Dams In BC

What is a Dam ?

 A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams.

Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also
provide water for such activities as irrigation, human
consumption, industrial use, aquaculture, and navigability.
Hydropower is often used in conjunction with dams to generate
electricity.
 World’s first Dam
 The first known dam to be built is the Jawa
Dam, which is actually the largest in a series of
dams that are all part of one reservoir system.
Located in modern-day Jordan, the Jawa Dam
was originally constructed around 3,000 BCE
in what was then Mesopotamia. Surprisingly,
the Jawa Dam was actually an architectural feat
of those times. This ancient structure stood until
just a few years ago, when it was partially
ruined due to physical intervention.
 The Oldest Dam in the World Still in Use
 India is a land rich with history, and one of its many
wonders is the Kallanai Dam. Also known as the
Grand Anicut, the dam is thought to be the oldest
dam in the world that’s still in use. The dam is now
in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, but its history goes
back around 1,750 years before the creation of the
state.
 It is around a third of a kilometer long and twenty
meters wide. It stretches across the Kaveri river and
is said to spread water from the river to over 400,000
hectares of land, or 1,544 square miles!
India’s Dams

 In India, there are currently 5,334 dams, with 447 of them being
particularly significant. Because they are built across a river or
stream to hold water back, dams are significant structures
  In terms of number of dams, India ranks third after China and
USA.
HERE ARE A FEW INDIAN
DAMS BUILT IN ANCIENT
TIMES
 KODIVERI DAM, TAMILNADU, BHAVANI RIVER,
17TH CENTURY
DOWLESWARAM BARRAGE, GODAVARI RIVER,
ANDHRA PRADESH 1850
PUZHAL RESERVOIR, KRISHNA RIVER,
TAMILNADU 1876
PECHIPARAI RESERVOIR, KODAYAR,
TAMILNADU 1906
VANI VILASA SAGARA, VEDAVATHI RIVER,
KARNATAKA
1907
 Advancements
 The force of flowing water creates mechanical power. People have
harnessed this power for centuries with the use of dams.
Small dams powered paddle wheels in pre-industrial Europe and America.
These were used to help saw logs or grind corn and other grains.
 During the Industrial Revolution, engineers began to build bigger dams.
These industrial-sized dams could hold back more water to power the big
machinery of factories and mines. They also could turn giant turbines to
generate electricity.
 The early 1900s ushered in an era of “big dam” building in America as
demands for electricity increased. During the Great Depression, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt put Americans back to work building
massive dam projects. The most famous of these is the Hoover Dam.