Skip to main content

Reservoirs

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

Reservoirs are typically artificial water bodies that are constructed behind a dam or they are natural water storage entities such as lakes and rivers that are used for different purposes including drinking, irrigation, and industry.

Introduction

Water is recognized as the most important element for economic and social development in developed and less developed countries around the world. Given that there is an inconsistency between the rainfall seasons and high water demand in arid and semi-arid regions, groundwater resources are the primary water source to satisfy various water demands. Surface water reservoirs are constructed to collect and store water during seasons of high rainfall and river flow when there is relatively lower water uses.

Due to water-related problems around the world and the potential for severe drought conditions in the future, proper design of new water reservoirs as well as the utilization and conservation of current reservoirs are very crucial. A...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Best EJ (1981) The influence of geology on the location, design and construction of water supply dams in the Canberra area. BMR J Aust Geol Geophys 6:161–179

    Google Scholar 

  • Best E (1998) Dams. In: Encyclopedia of hydrology and lakes. Springer, pp 149–153

    Google Scholar 

  • Dettinger MD, Anderson ML (2015) Storage in California’s reservoirs and snowpack in this time of drought: San Franc Estuary Watershed Sci 13(2)

    Google Scholar 

  • Piri M, Hesam M, Dehghani AA, Meftah HM (2011) Experimental study on the effect of physical and chemical approach in reducing the evaporation from water surface. J Water Soil Conserv 17(4):141–154

    Google Scholar 

  • Rezaei A, Karimi H, Zhan H (2017) The importance of understanding the hydrogeology and geochemistry of karst terrains for safely siting dams. J Cave Karst Stud 79(1):48–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takemon Y (2006) Ecological impacts of reservoir dams on river ecosystems in tail waters. Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS), Singapore

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornton J, Steel A, Rast W (1996) Reservoirs. In: Chapman D (ed) Water quality assessment, World Health Organization. E & FN Spon, London, pp 369–412

    Google Scholar 

  • UNEP (1991) Freshwater pollution, UNEP/GEMS environment library, no 6. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, 36 pp

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kaveh Ostad-Ali-Askari .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Eslamian, S., Gohari, A.R., Ostad-Ali-Askari, K., Sadeghi, N. (2018). Reservoirs. In: Bobrowsky, P., Marker, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_236-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_236-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-12127-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-12127-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics