Dams serve a variety of functions and provide numerous benefits to local areas and industry. They are primarily used to store water, control flooding and generate electricity. Many dams serve to store water to function as standing lakes. In general, dams provide various advantages for communities but still other disadvantages.
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In general, dams are important structures that are constructed for the purpose of water storage. The water held by dams, generally from a channel, can later be used for generating electricity and used for irrigation purposes. Dams are also critical in flood control.
How Are Dams Constructed?
One of the most well known dams, Hoover Dam, was constructed to provide irrigation water to local communities as well as to control floods and generate hydroelectricity. The federal government authorized construction of Hoover Dam, which spans 30 miles across the Nevada-Arizona border. Its large structure depicts the various advantages that dams have for local areas.
A dam is a structure commonly built across a river or stream to create a large reservoir behind it. There are various types of dam spillways and operational dam gates that help control the flow of water.
With dam engineering there are different categories to consider for construction including structural type, usage and materials required. Construction of dams is complex. Dam projects require substantial labor, materials, and other resources. Knowing how dams work can provide clarity to how they&#;re constructed. Steps take to build dams include:
Building up an area to help divert water in order to properly create structure. Engineers usually implement tunneling systems to help in diverting water from existing rivers.
Creating a foundation is the next step in construction of dams.
Cofferdams
are one type of dam that can help in the layout of the structure.
Assembling the overall structure of the dam is next. During this process, dam construction contractors ensure there is no loose rock on the riverbed, then work to build a plinth. This keeps water from leaking from the ledges of the dam. Majority of dams use reinforcements with concrete steel to protect against water flow.
Once a dam has been fully constructed, dam contractors will fill the reservoir. During this process, testing of flood gates is critical.
Advantages of Dams
Dams are advantageous in many ways. In engineering, dams function to store vast amounts of water in flooding and even for recreational purposes.
Many other factors to consider when weighing the advantages of dams include: improved health and life by supplying clean water, improved quality of sanitation, increased food (crop & fish) production, irrigation supply, protection of lives and goods from flooding, generation of electricity, tailings of mines and controlling the debris as well as the recreation and environmental benefits of the reservoirs.
Why Are Dams Advantageous?
As a water source, dams have many advantages and applications. The application of dams can include cooking, cleaning, bathing, washing, drinking water, farming and for other cultivation purposes.
When there&#;s excess flow of water, dams help by storing water in reservoirs. Dams also function to release water during times of low flow when natural streams are inadequate to meet demands. All purposes are kept in mind when constructing dams. Some functions of dams can include:
Irrigation
Dams help crops and plants through evapotranspiration. With large quantities of water stored in dams, they can be easily used for irrigation. This helps communities plan farming and nurturing crops accordingly, further enhancing food supply.
Some examples of dams used for irrigation include Burrinjuck Dam in Australia.
Drinking Water
A portion of water storage in dams and reservoirs is supplied for drinking, municipal and industrial purposes. After water treatment, it can be used for drinking. This can help ensure that people are drinking pure water, preventing diseases like cholera.
An example dam used for drinking water supply is also in Australia known as Warragamba.
Electrical Generation
One of the staples of dams and major industry advantages is dam usage in hydropower and electrical generation. There are several environmental advantages of hydroelectric power including its flexibility, affordability, and the perks of being a renewable resource.
Once constructed, a dam can generate constant electricity. There&#;s no fuel requirements to produce this electricity. Dams used in hydropower also last longer than thermal power plants. The resource is renewable given that it can be used repeatedly downstream for power generation. Hydropower can be stored or diverted and is one of the most eco-friendly means of producing power. One example of this is the 103,800 megawatts of electricity produced by dams in the United States alone. Itaipu Dam is a hydropower site in Brazil with one of the world&#;s largest productions of power.
Use In Flood Control
As mentioned previously, during flood seasons, dams can be used to control the flow of water by either reducing floods to help manage wash aways. It can also reduce congestion of water.
In the United States, flood zones in Tennessee, southern Ohio, and the lower Mississippi Rivers are controlled by Tennessee Valley Authority dams.
Water Storage
Reservoirs have many beneficial features including the most pronounced of being a source of water storage. Upstream water ponds can be used for fish farms, further reducing damage to fish habitats during dam construction.
Environmentally Friendly
One of the major advantages of dams is their eco-friendly features. Because dams use a renewable resource, they help to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide. Additionally, tailing dams help protect the environment from toxic mining wastes.
Recreational Purposes
Dams can also serve as a recreational activity. Several dams throughout the United States are known to provide an area for boating, skiing, campaign, picnics, and boat launches.
Dam Construction with Gracon LLC
Dams are classified according to the type of construction material being used, the slope or cross-section of the dam, and the way the dam resists the forces of the water pressure behind it, the means used for controlling seepage, and what the dam&#;s purpose may be. There are various types of dams to consider and the advantages of each.
For more dam construction companiesinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.
Gracon LLC are dam experts in construction, maintenance and rehabilitation. We work to ensure that each dam project is given the opportunity to capitalize on the advantages of dams listed above, plus numerous others. For more information on our dam construction and processes contact us today.
Who uses digital asset management software (DAM)? Is DAM the right solution for your company? In this article, we take a closer look at which industries use digital asset management, and the benefit of adopting a DAM solution.
Digital asset management software is a cloud-based solution that enables companies to store, organize, find and use their digital assets. Stored in a centralized location, DAM enables your team to securely access images from anywhere, at any time. DAM also streamlines workflows and helps you collaborate across the organization.
Digital asset management improves brand consistency by ensuring the entire organization has access to the most recent, approved assets. You can archive old assets, and control who can access images both internally and externally.
Create efficiencies by reducing time spent searching for and managing digital assets. DAM software also improves workflows, so you&#;ll be able to spend more time on revenue-generating tasks.
Your company spends time and money creating images, digital assets and marketing collateral. DAM makes it easy to find and repurpose each asset, so you get the most out of your investment.
Companies rely on content, digital assets and high-quality images to showcase their work, drive leads and ultimately grow the bottom line. And in a digital-first environment, those assets are rapidly increasing. We surveyed 500 AEC firms, and 48% report having 20,000+ digital assets. Seventy-four percent say their firm will create more images this year than last year.
A dedicated DAM solution is critical to managing this large volume across the entire organization. To win new business, all teams need access to the best digital assets quickly and easily.
There are different types of DAM solutions, and it&#;s important to choose what&#;s best for your company. DAM software companies fall into two categories: brand-based DAMs and project-based DAMs.
You may be most familiar with brand-based DAM companies that are built for B2C organizations. Brand-based DAMs organize assets around brands or products.
The alternative is project-based DAM. Project-based DAM solutions, like OpenAsset, are built to store and organize assets for projects or properties and often work best for architecture, engineering, construction and real estate firms.
Both internal and external teams use DAM to collaborate, save time and reduce headaches. Internal teams use DAM to find the best, approved assets. They can also share those assets with external teams or agencies.
Marketers use digital asset management to store, organize and manage marketing collateral, including brand logos, whitepapers, sales slicks and images. They leverage DAM software to ensure that everyone in the organization can access the right digital assets, at the right time. Since everyone has access to the needed materials, DAM eliminates the need for marketing to be the middle man.
Marketing teams in the built world leverage project-based digital asset management solutions to store and organize project photos and respond to RFP requests. OpenAsset, the only project-based DAM company for the built world, even integrates with InDesign, further streamlining workflows for marketing teams that are under tight deadlines to complete proposals.
Sales and business development teams use digital asset management software to help close deals. With a sophisticated organizational structure, team members can find exactly what they are looking for when they have minimal time. They never have to ask marketing if images are approved to share, so they can spend more time making the final proposal or presentation perfect.
Business development teams for architecture, engineering and construction firms benefit more if they&#;re leveraging a project-based DAM. Winning new projects often comes down to pulling together the most relevant information for proposals, and having assets organized by project simplifies efforts.
Information technology (IT) teams keep the company running smoothly. However, this can be difficult when images are clogging up the server and team members, often marketers, are continuously asking them to fix broken links.
Digital asset management solutions solve this issue by storing images in the cloud, freeing up internal servers. DAM software also reduces the amount of time IT spends fixing broken links or giving team members access to the correct folders.
Many industries use digital asset management to store and organize their assets. Let&#;s look at a few and the different benefits DAM provides.
Manufacturing companies leverage DAM to access images, collaborate across the organization, improve operations and optimize workflows.
As manufacturers launch new products, they need a system for approved images and assets so the marketing teams can create campaigns quickly. They&#;re able to empower their team members and strengthen their brand through a library that enables search by SKU and product IDs.
A retail organization that uses digital asset management software is able to stay on brand and consistent across all channels. These companies typically leverage brand-based DAM solutions to store, organize and manage their materials across departments and teams.
Federal, state, and local government agencies have a plethora of digital assets they need to manage including images, videos, documents and official forms. A digital asset management system helps these agencies keep track of all their digital files in one place with data security. It can also help them share files internally and with the public.
In the healthcare industry, hospitals and clinics need to manage digital medical records, X-rays, and other images for example. They also need to be able to share files securely with patients and their families.
In education, digital asset management examples include keeping track of student records, transcripts, and ID photos, and sharing digital resources with students and teachers.
Architects rely on beautiful photography to showcase their projects in marketing collateral and proposals to win new business. But managing an ever-growing image library can be time-consuming and frustrating. Project-based DAMs, like OpenAsset, allow firms to store their images in a cloud-based solution and organize them by project. DAM ensures assets are easy to find when firms receive last-minute proposal requests and ensures the firm is only showcasing its best work. In addition, digital asset management helps architecture firms maximize their photography investment and repurpose their images.
Learn how architecture firms, like Foster + Partners, leverage digital asset management to create photo libraries available to staff anywhere, anytime here.
Like architects, engineers rely on project photos to win more business. DAM allows engineers to easily find images, improve efficiency and boost productivity. DAM solutions like OpenAsset integrate with ERP and CRM systems, allowing firms to retain a single source of truth and push data into OpenAsset. For example, Dewberry integrated their OpenAsset system with Deltek Vision, allowing them to easily find product information via OpenAsset search.
Digital asset management also solves time and cost challenges for construction firms. Our research shows that nearly 75% of firms currently leverage a DAM solution to manage their growing image library. Ninety-two percent of those firms report an increase in overall efficiency.
Some DAM solutions integrate with Construction Management Platforms to streamline workflows and strengthen collaboration. Follow the link to see how JHL Constructors leverages the OpenAsset-Procore integration to empower their marketing teams with prioritized project photos.
Your company needs digital asset management software if you have a growing image or digital asset library, and your images aren&#;t easily accessible.
Here&#;s a quick checklist to help you evaluate if DAM software could help your organization. If you can answer &#;yes&#; to any of the below, your company needs DAM.
Once you&#;ve identified that your company needs DAM software, it&#;s time to make a business case for your leadership team. We&#;ve created a guide to making your digital asset management business case to make that process easier. It covers how to get the buy-in, shows who uses digital asset management software and showcases your return on investment. You can download it for free here.
OpenAsset is the only project-based DAM solution built for architecture, engineering and construction firms. If you&#;re interested in learning more, let&#;s chat!
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