Human Interactions with Rivers

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Human interactions with rivers can be harmful and beneficial. Such interactions include:

Transport

Rivers are used to transport people and goods.

Limerick is an example of a city with a port function.

The River Rhine is an important transport route in Europe

Tourism

Tourists use rivers for cruising and fishing.

Towns suck as Carrick-on-Shannon and Athlone along the River Shannon are well known tourist destinations in Ireland.

Fishing

Irish rivers are popular with anglers and many of them, such as the River Moy in Co. Mayo is popular for salmon fishing.

Settlement

Many settlements develop along riverbanks as the location provides food, water and transport.

Pollution

Pollution can come from a variety of human sources:

Farming: When farmers spread slurry on their land, it can seep into rivers causing pollution and the death of fish stock.

Domestic: Waste materials from septic tanks can seep into rivers causing pollution and the death of fish stocks.

Industrial waste: If factories dump waste into rivers it can also cause pollution. Fish stocks may be poisoned as could birds and animals live close to the river.

Flooding

Human interaction can be responsible for flooding.

Cutting down trees can lead to more surface run-offs as well as soil erosion and this can lead to deposition on river beds causing the river to rise and burst its banks.

Hydroelectric power (HEP)

HEP stations are often made using dams.

The building of dams can have a positive and negative aspect on a river.

Positive aspects

HEP stations and turbines can be placed in a dam to harness the power of water and generate cheap, clean renewable electricity.

The water that builds up behind the dam is known as a reservoir and it can provide a water supply to urban areas.

The reservoir can also be used for leisure activities like fishing, boating and water sports.

Negative aspects

The creation of a reservoir behind the dam may mean losing good agricultural farmland.

Families that live in the dam and reservoir area have to be relocated from their homes.

New roads and bridges have to be built to facilitate the reservoir.

Fish stocks can be affected by the dam and the restriction on fish swimming upstream.