Streamkeeper’s Blog – October 2016
Streamkeeper’s Blog – October 2016
The Lifecycle of Dams
A word from CalTrout’s ED, Curtis Knight
There are thousands of dams in California on every major river (except the Smith!). Dams provide water for drinking, irrigation, flood safety, and recreation. The benefits are apparent but so too are the impacts. Not all dams are necessary and not all dams are managed optimally to balance the needs of wild fish and people.
Our latest issue of The Current highlights the impacts of dams in California and some of the efforts CalTrout is involved with in assessing the costs and benefits of certain dams. Some makes sense. Some don’t. As dam removal successes pile up across the country we are excited to move the science and action of dam removal forward in California.
Opportunities arise to thoroughly review existing dams. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proceedings is one forum we have engaged in for decades on rivers such as the Eel, McCloud, Hat, Pit, Fall, Feather and Klamath. Name an awesome trout or steelhead stream and, chances are, there is a hydropower dam on it which puts it under FERC’s jurisdiction. Other dams have come under scrutiny because they have simply outlived their usefulness — Matilija Dam on the Ventura is a great example, completely filled in with sediment providing no intended benefits.
Think about your favorite river and, if it’s not the Smith, it has dam on it. What if that dam was gone, or modified, or better managed to balance wild fish and people needs? How would it make the river you love different, how would it improve? This is what CalTrout is doing throughout the state and we are excited about the opportunities to remove dams or improve the way they are managed to promote abundant wild fish, healthy rivers, and a better California.
For the fish,
