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Aging Dams Need Attention
Your recent editorial
on deficient small dams was a welcomed point about a growing
concern that warrants national attention (ENR 7/26 p. 56).
The challenges faced by local governments around the country
are growing in size and scope along with the potential for–and
eventual impacts of– dam failure.
We are collectively faced with
funding shortages, and yet, the facts that increase the likelihood
of dam failures and the costs of these disasters continue
to grow. Where once low-head dams were built to protect agricultural
activities and low-density land uses, they are now often the
only protection for high-density residential development and
popular recreational facilities. We have developed relentlessly
in the shadows of these structures despite the fact that they
are at the end of the functional life-cycle. Compounding the
danger is that most of these structures were not designed
to the standards in use today.
In Maricopa County, Ariz., alone,
15 flood control dams require rehabilitation due to increasing
populations around the dams, as well as other dam safety issues.
Maricopa County estimates the cost of rehabilitation of these
dams to be $230 million. Given we are the second fastest growing
county in the nation and home of the fifth largest city, there
is much at stake. We are representative of the growing national
crisis.
While there is some effort to address
the issue, it is not enough. The national watershed rehabilitation
program has just begun and is facing severe cuts in funding
when compared to the authorized amounts. This program does
not address the needs at all dams. Several states, including
Arizona, have funding mechanisms for repairs but the funds
are depleted and are not being replaced.
Considering the growing level of
impact, how much longer can we afford to ignore this issue?
Will it take a disaster like West Virginia’s Silver Bridge
failure before we realize a comprehensive and fully funded
program capable of addressing it? It has become incumbent
upon public works officials across the country to build awareness
of this issue.
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