The remains of the dam: What have we learned from 15 years of us dam removals?

Abstract

Important goals for studying dam removal are to learn how rivers respond to large and rapid introductions of sediment, and to develop predictive models to guide future dam removals. Achieving these goals requires organizing case histories systematically so that underlying physical mechanisms determining rates and styles of sediment erosion, transport, and deposition are revealed. We examine a range of dam removals predominantly in the western US over the last decade, and extract useful lessons and trends that can be used to predict the response of rivers to future removals.