Ahmed wrote:The interest of the remark of Dede The presence of glaciers or high-altitude snow regulates the flow of streams and maintains a high flow rate in the summer, when precipitation is slowing down. This is particularly important for the Himalayan rivers: alternating floods and water shortages would seriously impact the lives of millions of people.
Hi Ahmed,
Indeed, the Alpine dams play a dual role, regulate floods and produce electricity. In fact, they fill up in the summer, thanks to the melting of glaciers mainly, and they are empty in winter to heat the houses among others (The only places in Switzerland where it is allowed to install electric heating is in the valleys near dams). I suppose they also regulate the flow according to the downstream water needs, but I do not know which priority is between electricity and water ...
At the end of the winter, some artificial lakes are almost empty, it is especially visible in the forest areas, below 2000m, it is sometimes pretty ugly in the landscape ...
