. . . momentum is
building to remove more dams, and to find the best ways to take them down and restore
the rivers they impounded. Dam removal campaigns are now underway throughout the US and in
many parts of the world, some of which target very large dams. Currently, the United
States, with some 74,000 dams (most of which are relatively small) - has perhaps the most
active dam-removal movement.
....Between 1944 and 1982 the Army Corps of Engineers inspected 8,800 non-federal dams in the US, most of them privately-owned, which it classified as "high-hazard" - where a failure could cause significant loss of life....The situation is similar for federal dams: in 1987 one-fifth of BuRec's (Bureau of Reclamation) 275 dams were classified as unsafe, as were one-third of the 554 dams operated by the Corps of Engineers...
| - Report by Patrick McCully, Campaigns Director, International Rivers Network |
In addition to existing Los Padres Dam, the San Clemente Dam, located a few miles downstream, also hinders the progress of the river's steelhead. Currently, the San Clemente Dam provides less than one-tenth of its original water storage capacity due to sediments in the reservoir, and the National Marine Fisheries Service supports removing the dam. A proposed earthquake retrofit - at a cost to taxpayers of $13 million - would eliminate any possibility of dismantling it, however. Removal of the dam would improve access to steelhead spawning grounds and help to restore river habitat.
| - American Rivers web site, 12 April 99 |
Need more information about dams, click here to see an excellent question and answer section about large dams on the International Rivers Network web site.
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Water Over The Dam