Dam Removal – Lessons Learned

A Workshop of the ASCE – Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI of ASCE)

"There are few issues that excite more controversy amongst a significant portion of the engineering and environmental communities than the issue of removing a functioning dam. The parties often find themselves polarized with the one extreme seeing dam removal as an act of sacrilege while the other side sees it as an act of salvation. While there may be much sentiment attached to an older and non-functioning structure there is generally a modicum of common sense that tells all of us that when a dam has outlived its physical life span it should be removed." – From the EWRI of ASCE Task Force - "White Paper on Removal of Functioning Dams."

Read the complete White Paper online (PDF).

When and where is the workshop?

On August 18-19, 2003 EWRI will host a workshop titled "Dam Removal: Lessons Learned" on the campus of Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland. The workshop will focus on what has been learned from the actual dam removal process and will not be a debate over the pros and cons of the issue.

This workshop, conducted in six plenary sessions held over two days will encourage total audience participation. Each session will feature two speakers presenting their experience on the responses associated with dam removal and leading a roundtable discussion amongst the attendees.

Preliminary Agenda (as of April 4, 2003)

Registration will open on May 15, 2003. Visit http://www.ewrinstitute.org/events and sign up to be invited to register. Registration will be limited. If you are interested in participating in the workshop you may write to Don Phelps at EWRI@asce.org.

Why this workshop…why now?

In November 2002, the Aspen Institute released a report "Dam Removal – A New Option for a New Century." This report is the product of a twoyear dialogue between twenty-six experts with diverse values and views on the various options associated with dam removal. The report focuses on the policy and practice aspects of dam removal and contains supporting recommendations for effectively integrating the consideration of dam removal into water resources planning processes. It offers practical advice on when, why and how to evaluate whether dam removal should be considered a viable management option. The report is available at: www.aspeninst.org/damremovaloption.

In addition to the Aspen Report in 2002 the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment released the results of a study they were conducting in the form of a report titled DAM REMOVAL – Science and Decision Making, available at www.heinzctr.org. Both of these reports recommended that a workshop be held to improve communication across disciplinary boundaries, discuss what has been learned from recent dam removal projects and to start identifying what needs still exist.

The reports both complement a recent EWRI Task Force white paper on dam removal. Both the Aspen Institute and Heinz Center study groups will be represented at the workshop. In addition; EWRI Governing Board member Kyle Schilling served on the Aspen Institute panel and will copresent a paper, with Margaret Bowman, on the Aspen report at the EWRI World Water Congress in Philadelphia (June 23-26, 2003). Registration is now open for the second World Water & Environmental Congress, in Philadelphia in June of 2003, at www.asce.org/conferences/ewri2003.