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Consequence for water control projects (Negative) - Coggle Diagram
Consequence for water control projects
(Negative)
Social
The town of St Thomas was drowned beneath the waters that created Lake Mead.
The people had to be resettled in other areas, which were often not as productive as the land they left.
Many people and farmers have been moved off their land so valleys can be flooded.
Economic
Subsidised water for farmers has led to water wastage and the growing of crops which could be produced more cheaply elsewhere.
Expensive desalinisation plants like the one at Yuma had to be built.
E.g the Central Arizona Project cost $6billion.
The Yuma plant cost over $300 million to build and requires around $20 million a year to run.
The schemes cost a huge amount of money to build and maintain.
Large amounts of compensation needed to be paid out to people and farmers who were relocated so reservoirs could flood their land.
Environmental
Greater evaporation rates from larger areas of water with more saline water in
This leads to changes in the local hydrological cycle.
Farmers downstream have been forced to change to more salt-tolerance crops.
Increased evaporation rates means that lots of water is lost every year through the sandstone rocks.
Lake Powell loses 0.74 km 3 annually.
Rainbow Bridge, an important geological site is being slowly destroyed.
Many plants and animals were lost as the lakes flooded.
Beavers for example disappeared from Tucson as the rivers dried up.
Political
Disagreements arise between US states and Mexico due to the allocation of water
Each state can pass laws regarding water,
but these can conflict with each other, so the federal government must take control.
The legal system in the USA worked in favour of the richest state (California) meaning it had more power over the water than the other states which has led to conflicts
There has been a loss of ancient burial sites and other Native American sacred areas during dam construction and flooding.
Mexico, as the last area to receive the water, was unhappy because the quality of the water was poor, and agreements were needed to sort out who paid for the desalination plant at Yuma.