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It provides the world with
a reliable, cost-effective
electricity supply!
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
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To! harness! energy! from! flowing! water,! the! water! must! be!
controlled.! A! large! reservoir! is! created,! usually! by! damming! a!
river!to!create!an!artificial!lake,!or!reservoir.!Water!is!channeled!
through! tunnels! in! the! dam.! The! energy! of! water! flowing!
through!the!dam's!tunnels!causes!turbines!to!turn.!The!turbines!
make!generators!move.!Generators!are!machines!that!produce!
electricity.! Engineers! control! the! amount! of! water! let! through!
the!dam.!The!process!used!to!control!this!flow!of!water!is!called!
the!intake!system.!When!a!lot!of!energy!is!needed,!most!of!the!
tunnels! to! the! turbines! are! open,! and! millions! of! gallons! of!
water! flow! through! them.! When! less! energy! is! needed,!
engineers!slow!down!the!intake!system!by!closing!some!of!the!
tunnels.! During! floods,! a! spillway! helps! the! intake! system.! A!
spillway!is!a!structure!that!allows!water!to!flow!directly!into!the!
river! or! other! body! of! water! below! the! dam,! bypassing! all!
tunnels,! turbines,! and! generators.! Spillways! prevent! the! dam!
and!the!community!from!being!damaged.!Spillways,!which!look!
like! long! ramps,! are! empty! and! dry! most! of! the! time.!
Hydroelectric! power! plants! near! waterfalls! can! create! huge!
amounts!of!energy,!too.!Water!crashing!over!the!fall!line!is!full!
of!energy.!
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Hydroelectric! power! plants! do! not! generate! pollution! or!
waste,! its! a! renewable! and! reliable! energy! source! however!
building! the! power! plant! is! expensive! and! time! taking,! it!
changes! the! habitat! and! landscape! upstream! and! downstream!
hence! it! greatly! alters! the! ecosystems! and! affects! the! wildlife!
and!people!who!depend!on!those!rivers.!Hydropower!is!mostly!
dependent! upon! precipitation! and! elevation! changes;! high!
precipitation!levels!and!large!elevation!changes!are!necessary!to!
generate!significant!quantities!of!electricity.!Therefore,!an!area!
such!as!the!mountainous!Pacific!Northwest!has!more!productive!
hydropower! plants! than! an! area! such! as! the! Gulf! Coast,! which!
might!have!large!amounts!of!precipitation!but!is!comparatively!
flat.! Assessment! of! the! environmental! impacts! of! a! specific!
hydropower!facility!requires!caseDbyDcase!review.!
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