River Environments - 1.3 (Case Studies)

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Case Study: The River Tay (UK)

Use of land and river:

  • Delta on the Tay is used as a gold course.
  • Flood plain transformed from farming to settlements; the land is flat but benefits need to be weighed against the risk of flooding.
  • Port still has ships sailing into it.
  • Fertile soil is ideal for arable and mixed farming.
  • Rivers provide a transport route for inaccessible areas
  • Water wheels used to power surrounding industries
  • Water wheels are a tourist attraction
  • Sheep farming
  • Forest of pine trees
  • River Tummel (one of Tay's tributaries) provides water and hydroelectricity

Water Shortages

✩ Area of deficit - Location where rain doesn't fall enough to provide enough water on a permanent basis
✩ Area of surplus - Areas that have more water than needed
✩ Water stress - Occurs when the amount of water available doesn't meet the required amount

How can water demand be met in a more sustainable way?
  • Increase awareness
  • More efficient housing design
  • Taking shot showers instead of baths
  • Recycling water in homes

Variations in Water Quality

Agriculture

  • Liquid from farm silage and slurry from animals enters rivers
  • Fertilizers and pesticides seep into groundwater
  • Deforestation - run-off carries soil and silt into a river

Industry

  • Cooling water for a power station is returned to the river at a higher temperature
  • Spillage like oil can enter rivers
  • Toxic substances like metallic minerals find their way into rivers

Domestic

  • Discharge of untreated sewage - even treated sewage
  • Use of the river for washing clothes and bathing contaminates water
  • Emptying highly chlorinated water from swimming pools into rivers

Case Study: 3 Gorges Dam (China)

Why was it created?

  • To prevent flooding downstream
  • Generated hydroelectric power
  • Provides water to urban areas and to agriculture
  • Improves river transport upstream

Intro Facts

  • Sources from the Himalayas
  • The Yangtze River flows into the East China Sea at Shanghai
  • Floods regularly, unpredictable, prone to severe flooding
  • In the 20th century, over 300,000 people were killed by the river
ProsCons
- Controls flooding downstream
- Provides water to urban areas and agriculture - irrigation
- The hydroelectric power generated will provide 15% of China's electricity
- Thousands of construction jobs were created
- China will be able to bring ocean-going vessels all the way inland
- Will become a tourist attraction
- The electricity generated will help the economic development of cities such as Chongqing		- Several large towns upstream will be flooded, with ancient and historic sites flooded as well
- Over 1.3 million people will have to be relocated
- Much of the land used for farming can barely supported it
- The pressure on the dam from the water could trigger earthquakes
- The human and industrial waste will pollute the river
- Areas downstream will be deprived of fertile sediment
- It will divert money from other developments

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