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how does the aswan dam affect the environment

by Abdiel Senger Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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The main negative impacts of AHD are alluvial soil water logging, building up of soil salinity, overuses of chemical fertilizers and pesticides due to preventing of fine earth fertility particles by the dam, which affects the food productions and farmers health.

Full Answer

What are the two problems the Aswan Dam has created?

The loss of sediments has created coastline erosion. The Aswan Dam, because it prevents the Nile River from leaving sediments, has increased the pace of coastline erosion that occurs around the Nile Delta. It is estimated that the erosion proceeds at over 550 feet every year. 5. The Aswan Dam has created an increase of soil salinity.

What are the disadvantages of the Aswan High Dam?

What are the disadvantages of Aswan Dam? The project forced over 1 million people to be relocated. Access to critical archaeological sites was limited by the project. It changed how sediments flow to the sea. Fertilization issues are now present in Egypt. It encourages coastline erosion around the delta.

What are positive reasons for the Aswan Dam?

Pros of Aswan High Dam

  1. Excellent Irrigation Source. The Nile has supplied water to the Mediterranean Sea before the construction of the dam. ...
  2. Hydroelectric Power. Hydroelectric energy is an excellent source of electricity from dams. ...
  3. Controlled Flooding.

Was the Aswan Dam a success or a failure?

The construction of Aswan high dam had many positive effects over the social, economic, and political life in Egypt and here are some of these impacts: Aswan high dam was a great Egyptian achievement as it helped in producing about a quarter of Egypt’s electricity. It also helps Egypt to avoid the fear of drought which its neighbors face.

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How did the Aswan Dam affect the environment?

The Aswan High Dam brought the Nile's devastating floods to an end, reclaimed more than 100,000 acres of desert land for cultivation, and made additional crops possible on some 800,000 other acres.

What are some problems caused by the Aswan High Dam?

Erosion of the Delta The silt now gets trapped behind the Aswan Dam, where it settles out of the water and falls in thick layers on the floor of Lake Nasser. As a result, the reservoir becomes smaller each year, and is less able to handle the water and electricity-generation needs of the nation.

What are 3 negative effects that have resulted from building the Aswan High Dam?

This paper describes the effect the AHD had on (1) the prevalence and incidence of schistosomiasis in Egypt, (2) sedimentation in the reservoir formed by the AHD (Lake Nasser in Egypt and Lake Nubia in North Sudan), (3) soil water logging and subsequent soil salinization in the Nile Delta (4) coastal retreat along the ...

Why was the Aswan Dam a disaster?

It was built nearly 5,000 years ago. And it was a spectacular failure: archaeologists believe the dam burst almost immediately. One cannot fault the ancient Egyptians for trying. Water was scarce, and rainfall uneven.

What would happen if the Aswan Dam broke?

What if the dam were destroyed, leaving Lake Nasser to rush downstream? The answer is that a tidal wave of such magnitude would be created that Egypt would essentially cease to exist as a country. Tens of millions of people would be killed, and untold material damage would be created.

What has happened to the farming soil because of the Aswan High Dam?

Construction of the old, smaller Aswan Dam caused a rise in groundwater levels because of the introduction of year-round irrigation. The problem worsened with AHD, which made possible the irrigation of higher lying land. The result has been increasing saturation and salinization of the soil in the fields.

How did building the Aswan High Dam affect human health?

How was the Aswan high dam had an adverse effect on human health? It created new ecosystems in which diseases such as malaria flourished. An environmental challenge facing the Great Man Made River is that pumping water near the coast. May contaminate aquifers with salt water from the sea.

What is a positive impact of the Aswan High Dam?

The collective benefits of Aswan High Dam (AHD) are increasing the Egyptian water resource, controlling and regulating floods, protecting Egypt from potential frequent droughts, increasing agriculture productivity, and completely regulating the river water.

Why does Egypt not want the dam to be built?

Today's Nile River issues Egypt, fearing major disruptions to its access to the Nile's waters, originally intended to prevent even the start of the GERD's construction. Indeed, Egypt has called the filling of the dam an existential threat, as it fears the dam will negatively impact the country's water supplies.

Where is the world's largest dam?

The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China is the world's biggest hydroelectric facility.

Does the Aswan Dam generate electricity?

Aswan High Dam holds back 132 cubic kilometers (31.7 cubic mile) of water in Lake Nasser. Hydropower generated at the dam wall provides 2.1 gigawatts—which was fully half of Egypt's needs in 1970—giving numerous villages access to electricity for the first time.

Why is Aswan important to Egypt?

Aswan earned its name because it was a strategic gateway to the South. In ancient times, it was the main provider of granite used for obelisks and sculptures. Aswan is known for its beautiful Nile Valley scenery, significant archaeological sites and its peaceful aura.

How did building the Aswan High Dam affect human health?

How was the Aswan high dam had an adverse effect on human health? It created new ecosystems in which diseases such as malaria flourished. An environmental challenge facing the Great Man Made River is that pumping water near the coast. May contaminate aquifers with salt water from the sea.

What happened in Aswan in Egypt?

The incident took place in the southern Egyptian city of Aswan. Heavy rains began to fall near the Nile River. Strong winds began to blow. Floodwater swept the Androctonus crassicauda scorpions out of their habitats and into remote areas....Aswan scorpion invasion.Date12 November 2021LocationAswan, EgyptCasualties3 dead500+ injured1 more row

Why does Egypt not want the dam to be built?

Today's Nile River issues Egypt, fearing major disruptions to its access to the Nile's waters, originally intended to prevent even the start of the GERD's construction. Indeed, Egypt has called the filling of the dam an existential threat, as it fears the dam will negatively impact the country's water supplies.

Do you think that the benefits of the Aswan High Dam have outweighed its problems?

Do you think that the benefits of the Aswan High Dam have outweighed its problems? More food, hydroelectric power, and flood control outweigh the problems, and the relocation of the Nubians, the expense of artificial fertilizers and field drains, and the increased incidence of diseases of outweigh the benefits.

What happened to the Temple of Abu Simel?

When the Aswan high dam was built, the entire Temple of Abu Simel was shifted, so it wouldn't be flooded and destroyed when Lake Nasser filled up.

Why is Lake Nasser important?

The Lake has also created alot more land for people to farm on. This is because a lot of water is stored in the lake, and in turn this water can be used to irrigate land around Lake Nasser. This has also created a big fishing industry ...

What is the Aswan High Dam?

Aswan High Dam, Egypt. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The Aswan High Dam yields enormous benefits to the economy of Egypt. For the first time in history, the annual Nile flood can be controlled by man. The dam impounds the floodwaters, releasing them when needed to maximize their utility on irrigated land, to water hundreds of thousands ...

Who built the Aswan Dam?

The Old Aswan Dam (also called Aswan Low Dam), Egypt, designed by Sir William Willcocks.

What is the name of the dam in Egypt?

The Aswan High Dam, Aswān, Egypt, an earthfill dam.

Why is the Nile dam not deposited?

This is because of the dam’s complete control of the Nile’s annual flooding. Much of the flood and its load of rich fertilizing silt is now impounded in reservoirs and canals; the silt is thus no longer deposited by the Nile’s rising waters on farmlands.

How long is the Nile dam?

Once one of the largest dams in the world, it is 7,027 feet (2,142 metres) long and is pierced by 180 sluices that formerly passed the whole Nile flood, with its heavy load of silt. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now.

What were the pros and cons of the Aswan Dam?

Built across the Nile River in Aswan, Egypt between 1960 and 1970, the construction was based on the successes of a lower dam built in the region. The goal was to maximize the utilization of the river while controlling flooding, improving water storage, and encouraging hydroelectricity development.

Why is the Aswan Dam eroded?

It encourages coastline erosion around the delta. Because there is more water pressure around the Aswan High Dam at the delta than before when the waters flowed freely, the shoreline in the region experiences higher levels of erosion. At the current rate, the coast erodes by up to 575 feet per year.

How many people were relocated to Sudan?

1. The project forced over 1 million people to be relocated.#N#When Lake Nasser flooded lower Nubia because of the Aswan High Dam, up to 120,000 people had to be resettled in Egypt and Sudan. Another 70,000 Nubians in Sudan were resettled from Wadi Halfa, where their new home had such a different climate that they struggled to adapt. They were eventually settled into 25 planned villages. Another 50,000 Nubians were moved up to 10 kilometers from the Nile into new village units as well.

How does the Aswan Dam work?

1. It provides a majority of the energy needs of Egypt.#N#During a typical operational year for the Aswan High Dam, about 15% of the total electrical supply available to the country comes through this project. When it first came online, almost half of the available electric power came through the dam. The electricity generated by the dam is environmentally friendly, offers predictable cost structures, and is cost-effective to maintain. At total capacity, the 12 generators with the dam are each rated for 175 MW, which means the facility can produce 2.1 GW of electrical energy.

Why is the Nile River important?

It improves the safety of water-based professions. The Nile River has long been a source of fishing and early aquaculture for the Egyptian civilization. Before the Aswan High Dam was built, people working in marine professions around the world were faced with daunting wildlife problems.

What are the effects of the Nile dam closure?

Long-term infections may cause bladder cancer, liver damage, and kidney failure. After 15 years of dam closure with the Nile, some issues of this disease have disappeared from upper Egypt altogether. Improved irrigation practices to reduce snail influences have promoted reductions of this disease too. 7.

How much did subsurface drainage systems cost?

To correct this problem, subsurface drainage systems were installed over the course of 30 years at the cost of more than $3 billion.

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1.Environment: Aswan's Impact - TIME

Url:https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,913043,00.html

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Url:http://plaza.ufl.edu/laura21/impact.html

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Url:https://connectusfund.org/17-pros-and-cons-of-aswan-high-dam

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