Effects of Dams on Our Enviornment

What is a dam? A dam is defined as any obstruction, wall or embankment, constructed for the purpose of storing water. Dams can be constructed of earth, concrete, wood or rock. Dams can provide many benefits such as water supply, flood control, hydroelectric power, fishing and recreation. However, dams can also be a great threat to the safety and well being of downstream property and people if they are not properly constructed or maintained.
Dams’ primary reason of being built is to provide water for irrigation and hydropower. Although their efficiency if nowhere near as high as most would think. They only supply about 4% of our region’s low priced electric power. It makes one think is 4% of our low priced electric power more important than the environment the dam kills and even the living species within this environment? (2)
There are many disadvantages to building dams. Generally dams:
Ø deplete natural settings
Ø flood the spawning grounds of fish
Ø ...