Is building more dams going to help us beat this drought?
Answer:
No. If the Govt. keep on building more dams, people will just rely on the Govt. and not save water, but maybe even waste water. It will just get worse.
You are correct. Oh, it might make a small difference, but we can store just about all the water we can use with the existing system. and for resevoirs to fill you have to have rainfall. Without that, you can build all the dams you like and you won't have a gallon more water.
I presume you are speaking about the south western drought.
You don't beat droughts you exist through them. We can save lots of water by using native plants rather than intoducing grasses into desert areas and start building desalination plant on the coast.
Conservation, recovering rainflow that normally flows out to sea or into lakes, and construction of reservoirs are cheaper methods to achieve the goal of providing enough water to weather the drought.
Dams are largely the byproduct of a bygone era. If the cost of constructing a dam nowadays is provided, double it and that will more accurately reflect the final cost financially. Environmental sacrifices relating to dam construction are enormous.
Sadly it won't. Dams are very helpful in holding large volumes of water for large populations areas, but as others have pointed out rain is needed to get the rivers to convey the water to these structures. Yes, there are some areas that might benefit by a dam being placed, but if you are referring out west, most large cities have already placed dams at strategic locations. So to answer your question no.
One other thing most people aren't well aware of is that the aquifer system out west is severely strained. (An aquifer is an underground system that contains groundwater...just think of it as the water which wells tap into) The name of the aquifer is the Ogallala Aquifer and covers 174,000 square miles and eight states. This Aquifer has been gaining water over thousands of years by rainfall slowly infiltrating into the ground from rain storms. In some areas it can take anywheres from decades to thousands of years for the water to penetrate from the surface to the aquifer to recharge it. However, we have elaborate well systems that can pull up thousands of gallons per hour out of the system. Basically, we are using water at a rate that can't be sustained and some areas have already had their wells become dry. I wanted to add this bit of information because Dams and water supplies from rivers makeup a large portion of drinking water in the US, but as they become more limited they are being supplemented from wells and groundwater. Sadly, they are running out extremely fast as well. So the drought in the West is a very bad situation and in a few years, it is going to start impacting the economy (farming operations, etc.).
I recently read maybe about a month ago that scientists have done some researching into the climate of the area and over thousands of years, dry spells like the one currently being experienced happens frequently, and sadly have a long duration. Who knows, this could just be a small phase or it could turn into an even longer drought. If you want to see what could happen check out Australia, they are experiencing some of the worst drought conditions I've ever read about as an Engineer. Some places water has become so severe that farmers haven't been able to raise any crops for a few years and cities have begun recycling their wastewater. That basically means whatever goes down your toilet eventually comes back to your faucet (100% safe and clean, but still the thought of drinking something from another person).
Only solution other than rain, and lots of it is conservation. Lush green lawns do not exist wildly in the west and for good reason. Lawns should use local varieties that are used to droughts and use almost no water. Yes, they don't look nearly as nice, but with careful planning they can look pretty good (and think of the money you'll save on your water bill). Another thing too is water prices are only going to increase over time. If you slowly begin doing things to conserve water now, when the bills finally get high in a decade you'll already be in the habit. And no, I'm not talking like putting a bucket in your tub and then recycling your water, etc. But be conscious of it and do simple common sense stuff like turning the faucet off if you aren't using it, when you remodel your house buy water saving devices, etc. Just keep water conservation in your head, and you'll be helping out a lot without going insane with what some people tell you to do that are sadly, impractical with how we live today.
So in summary, dams won't help beat the drought, and your groundwater systems are soon going to be depleted as well. Conservation is the only way you can beat the drought. Except rain, of course. Pray for rain.
Good luck.
EDIT: I just heard today that the current drought in Florida needs upwards of 5 to 8 feet of rainfall to get back to normal water levels. 5 to 8 feet of rain!
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