The pollution issue is very complex issue to solve because of many different factors and variables involved in the whole pollution story. Every single day a new interesting study pops our broadening the reach of this global issue by adding new factors into the equation. One of the latest factors involved are small dams and reservoirs.
According to a latest study by Steve Powers, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Notre Dame's Environmental Change Initiative small dams and reservoirs play major role in pollution prevention by trapping various water pollutants.
This is said to be of particular importance in agricultural lands of the Midwest U.S., where there are lots of small, but aging dams that are „threatened by long-term structural decline and are also filling with sediment“.
This ability of small dams and reservoirs to trap water pollutants is extremely important for the health of our environment because these small dams affect the movement of water and wastes through the environment.
Powers acknowledges that these dams are small individually but their total sum has a global surface area comparable to that of all large reservoirs added together.
This study also showed the negative environmental effects which were manifested in an increase in downstream transport of nutrient pollution after the dam was removed.
Small dams affect greatly global water quality and thus we should make certain steps to prevent them disappear.
Many regions from all over the world are vulnerable to water quality changes caused by accumulation of sediment and phosphorus behind dams. Preserving small dams means not only improved water quality but also cleaner and healthier environment.
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