Rivers-Stream+Conservation

Humans have tried to stop rivers from flooding before, but have increased the risk of floods. They have been a negative influence on rivers by doing this. People have tried to stop river flooding in 4 ways: building dams, using artificial levees, using channelization, and using urbanization. By doing this humans have raised the risk of flooding in rivers. Throughout civilization, humans have tried to tame rivers to prevent flooding or provide water for drinking and irrigation. Sadly, for the past 100 years or so in the U.S., this has only led to more flooding. Humans need to stop having a negative impact on rivers, or, like this flooding issue, things could become worse.

Despite all of the bad things being done to the world's rivers by humans, some people take it upon themselves to help. Every year there are hundreds of river clean ups around the world. People organize groups and clean as much trash as they can out of a river and its banks. Sometimes river pollution is beyond the help of a small group of people, as in the case of a 1960's incident. A factory dumped hundreds of pounds of waste into the river it was on, polluting the river, and killing many river organisms. Hundreds of people gathered and protested the dumping, as well as boycotting the company's products. Soon after, the U.S. government passed regulations banning commercial river dumping. In California fines are around $500,000.

Rivers have been polluted by humans for a long amount of time. Each time you flush the toilet, or take a shower, or run a load of laundry or dishes, water is used. Now people everywhere are using the rivers as dumps. Rivers are polluted with oil, trash, and other discarded items. Humans have caused all of this and now it is becoming to much for rivers to handle. In 1996, a study in Iowa found that over half the state's groundwater wells were contaminated with weed killers. All of that is because of humans. River biomes all over the world are dying out because of the pollution. But there are ways it can end. People everywhere are cleaning up the rivers so the freshwater around them can be clean. People can clean the rivers, try using environmentally friendly household products, and try using natural fertilizers and pesticides.

A huge problem in American rivers is Asian carp. "Asian carp" refers to grass, black, silver, and bighead carp introduced from Asia. They are an invasive species, which means they over-populate an area, and eat native species's food. In other words, they reproduce too much and overwhelm a river community. If this continues too long, the carp could wipe out a river ecosystem, and even extend into the great lakes, which is today's worry. There is no final solution to this problem as of yet, but fishing seasons have been extended to reduce the population slightly, and people are hired to catch as many Asian carp as possible, which also helps.

Tim B home Rivers-Stream Facts Rivers-Stream Fiction Rivers-Stream Food Web Rivers-Stream Conservation Rivers-Stream Bibliography Rivers-Stream Home