Why We’re So Excited About Dam Removals

November 4, 2010 | Dams & Dam Removal, Protecting Rivers, Restoring Rivers

We here at American Rivers tend to get a little excited about our dam removals.

We can talk to you about migratory fish passage and habitat, miles of river restored, water quality and quantity, including flow rate and legislation protecting flow rate. We’ll tell you about the things we’ve uncovered (like new rapids and islands) when a dam has been removed and the river returns to its natural state. We’ve posted videos on Youtube, pictures on Facebook and status updates on Twitter like a proud parent. We track and measure our results and have facts about every river we’ve ever worked on, and some we haven’t. We’re just built that way.

Every river restoration project is unique, and every dam has its own personality, its own history, its own reason for coming down, even if that reason is simply a combination of time and nature.

 This fact hits home as I stand on the banks of the Patapsco River, overlooking the Simkins Dam on a clear fall day, as we celebrate its removal, and the revival of the river.

And all those facts I mentioned? Here are a couple about the Simkins Dam that got me. It was built in 1857, during the Panic of 1857. The panic was caused by an intense, sudden downturn in the economy after a succession of large banks began to fold, one by one.

The dam was destroyed in the flood of 1868, in which the Patapsco rose five feet in ten minutes. An article in Harper’s Weekly claimed, “The river at Ellicott City rose ten feet before a drop of rain had fallen there, and was at one time forty feet high!”

Like so many things that are built, then destroyed, the dam was built again, this time in 1889, about the same time of the Oklahoma land rush when 50,000 people rushed to claim 2,000,000 acres of land.

More than a hundred years ago, and the issues of a banking crisis and economic downturn, uncontrollable flooding, and the fight over land and its resources, are issues at the root of so many of our current news stories. One only has to look to this summer’s flooding in Iowa to realize we’re still struggling to coexist peacefully with nature.

The story of the Simkins Dam shows us that some things will never change; the economy will ebb and flow, the political pendulum will swing back and forth. But it also shows us that some things will change; we’ve recognized the importance and necessity of letting a river flow free, and know that despite decisions we’ve made in the past, we can always make new ones going forward.

We’re not simply removing dams for the sake of removing dams. Sure, we get excited when one comes down, because if a dam is being removed it’s because it’s become a hazard, or stopped the vital migratory passages of fish, or is slowly eroding a watershed.

More than 830 dam removals have been recorded nationwide. Motivation for removing dams may vary,  and these communities show us that restoration projects provide a multitude of benefits and often breathe new life into river communities and a renewed appreciation for free-flowing, healthy streams. American Rivers helps communities remove unneeded dams by providing educational, technical, and financial assistance. 

The decision to remove the Simkins dam was part of an overall restoration of the watershed, three dams total will be removed on the Patapsco. The Union Dam upstream was removed earlier this year, and studies are underway for the removal of the Bloede dam.

With the removal of these dams comes jobs; the people that are necessary to complete the studies, monitor the river and physically remove the dam. The removal of the Simkins also removes a safety hazard (local kids have been walking across the dam for fun) and eliminates a cumbersome portage for kayakers and canoers. And of course, there’s all those happy fish.

We here at American Rivers are proud to be leading the removal of these dams and the effort to restore the Patapsco River. (Just check out our Twitter and Facebook feeds for pictures.)

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