No wetland creation
One point I tried to make locally is that the dam removal proposed here in Raleigh will actually drain wetlands and beaver ponds upstream. However the credits for restoration will be for restoring the shoreline of the river upstream to its natural and original state. So far as I can tell in North Carolina, they have studied what the silt will do when they remove the dam, but they have never removed the silt to mitigate it before taking down the dam.
I suspect that the silt would all be wash downstream with each springs flood and rest where it would naturally given enough springs and enough floods.
On the contrary
– Last Updated: Feb-17-11 11:41 AM EST –
Sure, removal of dams will create a big silt load downstream in many cases, but what about the fact that the dammed river itself hasn't been a normal ecosystem for as long as the dam has been there. Rivers not subject to abnormally high flows, always due to stuff that humans have done to the surrounding landscape, will eventually reach an equilibrium between erosion and deposition, and the downstream stetches will normally recover (rivers with flows that are greater than the ones which formed the river will reach this point of equailbrim too, but not until so far into the future that it's not worth worrying about. Still, they will flush out faster as a result). I'd like to know what credible source you can provide that states dam removal is "almost never a good thing". I tend to pay attention to the ecological aspects of such things, and have never heard a statement like that one, or even about a single instance of dam removal doing more harm than good. Here in Wisconsin we have what I've heard is the longest restored river in the country, and many dams were removed in the process of providing free flow for its whole length. The DNR's fish counts have shown steady and substantial improvement in populations of desirable fish as a result.
In your example where there was a trout stream below the dam, that tells me the dam was on a small river and the impoundment was small (because rivers don't become smaller and colder as you go downstream), so give it some time for a few years of flooding to flush away sediments, and don't rely on griping locals for information about habitat quality. They never recognize what's "now" as being better than "before" no matter what the real sitation may be. That's a documented trait of human nature. Oh, I'll add this too. When it comes to trout habitat, dam removal is typically a good thing. The water downstream of a dam will always be warmer, lower in oxygen content, and containing more algae than that same water would be if the dam were not there. Throw in the fact that making the river open to migration improves the habitat quality for a great many native species and you can see how the benefits cascade. Damming a river to turn parts of it into ponds or lakes is only good for species that thrive in ponds and lakes, and in far too many cases where these dams are 50 to 100 years old, those ponds and reservoirs are only suitable habitat to carp, and the more desirable species have a really rough time of it. While the habitat quality in impoundments steadily worsens over time, an unrestricted river is self-healing and never suffers the same fate since whatever habitat it destroys it creates elsewhere (read a bit about basic river geology if that doesn't immediately ring true for you). From an ecological standpoint, trying to create lakes in river country has been a disaster, and most of the dams where removal is an option are small industrial structures which no longer serve any purpose that can stand up to common sense.
Silt management
– Last Updated: Feb-17-11 11:49 AM EST –
Silt fences are effective when properly installed and maintained.
They fail or become ineffective :
- not properly installed to begin with
- not inspected daily and/or after rainfalls
- damaged fences were not repaired
The EPA has guidelines and they need to be followed
-- shortcuts lead to undercutting,overlapping,collapsing
When sediment reaches half the height of the silt fence
- it needs to be cleared.
Strict supervision prevents laziness by contractors.
Taking pictures and publicly embarrassing all guilty parties on the internet works also :
http://bit.ly/BlueCrane
another good article
on a dam removal (in VA) and the arguments for and against:
http://www2.newsvirginian.com/news/2011/feb/17/dam-demolition-plan-divides-community-ar-848658/
I call BS
An ancient deteriorating, crumbing death machine
makes the property attractive for renting and selling
Sorry, NO.
http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/fact-sheet/dams
America has a infrastructure problem :
- it’s time to pony up the cash, not get nostalgic
agreed
rather shallow of the condo owners saying they want to hear the sound of an artificial waterfall, and completely ignoring the dangers to their community and the staggering repair & insurance costs.
Very common viewpoint though
My work is closely tied to the construction industry, and I hear some strange tales sometimes. Not long ago I was at a new construction site and listened to the owner describe some of the crap he had to listen to when getting the project approved at a city council meeting. The meeting was attended by angry residents of apartments in the immediate area who didn’t want a new building to block their view of the other vacant lots (as if those lots were going to remain vacant for long, or remain vacant “just for them”). One woman even said she looked out her window each morning when she got up to check traffic conditions on the very busy street in front of the site, and she wouldn’t be able to do that anymore once the new building was in place. Lots of people are very self-important regarding trivial little aspects of their surroundings which they don’t own or have any legal connection to.
beach erosion
I think the main cause of beach erosion has to do with lack of sand delivery to the river deltas…as a result of upstream dams.
Bust the dams, time will fix the resulting sediment “problems”. The point about the rivers being “broken” when the dam is in place is so true. A temporary problem after the dam is removed is just that.
Shiatown Dam in Durand,MI
PCB results came back very clean.
Friends of the Shiawassee is a group now acting as
liaison to both the DNR and DEQ in Michigan.
Say bye bye to the Shiatown Dam
– Last Updated: Jul-06-12 5:04 PM EST –
UPDATE :
Got word today from Byron Lane
Chief of Hydrologic Studies and
Dam Safety Unit at State of Michigan
- The owner of the Shiatown Dam intends to remove
the dam and is currently in the planning phase.
Looking forward to no portage and
50 miles of open river water trail.
http://bit.ly/FreeClear