Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Dam Removal In The Usa: Effects On River Water Quality, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Dam removal decisions should ideally be made after a thorough cost-benefit analysis. If dam obsolescence, structural safety, harm to fisheries, maintenance costs, and reservoir eutrophication are among the primary concerns, decommissioning would likely be favored. On the other hand, dams provide considerable benefits including water storage for agricultural and urban consumption, renewable electricity generation, support of navigational canal systems, flood control, and lakes for recreation. Because of these competing factors and interests, dam removal decision-making in the United States is often a slow process fraught with controversy, as in the case of the Klamath River.

Dams provided mechanical water power …