Negative

• Negative: Water in river and on farmland becomes saline due to high evaporation rates = farmers downstream must switch to salt tolerant crops
• Negative: As population increases there is a greater demand for services
• Negative: Dam construction costs has left massive debts to be repaid, and running costs/ maintenance of dam are high.
• Negative: Huge cost (e.g. central Arizona project cost $6 billion)
• Negative: Corrosion of turbines in hydro electric power plants as salts are drawn up by capillary action
• Negative: Competition for housing increases prices
• Negative: Loss of burial sites and other sacred native american areas
• Negative: Disagreement with which states/country should be allocated the most water
• Negative: High cost of maintaining dams, power plants and irrigation channels
• Negative: People had to be moved off their land as valley areas were flooded
• Negative: Subsided water for farmer has led to water wastage and the growing of crops
• Negative: Change in river regime has destroyed many animal habitats (e.g. the drying up of Colorado delta area where there used to be a great variety of birdlife)
• Negative: Huge water loss by seepage through sandstone rocks around Lake Powell. Scientific attractions like Rainbow bridge are affected by high water levels in Lake Powell
• Negative: Due to the dam, salmon can no longer reach breeding grounds