| WASHINGTON
- August 19 - 57 dams in 15 states and the District of Columbia are scheduled for removal in 2003, continuing the strong trend in recent years for restoring rivers and improving public safety by removing stream blockages. Each summer, American Rivers surveys government and private conservation organizations to determine how many dams and other obstructions have been or are scheduled to be removed in that calendar year.
More than 114 dams have been removed since 1999 when the breaching of Edwards Dam on Maine's Kennebec River captured national attention. This promising trend is the result of two converging developments -- a growing appreciation of the ecological benefits of removing dams and the rapid aging of much of the nation?s dam infrastructure.
"Communities across the country are experiencing a new beginning on their local rivers," explained Serena McClain, of American Rivers' Rivers Unplugged campaign. "And while many regard these efforts as dam removals before they happen, afterwards they are remembered as river restorations."
The dams slated for removal this year represent just a tiny fraction of the total number of dams in place across the country. There are approximately 76,000 dams greater than 6 feet high and countless smaller obstructions. The vast majority of these dams were built for purposes such as running mills, controlling floods, and creating municipal and agricultural water supplies. Less than 3 percent generate hydroelectricity.
While dams can provide valuable services, the ecological price is high. Dams drown valuable habitat under reservoirs, block the annual migrations of fish, and can create downstream conditions inhospitable for fish and wildlife.
Dams also create several safety hazards, some of which increase with age. Small dams are sometimes called "drowning machines" because they can create dangerous undertows, and as we have seen with the flood events in Michigan and North Carolina, dams both large and small can fail. For example, on May 15, 2003, a safety dike on a dam on Michigan's Upper Peninsula burst during a rainstorm. The resulting flood forced 1,800 people to evacuate their homes and caused more than $100 million in property damage. Fortunately, such instances are rare and nobody was hurt or killed.
"Dams do not last forever, and as they age they tend to move from being assets to liabilities," said Leon Szeptycki, Eastern Conservation Director for Trout Unlimited. "Many communities choose to remove local dams when they have reached the point where expensive repairs can no longer be deferred."
Communities that choose to pull out obsolete dams enjoy once again the benefits provided by healthy free flowing rivers--better water quality, revitalized fisheries, new recreational opportunities, and recovery of habitat suitable for parks and other public use. The Esh Dam, for example, on Amish farmland in the Mill Creek watershed of Pennsylvania was removed this year as part of a more comprehensive restoration project aimed at remedying water quality problems in Mill Creek. The removal, which only cost $675, is expected to improve dissolved oxygen content and normal water temperatures.
These benefits become even more attractive once the costs of renovating aging dams are considered. When the Ohio-American Water Company was faced with repairing or rebuilding a decrepit dam on the Sandusky River in Ohio, they chose to work with the state to remove the dam and donate the abutting land for creation of a park and public access point.
"Dams can quickly become economic sinkholes, often outliving their intended use," said Helen Sarakinos, Small Dams Program Manager for the River Alliance of Wisconsin. "However, innovative solutions are sought, the entire community can benefit from the results."
American Rivers, Trout Unlimited, and River Alliance of Wisconsin all provide educational, technical, and financial assistance to communities that are considering or have committed to removing a dam it no longer needs.
Click here for a list of dams slated for removal in 2003 and dams removed from 1999-2002.
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