Rivers of the ‘Dammed,’ Rising from the Grave

By Megan Ewald, NOAA Office of Response and Restoration

Oil spills, hazardous waste, and ship groundings hex America’s oceans and rivers every year. Pollution drives people away from beaches, leaving them silent as a boneyard. NOAA looks for ways to bring waterways back to life. To do this, NOAA and our partners often look for opportunities to remove or bypass barriers for fish passage such as dams, faulty culverts, or grates. This is the sordid tale of six dammed rivers, where pollution settlements provided the opportunity for waters across America to rise from the grave.

Drones, Algae and Fish Ears: What We’re Learning Before the World’s Largest Dam-removal Project — and What We Could Miss

By Tara Lohan, The Revelator

The Klamath is a river in peril, plagued by dangerously poor water quality and collapsing salmon populations. That could start to change as early as 2022, when four dams are likely come down on the river — the biggest dam-removal and river-restoration project in history. Dam removal is expected to help solve many, but not all, of the river’s challenges, and understanding the change that does happen is crucial to planning the next steps for improving the river’s health.

Undamming Rivers: A Chance For New Clean Energy Source

By John Waldman, Karin Limburg, Yale Environment 360

Many hydroelectric dams produce modest amounts of power yet do enormous damage to rivers and fish populations. Why not take down these aging structures, build solar farms in the drained reservoirs, and restore the natural ecology of the rivers?

A Favorite Massachusetts Stream Loses a Dam – and Gains Aquatic Habitat

By Sandra Postel, National Geographic Newswatch

In early January, on a visit back to my old stomping grounds in western Massachusetts, I trekked along the snowy banks of Amethyst Brook, a beautiful headwater tributary in the Connecticut River watershed.