a) Describe the main feauture of flow on the Trinity River before and after the construction of the dam. (4)
Before the construction of the dam discharge reaches over 500 cumecs at peak times which occur early on in the calender year . However this value decreases to almost 0 for the rest of the year until the late December, early january period. After construction of the dam this value, as we would assume, has plummeted to roughly 0-5 all year around which peak in October
b) Explain how damn construction may alter fluvial processes operating in a river system (4)
Dams may affect the process of deposition of alluvium, for example in the case of the three gorges dam, alluvium that should have been deposited further downstream is now being deposited in a 600km long artficial reservoir that was built behind the dam, this alluvium is trapped behind the dam and then interferes with the natural process of transportation. Transportation is also affected due to there being limited amounts of water able to flow and hence leading to perhaps smaller materials being transported.
c) In what ways can rivers provide opportunities for a number of human activities.
Rivers provide a number of opportunities for humans such as transport, recreation, disposal of waste (industry), agriculture and tourism. (6)
Rivers provide a suitable setting for agricultural industry as the land are the river is not only easy to farm due to the shallow and flat gradient allowing mechanical mobility but also is very fertile due to things such as alluvium deposits. The river can also be used in the irrigation process providing yet another convenience to the farmers.
Rivers also are used for the disposal of waste by industry this is because rivers are not only a great convenience as they may be located next to a factory of some sort but also provide a cheap, most likely free, means of disposal for the industry to use.

Why differing land uses may conflict in river basins.

There are an array of diverse land uses which exist in and around river basins. These may include industry, recreation, agriculture, residential and tourist functions.
However a major conflict is that between industry and recreation. Industry may use the river as a waste removal facility whilst recreational users may use the river for things such as water sports or perhaps as a visual pleasure. The disposal of waste in the river removes the ability for the recreational users to do these kind of things and hence a conflict arises, swimmers will no longer be able to swim and fishermen will perhaps not longer be able to catch fish as most if not all may die due to harmful waste in their habitat.
Agricultural use as well as residential may also have a conflict in that of land. Land around the river basin would be of high demand for farmers due to the fertile soil and water being readily available for the irrigation process. However, land will also be demanded for those residential users. Land for building new homes as well as gardens. This creates a conflict as land that is owned by say the farmer can't be built on by people to build homes. Land which is used as a garden also cant be used by the farmer for farming.

How can river basins be a multi use resource.
River Basins can be viewed as a source of a wide variety of functions and settings. These may range dependant on their physical charateristics from industrial usage to recreation to agricultural as well as ecological/tourist.
The river basin has provided a suitable setting for the agricultural industry as the flat land is not only easy to farm on due to the shallow gradient of the land which allows mechanical mobility but it is also the close proximity of the channel assists in the irrgation process which is a major convenience to the farmers.
River basins an also be used as tourist or recreational location as the attractive scenery around the river basin due to things such as grassy land and water may provide a very enjoyable and aesthetically pleasing view as well as an attractive place to hold things such as water sports and picnics. Seeing as there is a combination of water and land in this area you are able to see many different species of animals than perhaps people are used to living in a suburban environment. This may attract wildlife enthusiasts to come to the location for both recreation and to perhaps learn more about the animals.