5. Gilman, S. (April 11th, 2016) This Will Be the Biggest Dam-Removal Project in History. Retrieved: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160411-klamath-glen-canyon-dam-removal-video-anniversary/

This article details the planned removal of four hydroelectric dams along the Klamath river in Oregon and Northern California. This is no abnormal practice, 1,300 dams have been removed nationwide as of 2015. This removal will allow the river almost return to how it was before the dam was built, and allowing salmon, which were blocked for a decade, to flow freely down the river again.

This article details the dilemma about dams, whether we should keep(in this case) a high maintenance source of renewable energy, or simply tear the thing down, save a few bucks and restore a natural ecosystem in the process. This dilemma is troubling because one hand hand we are helping the environment by lowering the carbon footprint, but on the other hand we are directly destroying a specific environment, so the question arises, which option benefits us the most? Tearing the thing down and preventing algae bloom and saving salmon or having more renewables?

4. Williams, M. (December 27th 2016) Storms cause Canyon Lake Dam to overflow. Retrieved: 3/12/17. http://www.pe.com/articles/lake-821818-water-feet.html

This article details the overflowing of Canyon Lake dam, which was described as a positive by the locals. They seemed glad to see any water in the lake, it didn’t seem to matter that the dam was overflowing. The vicious cycle of historic lows and overflows is detailed, and the managing of the water quality is discussed.

This article takes a jarringly different approach to the idea of a dam overflowing than the surplus of articles on the Oroville dam do, as it goes to point out that it is a mostly good sign, as it means we have more water. It is evident that there was no danger to people as a result of this overflowing, but one has to think about the environmental effects.

3. Rogers, P. (December 12th, 2016) California drought: Project to retrofit one of Bay Area’s largest dams doubles in cost, faced long delays. Retrived 3/12/17 http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/12/12/california-drought-project-to-retrofit-one-of-bay-areas-largest-dams-doubles-in-cost-faces-long-delays/

This article details the troubles facing the project to drain and upgrade on of the bay area’s largest dams(anderson dam) for earthquake protection, and the original price of 200 million is doubling. The delay and cost increase is due to the upstream side of the dam is at risk of collapsing, thus making more upgrades a necessity.

This article gives some important insight into how much trouble it is to keep these dams up to date and safe, which helps one understand why the Oroville incident happened. It is still good to see that the proper precautions are being taken, but its seems to be at a hefty cost.

1. Little, J. (February 20th, 2017) California Dam Crisis Could’ve Been Averted. Retrieved: 3/12/17. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/california-dam-crisis-could-have-been-averted/

The Oroville dam was overflowing, threatening thousands of people below. This was a result of a failure to update the infrastructure despite multiple warnings. There was a lawsuit in 2008 regarding the mismanagement of California dams, and the DWR rushed the renewal of the dam’s license despite people warning them of how outdated it was. The DWR then demonstrated its negligence by using a model based on the colder decades of the 50s and 60s and the claim that the warning were using evidence that was too “speculative” and cleared the dam.

This crisis is an excellent example of what will happen if we do not take the proper measures to keep our dam infrastructure up to date. We cannot be frugal when it comes to these  things, 188,000 people almost lost their homes as a direct result of this failure. The lesson to take is that climate change has made a significant effect on the way we need to build dams, and any dams not updated to accommodate for this change must be updated as soon as possible, especially if they overlook residential areas like Orville.

Wiesner, M. (2016, August 29). Bear River: The Biggest Dam Project You’ve Never Heard Of. Retrieved November 20th, 2016 from: https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2016/08/29/bear-river-the-biggest-dam-project-youve-never-heard-of

Bear River is very important, as it provides 60% of Salt Lake’s fresh water flow, and is also the largest river in the western hemisphere that doesn’t touch the ocean. That is why it is important to know that the state of Utah is spending 1.5 billion dollars to build seven new dams along the river in order to provide water for the rapidly growing population of Utah, however doing so would lower the water level of Salt Lake by four feet and jeopardize wildlife habitat in the lake, as well as threaten the 8 to 10 million birds that rely on the river to survive. Not only that, but it would also jeopardize the thriving mineral business in Salt Lake.

Situations like this show the troubling environmental dilemmas that arise when dealing with issues like “where will our water come from?”. While the residents of Utah need water, so does the environment and a lot of the residents’ jobs are reliant on that water not being displaced. There really isn’t a good solution here, and it really just goes to show how difficult being the person making decisions must be, and also how important it is that they’re environmentally educated and well aware of the consequences of their possible decisions. (I wonder who I’m referencing right now)

Mooney, C (2016, July 26) The surprisingly bright future of America’s forgotten renewable energy source: water. Retrieved November 20th, 2016 from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/07/26/the-surprisingly-bright-future-of-americas-overlooked-renewable-energy-source-water/?utm_term=.ea9503691f07

Our nation’s dam power could grow by 50% by 2050, which is great news for the renewable energy front. Of our 80,000 + dams, only 2,000 have power production, so if the older dams were to be equipped with power production and the old ones updated, our dam power production could skyrocket.

The increase in power produced by dams really would be a win for everyone, because it would mean that we would have a smaller reliance on fossil fuels, and therefore a relatively smaller usage of them, so less greenhouse gasses, etc.. The best part is that we don’t have to disrupt any more bodies of water by building more dams, we just need to upgrade and update the ones we already have!

Association of State Dam Safety Officials (2016) Top Issues Facing the Dam Community. Retrieved November 20th, 2016 from: http://www.damsafety.org/news/?p=c0fdade4-ab98-4679-be22-e3d7f14e124f

Dam failure is becoming common and deadly, one such failure killed 7 people in Hawaii, and there have been over 100 reported dam failures between 2005 and 2009, and in a recent year there was over 50 million in repair costs for dams in 23 states. There are about 4,400 unsafe dams in the US, and there is at least one in every state, a problem that needs to be addressed.

While most dams are upheld by responsible people, 4,400 of them are not, and it is costing people their lives. There is a serious demand for more regulations and standards that need to be met by dams, and for more people to address the main five factors that result in dam failure.

Williams, C.(2016, May 18) America’s Crumbling Dams Are A Disaster Waiting To Happen. Retrieved November 20th, 2016 from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/america-crumbling-dam-infrastructure_us_573a332be4b08f96c183deac

America’s dams are in bad shape, floods are looking to be a big problem in the future, massive amounts of government funds are being used to prevent this, as there has already been an incident in 2015 of a dam failing due to heavy rainfall. It looks like billions of dollars in property as well lives are at stake if action isn’t taken.

The poor aging of dams is extremely concerning, as it looks like an excessive amount of money that could reach the trillions is going to be spent to fix this problem, which just goes to show us how important it is going to be to really double down on designing dams with longevity in mind in the future.