FREE ESSAY ON HYDROELECTRICITY & DAMS

HYDROELECTRICITY & DAMS

Water has proven to be a valuable asset in the production of electricity. The great need
of energy in economical quantity, due to increased industry and population growth.
Hydroelectricity is used worldwide where there is a means and a need for energy.
Hydroelectric dams are very high-tech but simple machines. A dam holds back water,
creating a reservoir of potential power. On the upper side of the dam, a water gate is
opened to let water surge through a tunnel leading to turbines. The water turns the
turbines which in turn spin generators to generate electricity. The electricity is
carried through cables to wherever it is needed.
Oroville Dam is the tallest and one of the largest earthen dams in the United States;
located in Northern California. The dam, completed in 1968, stands 770 feet high with a
crest (top of the dam) 6,920 feet long. Over 80 million cubic yards of material were
needed to build Oroville Dam-enough material to build a two-lane highway around the
Earth. The dam's inner core is a layer of clay material which resists seepage. Gold
dredger tailings (sand and gravel left from early gold dredging along the Feather River)
make up the remainder of Oroville Dam. Beneath the dam, a giant cavern (almost as large
as the State Capitol Building) was hollowed out to hold six power generation units.
Coupled with four additional units in the Thermalito Power plant, more than 2.8 billion
kilowatt-hours of power are generated annually. 
Oroville Dam was built as a multi-purpose project to provide water supply, flood
control,
power generation, and fish and wildlife enhancement. A primary purpose of the Dam was to
provide flood control. As the lake fills during heavy rains or large spring snow melts,
waters is carefully released to prevent flooding downstream, saving both lives and costly
property damage.
Oroville Dam is a major water storage facility for the State Water Project . The dam
releases an average of 2.8 million-acre feet of its total capacity of 3.5 (MAF). Water
deliveries made to Butte and Plumas County in northern CA and to the lower San Joaquin
Valley (Kern, San Bernadino, King and Riverside Counties) in southern CA is mainly to
irrigate agricultural crops. Eighty-five percent of the water demand in the San Joaquin
Region is for irrigation with twenty-nine percent of the water supply coming from
imported State Water Project deliveries from Lake Oroville. This imported water is
crucial to prevent groundwater supplies from becoming severely depleted. Additional water
supplied by Lake Oroville is delivered to counties to the South Coast Region. Some of the
water is used for environmental concerns. The water is used to maintain the Feather and
Sacramento Rivers and the San Francisco-San Joaquin delta. The water for the Delta is
used to increase the water quality by lowering the salinity levels. Additionally, the
extra water helps restore the habitat for the Delta Smelt and Chinook salmon. 
The Powerplant Control Building is staffed 24 hours a day, above the surface and below.
Authorities in Sacramento communicate with personnel in Oroville on how much water to be
released. Water demands to be met include-agriculture needs, water quality standards, and
environmental concerns.
The Earth's fuel resources are diminishing quickly; therefore we must find a cheap fuel
substitute quickly. One of the choices is waterpower, and is a reasonable possibility.
Water is a renewable resource with over 70% of the earth being covered by it. Using it as
a means of energy has proven to be successful and costly. Oroville Dam provides water and
electricity throughout California, playing an important part of the success of
agriculture, water quality, and human needs.