Water Management Schemes
Large schemes such as dams and reservoirs manage water for drinking, irrigation and electricity but can have social and environmental costs.
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Large schemes such as dams and reservoirs manage water for drinking, irrigation and electricity but can have social and environmental costs.
- Dams generate hydroelectric power
- People may be displaced
- Rivers downstream can dry up
🧠 Quick quiz
Three questions. Score 2 or more to complete the topic.
What is Water Management Schemes?
Within Geography, which covers maps, landforms, weather, climate, population and settlements: understand how our planet and people connect, this topic explains Water Management Schemes. Geography explains how places, people and natural processes connect, so each topic here combines a clear definition with a visual model.
Check that you can explain Water Management Schemes in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.
Understanding Water Management Schemes helps you explain patterns on maps and in the news, and make reasoned decisions about places and environments.
Water Management Schemes in detail
Large-scale water management schemes aim to supply water, generate hydroelectric power, control floods and irrigate land. Dams and reservoirs, such as the Three Gorges Dam in China, store water and produce power. Water transfers move it from areas of surplus to areas of shortage, as in the Lesotho Highlands project.
Benefits include supply, electricity, flood control and jobs, but costs include displacement of people, loss of habitats and farmland, sediment trapped behind dams, and disputes between countries sharing rivers. Small-scale appropriate technology, such as wells and rainwater harvesting, is often more sustainable for local communities.
How the interactive helps you understand Water Management Schemes
Watch the cycle in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the cycle responds.
Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Water Management Schemes.
Real-life uses and examples
- Support an answer about Water Management Schemes with a named case study and specific evidence.
- Interpret a graph or map that shows Water Management Schemes and say what it suggests.
- Describe a real place where Water Management Schemes can be seen, using a map or photograph.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Writing general statements without a named place or example.
- Mixing up cause, effect and consequence when you explain Water Management Schemes.
- Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.
Frequently asked questions about Water Management Schemes
What is Water Management Schemes?
Large schemes such as dams and reservoirs manage water for drinking, irrigation and electricity but can have social and environmental costs.
What are the most important points about Water Management Schemes?
The main points are: Dams generate hydroelectric power; People may be displaced; Rivers downstream can dry up.
Why is Water Management Schemes useful?
Understanding Water Management Schemes helps you explain patterns on maps and in the news, and make reasoned decisions about places and environments.
How can I practise Water Management Schemes?
Open the interactive at the top of this page and change the controls one at a time. Predict the result before each change, then take the three-question quiz. A score of two or more marks the topic as complete on this device.
Which topics are related to Water Management Schemes?
Related topics in Geography include Ecosystems and Biomes, Ocean Currents, Day and Night.