Climate Change Complicates the Whole Dam Debate
![](https://www.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/FEA6674C-DC79-4D99-90FBC0D4739D3575.jpg?w=590&h=393&ADF270C1-5F5E-469B-A4863F13EB4BC942)
More than 4,000 dams in the U.S. are now rated unsafe because of structural or other deficiencies. Bringing the entire system of 90,000 dams up to current standards would cost about $79 billion, according to the Association of State Dam Safety Officials. Hence, it has become increasingly common to demolish problematic dams, mainly for economic and public safety reasons, and less often to open up old habitats to native fish. About 700 dams have been taken down across the U.S. over the past decade, with overwhelmingly beneficial results for river species and ecosystems.
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