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Dam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to:navigation,search This article is about structures for water impoundment. For other uses, seeDam(disambiguation).Not to be confused withDamn. Hoover Dam, a concretearch-gravity daminBlack Canyon. TheColorado Riverin the background isimpoundedby the dam.A

dam

is a barrier thatimpounds wateror underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such asfloodgatesorlevees(also known asdikes) are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions.

Contents

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[hide]1 History

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2 Types of dams

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2.1 By size

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2.2 By purpose

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2.3 By structure

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2.3.1 Masonry dams

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2.3.1.1 Arch dams

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2.3.1.2 Gravity dams

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2.3.2 Embankment dams

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2.3.2.1 Rock-fill dams

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2.3.2.2 Earth-fill dams

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2.3.2.3 Asphalt-Concrete Core

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2.3.3 Cofferdams

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2.3.4 Timber dams

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2.3.5 Steel dams

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2.3.6 Beaver dams

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3 Construction elements

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3.1 Power generation plant

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3.2 Spillways

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4 Dam creation

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4.1 Common purposes

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4.2 Siting (location)

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4.3 Impact assessment

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4.3.1 Environmental impact

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4.3.2 Human social impact

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4.3.3 Economics

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5 Dam failure

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6 Notes

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7 See also

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8 External links

History

Grand Anicutdam on riverKaveri(1st-2nd Century CE) The word

dam

can be traced back toMiddle English,[1]and before that, fromMiddle Dutch, as seen in the names of many old cities.[2]Most of early dam building took place inMesopotamiaand theMiddle East. Dams were used to control the water level, for Mesopotamia's weather affected the TigrisandEuphrates rivers, and could be quite unpredictable.

The earliest known dam is situated in Jawa, Jordan, 100 km northeast of the capitalAmman. The gravity dam featured a 9 m high and 1 m wide stone wall, supported by a 50 m wideearth rampart. The structure is dated to 3000 BC.[3] [4] TheAncient EgyptianSadd Al-Kafara at Wadi Al-Garawi, located about 25 kilometers south of Cairo, was 102 m long at its baseand 87 m wide. The structure was built around 2800[5]or 2600 B.C.[6]as adiversion dam for flood control, but was destroyed by heavy rain during construction or shortlyafterwards.[5] [6] TheRomanswere also great dam builders, with many examples such as the three dams atSubiacoon the riverAnioin Italy. Many large dams also survive atMérida in Spain. The oldest surviving and standing dam in the world is believed to be the Quatinah barrage inmodern-daySyria. The dam is assumed to date back to the reign of the Egyptian pharaoSethi(1319–1304 BC), and was enlarged in the Roman period and between 1934-38. It stillsupplies the city of Homswith water. TheKallanaiis a massive dam of unhewn stone, over 300 meters long, 4.5 meters high and20 meters (60 ft) wide, across the main stream of theKaveririver in India. The basicstructure dates to the 2nd century AD.[7]The purpose of the dam was to divert the watersof the Kaveri across the fertile Delta region for irrigation via canals.Du Jiang Yanis the oldest surviving irrigation system in China that included a dam thatdirected waterflow. It was finished in 251 B.C. A large earthen dam, made by thePrimeMinisterof Chu (state),Sunshu Ao, flooded a valley in modern-day northernAnhuiprovince that created an enormousirrigationreservoir (62 miles in circumference), a reservoir that isstill present today.[8]InIran, bridge dams was used to power awater wheelworking a water-raising mechanism. The first was built inDezful, which could raise 50cubitsof water for thewater supplyto all houses in the town. Alsodiversion damswere known.[9] Millingdams were introduced which the Muslim engineers called the

Pul-i-Bulaiti

. The first was built at Shustar on the RiverKarun,Iran, and many of these were later built in other parts of theIslamic world.[9]Water was conducted from the back of the dam through a large pipe to drive a water wheel andwatermill.[10]In theNetherlands, a low-lying country,

dams

were often applied to block rivers in order toregulate the water level and to prevent the sea from entering the marsh lands. Such damsoften marked the beginning of a town or city because it was easy to cross the river at such aplace, and often gave rise to the respective place's names in Dutch. For instance the DutchcapitalAmsterdam(old name Amstelredam) started with a

dam

through the riverAmstelinthe late 12th century, andRotterdamstarted with a

dam

through the river Rotte, a minortributary of theNieuwe Maas. The central square of Amsterdam, believed to be the originalplace of the 800 year old dam, still carries the name

Dam Square

or simply

the Dam