Essay on Water Issues

Submitted By Alice_Crimson
Words: 485
Pages: 2

Water Issues/need for water reservoirs:
• ¾ of Americans worry a great deal about contamination of: soil and water by toxic waste, pollution of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, pollution of drinking water, and the maintenance of the nation's supply of fresh water for household needs.
• With a growing population, there comes a need for greater demand in water supply.
• Water released from the dams is critical because it is often arbitrary, based on decades of averages, rather than of hour-by-hour monitoring that is possible with today's technology.
• Reservoirs provide a variety of benefits to Georgians.
- Municipal and industrial water supply,
-navigation, and flood control are among the primary purposes for construction of larger dams in Georgia.
-Recreation, amenity uses, and agricultural water supply are the most common primary purposes of smaller reservoirs.
-Recreation benefits can include creation of popular sports fisheries.
-And, because reservoirs trap sediment, they can also have ancillary benefits. These benefits, however, come at the expense of the services that free-flowing streams provide.
• Reservoirs, large and small, provide many benefits for Georgians.
• Municipal and industrial water supply, navigation, and flood control are among the primary purposes for construction of larger dams in Georgia.
• Reservoirs were developed for the principal purposes of flood control, navigation, power generation, recreation, and drinking water.
• They produce hydropower for 20,000 to 25,000 homes per year.
• Recreation, amenity uses, and agricultural water supply are the most common primary purposes for smaller reservoirs.
- Farmers rely on farm ponds to supply irrigation water and provide drinking water for livestock.
• Reservoirs help ensure that municipal, industrial, and agricultural water demands can be met during typical late summer low flow periods and during droughts.
• Larger reservoirs are sized to meet water demand and provide minimum downstream flows under specific low flow conditions.


Water Supply Planning for the 21st Century Water supply planning in Georgia, as anywhere else, is a very