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Every drop that evaporates from the reservoir, that would not have from the naked river, is consumed. Every drop pumped out of the reservoir to irrigate desert
by moloch-hai 4y ago
Every drop that evaporates from the reservoir, that would not have from the naked river, is consumed. Every drop pumped out of the reservoir to irrigate desert farms, that could not have been without the dam, is consumed.
- cma 4y agoAnd if more evaporates from the resevoir, less outflows to the ocean directly.
- moloch-hai 4y agoNone of the Colorado River reaches the sea. In the past, it fed a delta of two million acres of prime wetland, key habitat for migrating birds. Today that is all desert. The Sacramento River feeds the Sacramento delta, a thriving ecosystem. None of the water that reaches the sea was wasted.
- throwaway09223 4y agoBut not because of hydroelectric. 0% of the water is "consumed" by hydropower, even if a huge percentage of the water passes through its turbines. The water is siphoned off elsewhere for irrigation.
- tadfisher 4y agoThe primary purpose of some dams is for water control, whether to control flooding, provide for irrigation and consumption, or both. You cannot divorce the power station from the reservoir in judging a particular hydro dam's environmental impact, because generating power is only one purpose of the dam. The Hoover with Lake Mead is certainly, objectively, and effectively of this dual purpose.
- throwaway09223 4y agoYes, but none of that consumes water. In fact, the opposite is true: The dam makes more water available for consumption throughout the year.
- moloch-hai 4y agoMaintaining the reservoir consumes water, because it exposes thousands of times as much surface area for evaporation vs. a narrow river.