[env-trinity] Western Water -- Outdated Dams: When Removal Becomes an Option

[Sari Sommarstrom]

<http://watereducation.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4b08362eb2eda2d25f7
5418e0&id=f6d390acf9&e=fddde7b9e5> New Western Water Magazine Issue
Available

The latest digital issue (Summer 2016) of Western Water Magazine -
<http://watereducation.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=4b08362eb2eda2d25f
75418e0&id=66e0799ee7&e=fddde7b9e5> Outdated Dams: When Removal Becomes an
Option - is now available for viewing.
http://www.watereducation.org/digital-western-water-magazine/western-water-s
ummer-2016?utm_campaign=New%20Western%20Water%20Magazine%20Issue%20Available
<http://www.watereducation.org/digital-western-water-magazine/western-water-
summer-2016?utm_campaign=New%20Western%20Water%20Magazine%20Issue%20Availabl
e&utm_medium=email&utm_source=bundle_and_blast>
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In the summer issue, Writer Gary Pitzer delves into the issue of
site-specific decisions to remove dams because they are obsolete - choked by
accumulated sediment, seismically vulnerable and out of compliance with
federal regulations that require environmental balance.

As Pitzer writes, many dams, especially the large, rim dams at the base of
most major river systems in California, serve a vital purpose - storing
water that is used to irrigate farms and drinking water to millions of
people as well as providing critical flood protection. In other locations
across the West, however, some dam owners have determined that the cost of
removal is less expensive than effecting the necessary modifications such as
fish ladders or seismic safety retrofits

Pitzer details situations when removing a dam, typically smaller local
facilities, is necessary because it is unsafe or does not function any
longer.  The process involves much more than simply tearing down the
physi-cal structure and letting a river or creek return to its former state.
It's a major undertaking involving a multitude of groups trying to ensure
the process does no harm and ulti-mately achieves the desired results.

The article discusses the renewed effort to remove four hydroelectric dams
on the Klamath River, explores the process to demolish San Clemente Dam, and
looks at ongoing discussions of removing two dams with silted-up reservoirs
in Southern California. 

 

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