Development of a River Basin

Introduction:

The Tennessee valley Authority (TVA) is an example of a multi-purpose scheme. A multi–purpose scheme or project is a scheme that under takes more than one purpose. For example generation Hydro Electric Power (HEP), flood control, fishing, navigation, etc.

The Tennessee valley, located in North America, is occupied by the Tennessee River. It is a tributary of the Ohio River, itself a tributary of the Mississippi river. The people living in this area are faced with a number of problems which include poverty, unemployment, soil erosion, soil exhaustion, low productivity, diseases such as malaria, etc. However, the Tennessee Valley Authority was established in 1933 and it was charged with the supervision and coordination of all the projects that were to solve the above problems.

Main content and concepts to emphasise:

• Location and position of the Tennessee valley
  
• Condition of the Tennessee valley before the TVA was established
  
• The Aims of the TVA
  
• Activities / steps taken to achieve the aims the TVA to develop the river basin
  
• The contribution of the TVA to the development of the area.
  

Teaching methods:

• Brain storming
  
• Discovery
  
• Illustration
  
• Discussion
  
• Question
  
• Explanation
  
• Case study
  

   Teaching / learning material:   

• Text books
  
• Atlas
  

Expected learning objectives:

By the end of the topic learners should be able to:

• Locate the Tennessee valley
  
• State the aims for the establishment of the Tennessee valley Authority
  
• Explain the problems that existed before the setting –up this project
  
• Explain the steps taken to solve these problems
  
• Describe the results of the project.
  

Job related life skills

• Personal attributes: - Appreciation, behave appropriately, punctuality, reliability, self confidence, seek advice, show tenacity and motivation, be self critical and imaginative.
• Communication: - ability to read, write, listen, and speak in appropriate ways for different audiences. Know and apply general and specialised vocabulary.
• Team work: - Interdependance, ability to cooperate and share tasks with colleagues.
• Problem solving: - goal focused, seek out relevant information, identify constraints, evaluate alternatives, Analysing and interpreting, and make decisions/ choices.

 

A Case of Multi-purpose River Utilisation

Background of the Tennessee River Valley

This area was destroyed by the first settlers and became an area of abject poverty. The settlers carried out activities that led to a severe economic situation. They cut down trees indiscriminately on the slopes of the hills, in an effort to create room for settlements and farming. They practiced poor farming methods such as over cultivation and monocropping . They also grew cotton season after season. The population increased unsustainably; the area became very poor as far as human occupation was concerned, because there was famine, no jobs and almost bare rock.

Consequently, the activities undertaken by the farmers themselves resulted into problems, such as the occurrence of severe soil erosion on the mountain slopes that had been cleared of forests. To the extent that the farm lands remained almost bare rock.

Soil erosion refers to the removal of top soil, by water, air, wind or human activity. Once the top soil has been removed, land ceases to be productive as far as agriculture is concerned. The normal soil make-up consists of three layers, which can be observed in any area where excavation of the soil is taking place. The arrangement of these layers is called the soil profile.

For productive agricultural activities, Horizon A (top soil) is the most important layer, because it contains essential nutrients for the crops and it supports the plant root system. When the soils in the Tennessee valley were exposed, the top soil was lost and the soil lost its agricultural value to the extent that it could not support the population any longer. The lost top soil was deposited into the river and its tributaries. The river channels filled up with silt from the slopes and became shallow, resulting in flooding that destroyed towns, lives and farmland.

The above situation led to unemployment and poverty. The over cultivated and eroded soils could not support meaningful agriculture any longer. The farmers became unemployed and the region experienced great poverty.

The stagnant water following the floods also posed a danger by encouraging the breeding of mosquitoes and snails. The result was a high incidence of malaria and bilharzias. The river channels could not be used for navigation, because they were too shallow and yet there was no effective road network, so the region became inaccessible.

There was no electricity, because the dams had been silted up and the water was flooding and could not be used to generate electric power.

ACTIVITIES OF THE TVA PROJECT

The first step was the construction of dams. Nine dams were built Tennessee river (900 miles long) and 23 on its tributaries. The biggest dam of them all is the Kentucky dam. Behind each of the dams a huge artificial lake / reservoir formed, thus increasing the depth of the water.

The project also embarked on afforestation and reforestation to correct or heal the gullied hill slopes. Each year some two million trees were planted; they were intended to have their roots hold the soil together and at the same time reduce the direct effect of raindrops on the soil. The open gullies were filled with brushwood barriers so that they would trap soil and fill the gullies. Reforestation is the planting of forests in an area where they once existed before, whereas afforestation is the planting of forests where they did not exist before.     

Better farming methods were introduced to help improve the final output of the farmlands. Such farming methods included contour ploughing, terracing and strip farming on the hill slopes; crop diversification and crop rotation were introduced in order to help in the maintenance of soil fertility. Research was also carried out on the land and on agriculture in general, and farmers were freely advised on how to overcome the problems they were facing.

Demonstration farms were purposely set up to give the farmers hands-on experience of the better methods that has been introduced. The farmers were encouraged and persuaded to adopt such methods.

The new dams constructed generated enough power to encourage the growth of industries, which manufactured chemicals, farm machinery and electrical apparatus, and established fisheries.

ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY

The project was a great success, as we shall see below. All the activities that were undertaken paid off very well. It is a reflection of the fact that with good planning and careful resource management, environmental disasters caused by humans can be overcome.

The dams that were constructed served many purposes for the good of region. As noted earlier, each dam had a huge water reservoir behind it and these reservoirs stored water during the periods when the rains were heavy. This greatly helped in controlling flooding, and at the same time released the water controllably during the dry season for irrigation purposes, so that even during droughts the farmers did not suffer.

The reservoirs help in the generation of hydro-electric power, which is used both domestically and in industry. The great majority of people in the Tennessee valley obtain their power from the Tennessee river Valley Authority. This is because a steady water supply to the tributaries is maintained both during the rainy season and during droughts.

The dams have turned the Tennessee into a navigable waterway, because of the artificial lakes along it. Barges can now travel upriver one thousand kilometers, as far as Knoxville. A barge is a large, low boat on a waterway. Barges have provided a cheap alternative to road or rail for carrying heavy goods like coal, chemicals or mineral ores. Efforts to improve navigation along the Tennessee have also seen the construction of navigation locks the volume of freight carried along the waterway has increased.

The dams generate enough power to attract many industries to be set up in the area. The industries set up include aluminium manufacture, fertilizer production and paper making. The fertilizers supplied to farmers cheaply, which has led to further improvements in agriculture. The industries have offered employment to many people, resulting in many people leaving agriculture and therefore allowing farms to expand and subsequently be mechanized.

Malaria has been eradicated, because reservoirs had varying water levels and the mosquito larvae could not survive there. This was reinforced by the fact that floods had been eliminated too.

Tourism has developed, because many people visit the region for its attractive scenery, provided by the careful landscaping of the shores of reservoirs, the forests on the slopes and the planned parks. On the lakes, tourists come to swim, fish and sail.

Industrial development in the Tennessee Valley

The Tennessee Valley benefited from a boom of industrial development as a result of the many power-generating dams set up; however, in this book it is aluminum manufacturing that will be discussed.

Aluminium manufacturing
This industry smelts bauxite to obtain aluminum. Bauxite is mined near Chattanooga and smelted at Alcoa, which is the largest aluminum rolling mill in the world. Aluminum is used in the manufacture of various metallic utensils such as saucepans, but more importantly in aircraft manufacture and other transport applications.

Activity 1
What are the other industries found in the Tennessee Valley?  

 

A COMPARISON WITH UGANDA

Land Reclamation in Kibimba
Kibimba Irrigation Scheme is located in the eastern region of Uganda, at latitude 0º32’N and longitude 33º51’E, in Bugiri district. Kibimba Irrigation Scheme was not degraded land, but it was land that was producing much less than it ought to have produced.

Land reclamation refers to the making of once useless land fir for use. This could be by irrigation, by eradicating pests, or any other suitable way. As for Uganda, we shall look at land reclamation through irrigation.

Kibimba Irrigation Scheme

This was an area occupied by big swamps, almost unused in spite of having fertile soil, cheap labour and access to markets from the dense population in the area, as well s accessibility through the Jinja Tororo highway, which cuts through the area. It also has good access to water. 

At this place, an irrigation scheme was started as a joint venture between the Ugandan government and the people of China. It started with the construction of a small dam, fed by the small kibimba river. The size of the irrigation scheme is approximately 1400 acres, which are annually planted with rice. This scheme was privatized later on and is now run by Tilda Ltd, a foreign company.

In terms of acreage, the kibimba rice scheme is very small in comparison with the area operated by TVA. However, it also has given some good results for the people of Uganda and for Uganda as a country. The rice serves as food for many people in the country and has reduced the amount of food imported into Uganda.

It has also provided employment for many people. The scheme employs both skilled and unskilled workers. Unskilled people do the planting, weeding and any other jobs which don’t require technical skills.

Foreign exchange has been brought in because some of the rice is exported to neighboring countries. Tax revenue goes to the government and is used to develop other areas in the country.
The scheme has resulted in an improvement in rice growing on the whole, because it carries out research and gives advice to the small-scale rice farmers, eventually leading to an improvement in output quality and quantity.    

Activity 1

Consider one of the following places that is nearest to you: the kigezi highlands, Mount Elgon slopes and the slopes of the Ruwenzori ranges. These areas include the following districts: Kabale, Rukungir, Kisoro, Mbale, Sironko, Manafwa, Kapchorwa, Bundibugyo, Kasese and Kabarole. Carry out this activity:

1. Observe carefully the form of soil erosion taking place.
   
2. List the causes of this soil erosion. 
   
3. Explain how the people or the government has tried to overcome the problem of soil erosion in this area.
   

Revision exercise

1. Define the following:       
   
1. Terracing
   
2. Crop diversification
   
3. Contour ploughing 
   
4. Crop rotation 
   
2. What is meant by gulley erosion?
   
3. What are the other types of soil erosion?
   
4. Considering what has been done by the TVA, how could Uganda increase her power supply?
   
5. What is meant by silting of a river?
   

          
    

ACTIVITY 2

1. (a) What is a multi- purpose scheme or project?
   

(b) Give examples of the multi-purpose schemes in Africa?

2. (a) Name any FOUR states under the Tennessee Valley Authority (T.V.A)
   

(b) Name any FOUR rivers draining the area under the Tennessee valley   Authority.

© Outline FIVE activities carried out in the establishment T. V.A.

(d) Name THREE important industries found in the Tennessee valley.

ACTIVITY 3  

Study the map of the Tennessee valley above and answer the questions that follow:

(a) Name the;

(i)Rivers marked

A –
                                            
B –

(ii) Dam marked  

C –

D –

(iii) States marked  

1 -

2 –
      
(iv) Towns  marked 

3 –

4 -

(b) Describe the factors that led to the establishment of the Tennessee valley multi–purpose scheme.

(c)  Explain the contribution of the Tennessee valley multi- purpose scheme to the development of any ONE state named in (a) (iii) above.

(d) Outline the problems that have resulted from the establishment of the Tennessee valley multi–purpose scheme.

ACTIVITY 4

• What is soil erosion?
  
• State the major types of soil erosion.
  
• Suggest FOUR ways in which soil erosion can be controlled.
  
• Define the following terms;
  
• Soil profile
  
• Soil conservation
  
• Soil catena.
  

ACTIVITY 5

1. Learners take part in the planting of trees exercise around the school compound.