The Dam

Water is a force of nature, there is ample evidence of that. Both in benevolent grace and destructive rage. To see that power controlled, contained is never so impressive as in a visit to a huge dam, like the Grand Coulee Dam in Eastern Washington State. To stand  along side the edge and look down at this giant engineering feat makes one feel in awe of both nature and man's ingenuity. Looking at photographs taken of the dam from the air, is equally revealing as to the power water can manifest. I have a great liking for the Colombia River and to see its power harnessed by the Grand Coulee Dam is thrilling. At a height of 551 feet, the dam was opened in 1942, and its construction started in 1933. The dam and its spillways have a length of 5,223 feet, it is the largest electric power generating facility in the United States, and one of the largest concrete structures in the world, generating 21 billion KWh of electricity jn 2008. Extremely impressive. The dam's reservoir supplies water for the irrigation of 671,000 acres in the Columbia River Basin. All this marvel of engineering unfortunately has had a permanent negative impact on the lives of the Native American tribes of the area whose livelihood in fishing was devastated as the salmon and other native fish of the area were no longer able to go upstream to spawn. In one study the Army Corps of Engineers estimated the annual loss at over one million fish. So it seems controlling the force and power of water comes at a serious cost in natural wildlife and quality of life for an entire culture native to the region now controlled by the Grand Coulee Dam. To me, the whole set of real consequences of the construction of the dam brought to mind the impact of relationships on our lives, the type that curtail our natural talents and passions. It seems fitting that a basically paternalistic society would approve of projects such as the Grand Coulee Dam, trying to re-direct the fertility of the Columbia River and its seemingly endless supply of water, as one of the largest rivers in the world. Relationships of long duration, such as marriage can be wonderful, but can also strip someone of their identity and energy and natural talents and character over time, quite like a dam, controlling and deciding the flow of things, so to speak. It can take a long time to recover from that re-directing. To reverse the impact of a dam is quite a complicated challenge, and like a scar after a serious surgery tends to be permanent , so the impact of a dam tends to be irreversible. So, I guess we should consider our relationships carefully, because once we allow our souls to be harnessed, the reversal can be as destructive and scarring as the damming in the first place.