35
• MWEPs are of high national or even transnational relevance.
• They exhibit a high degree of complexity, resulting in a high demand in fi nancial
and human resources. As a consequence, they may involve major fi nancial obligations or even risks.
• Expert knowledge and highly skilled personnel are needed for the establishment
and the operation of MWEPs.
• Various stakeholders and social interest groups are affected by MWEPs. Thus,
such projects imply the necessity of a reconciliation of different interests of individuals, groups and the society as a whole, national and international.
• The consequences of these projects are in many cases irreversible, i.e. the initial
state of the system (ecological, constructional, social) cannot be restored.
• MWEPs tie up a large amount of resources and, therefore, limit the choice of
options for action both for the presence and for the future.
3.2 Water Technologies – Uses and Functions
Within the scope of this volume, three main fi elds of application of water technologies are of particular relevance and will be discussed in the following, comprising:
• Water storage
• Water distribution
• Water use
The main emphasis of the considerations on the effects of water technologies in
this context is placed upon the potentially critical and adverse aspects, as these
issues tend to be underestimated in many cases and need to be included in comprehensive assessments of MWEPs.
3.2.1 Water Storage
One of the major functions of dams, i.e. prominent examples of MWEPs, is to have
water in store for purposes at a later point in time. Reservoirs provide water for
consumption and irrigation and for the production of energy. Furthermore, dams
serve as a means of fl ood protection. While in the history of European industrialisation, the construction of reservoirs in mountainous regions at the source of larger
river basins was an accepted and wide-spread procedure with a potential to stimulate the economic development, such projects are being seen more critical from
today’s viewpoint – particularly concerning the downstream impacts on ecology
and hydrology. Nevertheless, large reservoirs are capable of contributing to the necessary and continuous provision with water and energy. Reservoirs and dams were
a means of securing the increasing demands of these resources in many industrialised areas of the world. In this regard, they may open up opportunities in terms of
the economic and infrastructural development of urban and rural regions.
3 Major Water Engineering Projects: Defi nitions, Framework Conditions, Systemic…
• MWEPs are of high national or even transnational relevance.
• They exhibit a high degree of complexity, resulting in a high demand in fi nancial
and human resources. As a consequence, they may involve major fi nancial obligations or even risks.
• Expert knowledge and highly skilled personnel are needed for the establishment
and the operation of MWEPs.
• Various stakeholders and social interest groups are affected by MWEPs. Thus,
such projects imply the necessity of a reconciliation of different interests of individuals, groups and the society as a whole, national and international.
• The consequences of these projects are in many cases irreversible, i.e. the initial
state of the system (ecological, constructional, social) cannot be restored.
• MWEPs tie up a large amount of resources and, therefore, limit the choice of
options for action both for the presence and for the future.
3.2 Water Technologies – Uses and Functions
Within the scope of this volume, three main fi elds of application of water technologies are of particular relevance and will be discussed in the following, comprising:
• Water storage
• Water distribution
• Water use
The main emphasis of the considerations on the effects of water technologies in
this context is placed upon the potentially critical and adverse aspects, as these
issues tend to be underestimated in many cases and need to be included in comprehensive assessments of MWEPs.
3.2.1 Water Storage
One of the major functions of dams, i.e. prominent examples of MWEPs, is to have
water in store for purposes at a later point in time. Reservoirs provide water for
consumption and irrigation and for the production of energy. Furthermore, dams
serve as a means of fl ood protection. While in the history of European industrialisation, the construction of reservoirs in mountainous regions at the source of larger
river basins was an accepted and wide-spread procedure with a potential to stimulate the economic development, such projects are being seen more critical from
today’s viewpoint – particularly concerning the downstream impacts on ecology
and hydrology. Nevertheless, large reservoirs are capable of contributing to the necessary and continuous provision with water and energy. Reservoirs and dams were
a means of securing the increasing demands of these resources in many industrialised areas of the world. In this regard, they may open up opportunities in terms of
the economic and infrastructural development of urban and rural regions.
3 Major Water Engineering Projects: Defi nitions, Framework Conditions, Systemic…