschangedrasticallyoveraspanofarelativelyshorttimeonanevolutionarytimescale.
Thisalsooccurswithdams,asriverflowschange,whichleadstoecosystemchangesovertime.

Dambuildingandmanagement,whileevolvingthroughouttheyears,hashadanoverallnegative
effect.
CaliforniahasaMediterraneanclimate,whichmeanswehavecoolrainywintersanddry
summers,thoughthereareregionaldifferences.Neartheocean,thetemperatureisruledbythe
sea.Theoceanmoderatesthetemperature,whichchangestheecologynearbythecoast.Further
inland,thetemperaturesaremoreextreme.Annualprecipitationdoesvaryenoughherein
Californiatospurthecreationofdams.Therecanbeperiodsofdroughtthatoftenlastyearsata
time,andthereservoirscreatedbydamscanhelpthegeneralpopulationout.Flowratesofthe
mediterraneanstreamswehaveinCaliforniaarevariable,butwehaveannualpredictablefloods.
Damsalsoendupreducingthevariabilityofstreamflow,andreducestheamountofflowing
waterstatewide.TherearetwotypesofrivershereinCaliforniaprecipitationdrivenriversand
snowmeltrivers.Precipitationrivershaveincreasedflowratesinthewetseason,sothewaters
arehighestinthewinter,whilewithsnowmeltrivers,thewatersarehighestinthespring,when
thesnowmelts.Ontheotherhand,riverlevelsgetlowinthesummerandwinter.Thisrhythmof
highsandlowsconflictswithhumanlife,aswaterisalwaysnecessaryatamoderatelevel.Soin
thesummersdamsincreaseflowforagriculture,andinthewinter,theydecreasetheflowaswell
asreducehighfloweventslikefloods.Asaresultofreducedpeakflows,widthofthehighflow
channeltendstodecreaseandtheareaofregularlyinundatedfloodplainisreduced(Grantham).
Floodplainsareaveryrobustecosystem,abletosupportmanydifferenttypesoflife.Floodplains
consistofalluvialsoils,whichhasahighcarryingcapacityandalargeamountofecological
niches(Lubenski).Soasthefloodplainecosystemslowlydiesaway,thereisanenormous
reductioninbiodiversityinallspheresterrestrial,aquatic,andtheintermediatehabitat,theflood

zone.Damsalsoblockfreeflowingsedimentsfromflowingdownstreamwhilealsoblocking
bedloadsediment.Annualbedloadtransporthasfallenbyanaverageof45%(Grantham).
Sedimentshelptoslowdownwaterflow,andwhenthesedimentdoesnotgettogodownstream,
thewatermovesfastenoughtobeginerodingthebedandsidesoftheriver,withoutthesediment
toreplacetheerodingareas.Mostofthetimeadamisbuilt,areservoirisalsoplanned.
Reservoirsdifferentfromnaturallakesbecauseofthedifferencesintheflowofwater.Standing
waterecosystems(reservoirs)havelessnutrientsandalsothereisanincreaseinevaporation,
becausethewaterisjustsittingthere.Thereservoirsfunctionasanentirelynewecosystem,one
thathasonlycomeaboutinthelastcenturyorso.Thus,therearefew(ifany)lifeformsthatare
adaptedtolivingintheseecosystems.
Themajorityofdamswerebuiltbyadifferentgeneration,onethatdidntknowhalfas
muchabouttheenvironmentaswenowdo.Themajorityofthebiggestdamswerebuiltright
aftertheendofthesecondworldwar,inthe50s,60s,and70s.Thegenerationofbabyboomers
eitherdidnotknowaboutwhatthedamswoulddo,ordidnotcare.Butthedamshaveamajor
impactonaquaticpopulationsalloverthestate.Nativefreshwaterfishspecieshavebeen
decliningquitedrastically,andthealteredecosystemscreatedbydamsisthedominantfactorto
aswhyfishnumbersaredecliningacrosstheboard.LastyearIvisitedasalmonspawning
facilityupneartheSonomalake,andwasabletowitnesstheprocessfirsthand,asmultiple
speciesofsalmonareendangeredbythedamsandotherfactors(dunnoifwritinginfirstperson
isappropriate).Allfishthattravelupstreamtospawnhavebeenendangeredbythedams,asthey
areabarrierthatcansometimescompletelyblockaccesstothebirthplacesthatthesefishwantto
getbackto.Inallcasesthesehabitatshavebeenreduced,leavinglessroomforthemigratory

fishtospawnin.Thisendsupbeingacaseofhabitatfragmentation,thebreakingapartofan
organismspreferredhabitat.Habitatfragmentationcauseseachfragmenttobecomeweaker,
moresusceptibletochanges,andalsoleadstolessnichesandspaceforspeciestolivein.This
problemismagnifiedbycontinuingchangesinclimate.Astimegoeson,watertemperatureswill
rise,whichisaproblemforbothnativeandmigratoryfishpopulations,astheyareadaptedto
lowertemperatures.
ThechangestoflowratearealsoabigproblemforfishpopulationsinCalifornia.
Aquaticecosystemsintheseriversareadjustedtoveryspecificchangesintheseasons,andwhat
theseoriginallyentailed.Theyareadaptedtothenaturalseasonalflowvariabilityinspecific.
Whentheflowchanges,fishthatusedtogoupafterthefirstfewbigsurgesinwaterlevelsdont
knowwhentheyshouldtravelupstream,andthereareconsequencestothis.Inspawningseason,
fishareaccustomedtohighflows,whichreducetheamountofeggssweptawaybytheriver
flow.Inspecific,theSacramentosplittailaredependentontheexistenceoffloodplainhabitats
forspawning.Inamoregeneralsense,seasonalpatternsaredisruptedbydams,andsomany
speciescannotspawnaswellasbefore,endangeringthem.Fishcannotadapttotheseextremely
fastchanges,andsodieoff.Thelossofsedimentsdownstreamfromdamsalsoendsup
damagingtheecosystems.Sedimentistheprimarywaythatnutrientsarecarrieddownstream.
Theseecosystemscannotbeasrobustwithoutthesediment.Withoutthesedimentcycle,habitats
downstreamofdamsalsobecomeunsuitableforspawning,asthebedsofriversdonothavethe
sedimentlayer.Instead,thebedsbecomerockier,creatingahabitatunfavorableforeggs.Infact,
thishasbecomesuchabigproblemthattherearegroupsthatreclaimgravelandthentransportit
toriversanddumpitinthemtocreateasedimentlayerthatfishcanlaytheireggsin.The

creationofthesenewecosystems,otherfishthatcandealwiththechangesbecomemore
prevalentandoutcompeteCalifornianativespecies.Theseinvasivespeciesareextremelyhardto
getridofwhentheyenterhabitatsfavorabletothem.Acommonexampleofaninvasivespecies
isthecanetoadinEasternAustralia.
Weuseourdamsforfewreasons,namelyirrigationandhydroelectricpower.Herein
California,watermanagementhasalwaysbeenanissue,anddamshelpwiththeissuetoa
certainextent.Nearly75percentoftheavailablewateroriginatesinthenorthernthirdofthe
state,whereas80percentofthedemandoccursinthesoutherntwothirdsofthestate(Water
Encyclopedia).Thewaterdemandisthegreatestduringthesummertimebecauseofthelackof
precipitation.Thewaterinfrastructureisabletodealwiththepressureofsuchalopsidedsystem.
Duringtimesofdrought,morewaterisincreasinglyreleased.Throughoutthe20thcenturywe
havetriedtocontrolthewaterallocationofthestate,frombeinggovernedbynaturetobeing
governedbyman.Californiaisthemostpopulousstate,withmostpeopleinthesouthernpartof
thestateinbigcitieslikeLosAngeles,whilethenorthernpartofthestateismuchlesspopulous.
Anunfortunatefactisthathydroelectricpowerproducesabout12percentofthetotalelectricity
produced.Thedamsthatwerebuilttobecomethesepowersourcesareexpensive,andthereare
easierwaystoproduceenergy.Infact,solarpowerisbecomingeconomicallycompetitivewith
coalandfossilfuels.ThereareregionsinSouthernCaliforniathatrightnowarejustdesert.With
economicinvestment,wholesolararrayscouldbeputup,andthenCaliforniawouldntneedto
usedamsforpower.Solarpowerisalsomoredependablethanhydroelectricpower,becausethe
hydroelectricdamshavetorelyonprecipitation,andasmentionedbefore,Californiacanbein
droughtsforyearsatatime.Agricultureistheotherbigsectorthatusesupthemostwater,and

weshouldbemovingawayfromthemonoculturalsystemthatweusetodayinfavorofamore
sustainableagriculturalapproach.
Damsarereallyjustamanifestationoftheviewpointthathumansaretheconquerorsof
nature.Damsareanunsustainablesolutiontounsustainablemodeofproductions.Ifpeopletook
thetimetofirstreallyunderstandtheplacesandecosystemsthattheylivein,structureslike
damswouldneverbebuilt,orattheveryleast,onlyusedforwaterstorageforyearsofdrought.
Damsareharmfultotheenvironmentaroundthem.Theychangestreamflow,whichchanges
ecosystemsasaconsequence.Rightnowwearewitnessingthecomingaroundofanew
ecosystemrightunderournose,butitisonethatisnotCalifornian.Insteaditconsistsofinvasive
speciesthatcrowdoutnativespecies.Insteadofhavingthisviewpointthatwearetheconquerors
ofnature,peopleshouldunderstandthatwearejustonepartofthebiosphere,andthatitisour
jobasaspeciestobecomestewardsofthelifeformsonthisplanet,insteadofusingthemforour
owngain.

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