Dams / Reservoirs

DAMSWhat Should America Do with Its Aging Dams?
By Rob Jordan
Aging dams pose growing safety and economic challenges. Two Stanford water experts discuss the safety, economic, and environmental tradeoffs driving debates over dam removal.
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DAMSClose Calls at Michigan’s Dams Are a Climate Warning to America
By Vivian La
Record flooding pushed Michigan’s dams to the brink of disaster. The near miss reflects the national problem of infrastructure that is not suited to the challenges of a warming world.
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DISASTERSWest Coast Levee Failures Show Growing Risks from America’s Aging Flood Defenses
By Farshid Vahedifard
Across the U.S., levees are getting older while weather is getting more extreme. Many of these structures were never designed for the enormous responsibility they now carry.
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DAMSWhy Building More Big Dams Could Be a Costly Gamble for Future Water Security and the Environment
By John Kandulu, Richard Kingsford, and Sarah Ann Wheeler
Climate change and biodiversity loss are mounting threats to Australia’s water security. So we often hear calls for more dams. But is that the answer?
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DAMSThe Fate of Thousands of U.S. Dams Hangs in the Balance, Leaving Rural Communities with Hard Choices
By Madeline Heim
Dams across the country are aging and facing intensifying floods wrought by climate change. But the price tag to fix what’s broken is estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
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WATER SECURITYAlbuquerque Made Itself Drought-Proof. Then Its Dam Started Leaking.
By Jake Bittle
El Vado is an odd dam: It’s one of only four in the United States that uses a steel faceplate to hold back water, rather than a mass of rock or concrete. The dam, which is located on a tributary of the Rio Grande, has been collecting irrigation water for farmers for close to a century, but decades of studies have shown that water is seeping through the faceplate and undermining the dam’s foundations. Cities across the West rely on fragile water sources — and aging infrastructure.
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DAMSIn an Era of Dam Removal, California Is Building More
By Theo Whitcomb, High Country News
Earlier this year, the federal government finalized $216 million dollars in funding for a controversial dam project south of the Klamath River, adding to the $1 billion in direct grants already pledged to the project known as Sites Reservoir. This would be California’s first major new reservoir in half a century. Proponents say a new reservoir off the Sacramento River is environmentally friendly.
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WATER SECURITYBreaching Snake River Dams Could Drop Reservoirs, Groundwater Levels by 100 Feet
By Tim Clouser, The Center Square
As the Biden administration attempts to gain support for breaching hydroelectric dams in Washington, state and federal agencies are preparing for a study on the potential implications.
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DAMSClimate Change Is Increasing Stress on Thousands of Aging Dams Across the U.S.
By Hiba Baroud
There are more than 91,000 dams across the U.S., in all 50 states, with diverse designs and purposes. The average dam age is 57 years, and more than 8,000 dams are over 90 years old. The most recent report card of the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that 70% of U.S. dams will be more than 50 years old by 2030. Overall, the report gave U.S. dams a “D” grade and estimates that more than 2,300 are high hazard dams which could cause loss of life or serious property damage if they fail.
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SECURITY OFFICERSSecurity Officers: Occupational Employment and Wages
There are more than 1.1 million security officers in the United States, and they form an essential part of the U.S. economy, playing an important role in maintaining safety and security across various sectors. The wages of security officers in the United States vary depending on several factors such as location, experience, and the specific industry they are employed in.
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DAMSUsing AI to Help Dams Run Smarter
Korea faces a precipitation peak during the summer, relying on dams and associated infrastructure for water management. However, the escalating global climate crisis has led to the emergence of unforeseen typhoons and droughts, complicating dam operations. In response, a new study has emerged, aiming to surpass conventional physical models by harnessing the potential of an artificial intelligence (AI) model trained on extensive big data.
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ENERGY SECURITYNon-powered Dams Offer Opportunity for Clean Energy
The era of building big dams may be over in the United States, but hydroelectricity still has a significant and untapped role to play in the nation’s energy future. Trouble is, 97 percent of U.S. dams don’t make electricity. A new tool could help tap that resource.
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DAMSDeadly Dam Failures: Cause, Effect, and Prevention
By Zulfikar Abbany
No dam is flood-proof. Thousands are at alert level. But dam failure needn’t be deadly the way it was in Libya’s devastating floods. Here’s what you need to know.
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FLOODSHow Well-Managed Dams and Smart Forecasting Can Limit Flooding as Extreme Storms Become More Common in a Warming World
By Riley Post
The United States is home to over 50,000 operable reservoirs that are overseen by dozens of state and federal agencies. As rising global temperatures make extreme storms more common, the nation’s dams and reservoirs – crucial to keeping communities dry – are being tested.
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DAMSClimate Change Is Increasing Stress on Thousands of Aging Dams Across the U.S.
By Hiba Baroud
There are more than 91,000 dams across the U.S., in all 50 states, with diverse designs and purposes. The average dam age is 60 years, and more than 8,000 dams are over 90 years old. The American Society of Civil Engineers’ report card for the nation’s infrastructure gave U.S. dams a “D” grade.
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