Water+Quality+and+Dams

= **Water Quality and Dams** = toc

**Overview**
The process of damming rivers is a practice that is common to humanity. There are several reasons to construct a dam ranging from storage of water for arid regions to recreational purposes to the production of hydroelectric power. Large hydroelectric dams are responsible for 19% of the world’s total electricity production. Although this is a renewable source of energy compared to electricity produced by fossil fuels there are a number of negative environmental and social impacts that come with introducing dams into communities.

The need to find ways to create electricity from renewable resources like water has become of growing importance. The economic benefits, however, must not overshadow what happens to the people that must either be moved from the area or will have their environments completely changed. Many studies have looked at what kinds of health problems are associated with dam projects. Some well documented problems include malnutrition, due decreases in the variety of fish in the river, the spreading of infectious disease due to increased migration to the area, and reduced access to health services after being displaced from their homes. One of the most menacing issues with dam construction projects, however, is the contamination of water. For riverine communities water is a means of life involving everything from transportation to food to recreation. If the water becomes contaminated several health consequences can occur from becoming poisoned from chemicals, high rates of gastrointestinal illness, and malnutrition.

**Health Impact**
Through the contamination of water where local communities drink, bathe, swim, or fish, large hydroelectric dam projects have a variety of severe health impacts. Chemicals related to the dam construction process can contaminate the water and subsequently poison the populations who rely on that water for drinking. This happened with the Tucuruí Dam on the Tocantins River in Brazil. Chemicals were used during the deforestation process and got into local water supplies subsequently killing the workers and the native populations. High levels of mercury have been found in people living downstream from dams, especially near to mines. Bacteria in the reservoir water convert any mercury in the water from the dam into methylmercury, which is a central nervous system toxin. High concentrations of methylmercury in fish that is consumed by the population is of great concern to pregnant woman because these chemicals adversely affect brain and nervous system of the baby causing damage to memory, attention, language and motor skills.

Another health impact of poor water quality caused by dams is cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are a type of microscopic algae produced from quickly eutrophied (nutrient enriched) water such as the water found in dams of tropical areas. The construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China had led to an elevation of water temperature and a reduction in the flow of the Yangtze River, thus creating conditions ideal for the growth of cyanobacteria. These cyanobacteria can cause a range of gastrointestinal and allergenic illnesses in humans. Some cyanobacteria can even promote liver cancer during chronic low exposure.

Large dams create pools of stagnant water, which are breeding grounds of disease carrying insects. Problems with infectious diseases such as malaria, dengue, hepatitis, schistosomiasis, and river blindness have arisen in areas once thought of as having eradicated such diseases. One such example is the Aswan Dam in Egypt where the rate of schistosomiasis rose from 21% to 75% during the construction of the dam and has reached a 100% incidence rate in some communities. Schistosomiasis caused by a parasitic flatworm that is carried by infected freshwater snails. The flatworm, known as a schistosome, bores through the skin through the person if they wades or swims through an area contaminated with infected snails and enters their bloodstream where they lay eggs. The eggs can spread to the brain, liver, spinal cord, lungs, bladder, and several other organs damaging tissue in its path. Schistosomiasis can cause diarrhea, cirrhosis of the liver enlargement of the lymph glands, and weakens the body making it vulnerable for other diseases.

**Medical Anthropology Research**
 Medical anthropologists have done many studies on the health impacts related to the construction of dams. Water-related diseases are included in these works such as with Edward K. Mburugu’s work with the Kiambere Hydroelectric project in Africa that saw increased incidence of water-borne diseases and malaria. Studies have also been done on River Blindness in Burkina Faso. Dr. Satish Kedia has done work with the health impacts of the Tehri Hydroelectric Dam project in India.

 Along with Dr. Kedia researchers such as Barabas and Bartolome looked at the displacement and relocation of populations and Oliver-Smith studied resettlement issues due to development projects, and Santos and de Andrade looked at these issues with indigenous populations in the Brazilian Amazon.  Information gained from these anthropologists has aimed to produce an exhaustive account of the issues caused by development projects and offer policy suggestions and advice to reduce the negative impacts of those affected and displaced. Most anthropologists working in relation to dam projects are focused on displacement, resettlement issues (Dr. Anthony Oliver-Smith, Dr. Gregory Button, Dr. Satish Kedia), nutrition, and food insecurity (Dr. Yvonne Braun). Although these works do include some information on water quality and its affect on health, most of the information is found in the public health field.

**Applied Work**
 Applied environmental anthropologists and applied development anthropologists are familiar with the social impacts on a community created by dams. Not only are they capturing the health effects of poor water quality but also many applied anthropologists are brought in to address issues in environmental, development, or health policy. Research on information-processing technologies and how decisions are made for development projects are two avenues in which applied anthropologists can help to create interventions. Finally, applied anthropologists stress the importance of including the local community in the research and intervention process so that communities are defining the issues that they deem as most important.

 An important model for resettlement proposed by Michael Cernea is the Impoverishment Risks and Reconstruction (IRR) model, which seeks to identify risks associated with forced displacement and illuminate the processes necessary for the reconstruction of livelihoods. The model highlights the negative effects that populations may face when being forced to move because of a dam project. These impacts include loss of access to health services and the increase of poor water quality. By taking these potential risks into account, the IRR model serves as a guide for conducting research as well as informing program interventions to prevent these risks for poor health outcomes from occurring.

**Online Resources**
 International Rivers – Still water, deep troubles  media type="youtube" key="uKi_PJqQCTQ?version=3" height="324" width="576"

 Dam related problems in Mozambique  media type="custom" key="15545020" width="220" height="220"

**Further Reading**
 Braun, Yvonne A.  2010 Gender, Large-scale development, and food insecurity in Lesotho: an analysis of  the impact of the Lesotho Highlands Water projects. Gender and Development  18(3):453-464.

 De Wet, Chris  2006 Development-induced displacement: problems, policies, and people. New  York:Berghahn Books.

<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> Friedman, John T. <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> 2009 Context and Contestation in the Development Process: Lessons from Kaokoland <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> (Namibia). European Journal of Development Research 21(3): 325-343.

<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> La Rovere, E. L., and F. E. Mendes <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> 2000 Tucuruí Hydropower Complex, Brazil. A World Commission on Dams case <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> study prepared as input to the World Commission on Dams, Cape Town, <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> www.dams.org