AY Honor Dams and Levees Answer Key
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Dams and Levees
Skill Level
Year
Unknown
Version
27.04.2024
Approval authority
1
What is a dam? Briefly describe what it does and how it is different from a levee.
2
Explain how beavers build dams and why. How do beaver dams affect the environment? How else can dams be created in nature?
3
What are the benefits of dams? What are some potentially negative aspects of dams?
4
List five materials historically used in constructing a dam embankment.
5
From pictures, identify the following structures and explain their features and application:
5a
Arch dam
5b
Buttress dam
5c
Gravity dam
5d
Diversion dam
5e
Hydroelectric dam
5f
Levee or dike
5g
Locks
5h
Low-head dam (weir)
5i
Run-of-the-river dam
5j
Saddle dam
6
Know the following terms to be able to explain it to someone unfamiliar with dams and levees:
6a
Cut-off trench
6b
Fish passage/ladder
6c
Rock toe
6d
Spillway
6e
Piping
7
Explain why someone should consider a low-head dam dangerous and avoid it while canoeing, kayaking or swimming.
8
Dams are complicated structures. How do the following issues affect the consideration, design or construction of a dam?
8a
Wildlife
8b
Water quality
8c
Emergency spillway
8d
Emergency action plan
8e
Safety
8f
Geotechnical investigations
8g
Discharge structure
8h
Slope stability
8i
Hydrology and hydrologic analysis
8j
Flow net analysis
8k
Permitting
9
Research or interview an engineer or other expert on dam safety. Have the expert explain the inspection techniques that they use to identify a failing dam.
10
Do one of the following:
10a
Research and/or visit a fish passage/ladder for a dam structure and design/sketch one for a dam near you.
10b
Research and/or visit a locks system. Using materials of your choice, construct a model of a lock system with moving parts.
10c
Using contour maps, design a dam for a local stream and do/answer the following:
10ci
Draw a plan view and cross section(s) of your dam showing spillway, emergency spillway, crest, slope angles, toe of slopes, normal high-water elevation and other pertinent features.
10cii
What type of dam did you select and why?
10ciii
What is the Hydraulic Head of your dam?
10civ
Outline the limits of the watershed that is tributary to your dam.
10cv
How large (surface area and volume) of a reservoir will be impounded by your dam?
11
Read Daniel 5 and research how Darius the Mede captured Babylon. Find two other places in the Bible where dams or the control of water are mentioned.
12
Share a devotional with your Pathfinder club on a spiritual lesson that you learned while studying this honor.
