Impacts of Dam Removal on Stream Sedimentation

With increasing concerns about restoration of riparian habitat, stream channel restoration, enhancement of fisheries and aquatic habitat, and minimization of environmental damage, several dams are being re-evaluated in terms of their continued operation with associated environmental impacts. In some cases, these dams are no longer needed due to availability of alternative sources of water supply or power or changes in the structure of the establishments which they were designed to serve; the dams are old and their spillways do not meet current hydrologic design standards; and their rehabilitation to pass the modified design-basis flood may not be economically viable. This study evaluates the consequences of potential removal of a dam, which has been operating for the past 70 years or so as a water supply facility and has accumulated significant amount of sediment behind it.