A barrage is a type of low-head, diversion dam which consists of a number of large gates that can be opened or closed to control the amount of water passing through. This allows the structure to regulate and stabilize river water elevation upstream for use in irrigation and other systems. The gates are set between flanking piers which are responsible for supporting the water load of the pool created. The term '' barrage'' is borrowed from the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

word "barrer" meaning "to bar".

Dam construction

Barrage dams have a series of gates that control the amount of water passing through it. A barrage dam can be used to divert water for irrigation needs or limit the amount of water down-stream. In most cases, a barrage dam is built near the mouth of the river. The site of dam construction needs to be thoroughly investigated to ensure that the foundation is strong enough to support the dam and has low possibility of failing. When dams are created, they are given a safety rating depending on the type of dam, location, and the possible effects in case of failure. The ratings are from one to five, five having the highest danger rating. The rating of five would be given to dams built with a town or city downstream that would have higher possibility of injury to people in the case of dam failure. New designs have been made that are able to sustain greater amounts of water. An improved wedge-shaped block technology was developed by Rafael Moran and Miguel Toledo. The new structure is able to withstand severe flooding and use less materials, reducing the production cost.

Environmental impacts

Dam construction comes with several impacts that can affect the

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

and the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

. In specific, there are several ways in which the environment can be affected from dam construction. Species richness is usually measured to determine the effect of a dam on the

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

s surrounding dams. To observe the species richness, scientists collect data on the fish and animal populations before and after construction of the dam. With that data, they are able to see how the population size increased or decreased. In some cases, it was found that the species richness was less downstream from a dam compared to further upstream. Inhibiting the volume of water was shown to be detrimental to species diversity and richness. Also, at the entrance of dams, there is less nutrients due to the high-water flow reducing the ecosystems reproduction standard. Along with the species richness, plankton diversity can be an indicator of the ecosystems ability to handle the newly built dam. It has been shown that dams can have an effect on the migration of fish leading to less reproduction. There are many small factors that can have relatively large impacts that effect the river ecosystems, such as the species richness, volume of water and nutrient levels. Different experiments have been done that look into each of these individually and were able to determine why some dams cause such impacts. While there is substantial evidence and case studies that point to dam construction having environmental impacts, there are also studies that show less damage than expected. Looking at plankton near some dams has shown that plankton are able to continue to live although changes to their habitats. Changes such as the pH levels near dams have been recorded and plankton were minimally affected. Other species, however, such as trout, are more affected due to the physical dam inhibiting their migration and reproduction paths. Barrage dams control the amount of water going through them, leading to differences in the amount of water up and downstream from the dam. This discrepancy has different effects on different species native to the area. While there can be reduced flow downstream, there can also be problems upstream. Dams can have buildup of pressure that fish are not accustomed to and they migrate further upstream causing that part of the river to have reduced population sizes. Although there are environmental impacts that come with building new dams, there are also many economies that benefit from a dam. Without dams, it would be much harder to farm and grow livestock. The irrigation technology that comes with building a dam can exceed the risk factor.

Terminology

According to the World Commission on Dams, a key difference between a barrage and a dam is that a dam is built for water storage in a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...

, which raises the level of water significantly. A barrage is built for diverting water, and raises the water level by only a few feet. The latter is generally built on flat terrain across wide, often

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ban ...

ing rivers. Similar distinctions are used in Egypt, where it is noted: "In this system a "dam" is a structure that forms a reservoir for the storage of water during the annual flood period of the Nile in order to supplement the natural flow of the river during the low-water period; a "barrage" merely raises the river or canal level, when necessary, to the height required for adequate flow into the canals that take off above it.Raye R. Platt, Mohammed Bahy Hefny,
Egypt: A Compendium
, p.198, American Geographical Society, 1958. Barrages are usually larger than the headworks of irrigation and navigation canals, with which they are associated. Barrages that are commonly used to dam a tidal lagoon or estuary as a method to capture

tidal power Tidal power or tidal energy is harnessed by converting energy from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity using various methods. Although not yet widely used, tidal energy has the potential for future electricity generation. ...

from tidal inflows are known as tidal barrages.

Etymology

The English usage of the term ''barrage'' originates from the Delta Barrage across the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest riv ...

-branches north of Cairo, built between 1833 and 1862 by the French Linant de Bellefonds and Eugène Mougel employed in the Egyptian Public Works Department, with assistance from

Barthélemy Prosper Enfantin Barthélemy, or Barthélémy is a French name, a cognate of Bartholomew. Notable people with this name include: Given name * Barthélemy (explorer), French youth who accompanied the explorer de La Salle in 1687 * Barthélémy Bisengimana, Con ...

, and with the blessing of the Egyptian Viceroy of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

, Muhammad Ali. When the British, after 1882, had to look after these structures generally referred to as ''barrages'', they adopted the term in their language and continued to use it for similar structures built by themselves across the Nile (Zefta Barrage and Assiut Barrage both completed in 1902). Since the British in the Egyptian Public Works Department kept close relations to their counterparts in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, the term ''barrages'' made its way to present day India and Pakistan as well as to the Middle East, and thus generally into English.

References

External links