BUILDING THE ULTIMATE DAM

From CHAPTER ONE (pp. 1-12):

The value of storage reservoirs in controlling water was first widely publicized in John Wesley Powell's 1878 Report of the Lands of the Arid Region. Since that time, practically all major plans to develop western water resources have, in some capacity, involved dam construction. Nonetheless, historians often act as though dam design in and of itself lies outside the bounds of what is appropriate for historical study.


After all, engineers presumably formulate efficient, scientific answers; and although some parties may view these as politically or socially undesirable, they represent rational solutions that respond to the technical parameters of a problem. As a corollary, this perspective fosters the notion that all engineers would discern a similar "objective" design if only they devoted sufficient time and effort to studying an issue. Of course, this is not true.


Regardless, historians (and society as a whole) are reluctant to abandon the notion that engineering is an exact science capable of developing ideal responses to technological quandaries. Thus, dams are considered historically meaningful for what they do, but the designs themselves are rarely evaluated as part of a more general process of historical analysis.

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