Highlights: introduction | issue identification | dam and river ecosystem basics | legal aspects | economic considerations | decision-making process | conclusions

Issue identification

Following is a summary of a longer checklist found in the Issue identification module of the guide. This summary checklist is provided here to give you an idea of the range of issues that need to be considered in making a decision about your dam. The checklist is divided into seven sections: social issues, historical issues, aesthetic issues, economic issues, legal and land use issues, engineering issues, and fish, wildlife, and environmental issues. It is important to consider all these issues in making the decision to repair or remove a dam. The complete guide can help you identify the important issues as well as tell you where to find more information on topics that you need to know more about. The earlier that you are able to recognize a potential problem or identify an area where there is insufficient information, the more time you have to get that information and develop solutions that satisfy the best interests of the community.

There are also appendixes to the issue identification module of the full document. They include a listing of potential funding sources and a sample survey to guide your community to get maximum input about the dam repair/removal decision.
 

Social issues

Decision-making can be very difficult, especially when the decision involves many people with different interests, as in the dam repair/removal case. The following lead questions lay out some social considerations for your community:
 

• What is the social value of the dam and the impoundment?
• What are community attitudes toward the dam?
• What type of decision-making process will be used for deciding whether to remove or repair the dam?

Historical issues

Answering the following questions will help the community gain an understanding of the historical value of the dam site, with or without a dam.
 

• What is the history of the dam?
• Are historical community events are hosted at the site?
• Is the dam's historical value primarily through association with an adjoining building or structure (for example, a millhouse) versus the impoundment?

Aesthetic issues

There are several ways to assess how the dam and the surrounding area looks now, what it looked like historically, and what it can look like in the future. Aesthetic considerations can be addressed by exploring the following lead questions.
 

• What are the community’s primary aesthetic concerns?
• How will the environment of the area change with our decision to repair or remove the dam?
• What opportunities exist for enhancing the look of our community as a result of our decision to repair or remove the dam?

Economic issues

Economic considerations include costs, benefits, and funding of the repair or removal of the dam. Many costs other than construction costs can be associated with dam repair and removal. Some economic questions that should be considered are the following:
 

• What is the cost of repairing or rebuilding the dam?
• What is the cost of removing the dam?
• If sediment is an issue, what is the cost of addressing the sediment that has accumulated behind the dam? What if the sediments are contaminated? What is the cost of properly disposing the sediment?
• Are property values expected to increase or decrease in the surrounding area if the dam and pond are around for another several decades or if the dam is removed?
• What funding sources are available to cover construction costs and costs of operation and maintenance with repair or removal?

Legal and land-use issues

Legal obligations associated with a dam structure and impoundment must be understood before your community can assess their options for repair or removal. This includes dam ownership and ownership of the land submerged by the impoundment. The following questions pertaining to land use and regulations should be considered during and after the decision-making process:
 

• What are the important regulatory considerations?
• Who owns the dam?
• What are the important land use considerations if the dam is repaired or removed?
• What happens to the land submerged by the impoundment if the dam is removed? Who will own the land?

Engineering issues

Safety is a crucial component of any decision related to dams. Some of the site-specific factors should be taken into consideration include the floodplain of a river, the physical characteristics of a watershed, and national and statewide regulations that control the safety of dams.
 

• What is a dam safety inspection? How often does the dam owner need to perform it?
• What is the size, type, age and safety condition of the dam?
• What is the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources hazard ranking of the dam (that is, how much potential damage could be caused if the dam were to fail)?
• Does the dam provide flood protection? Does the dam meet necessary flood standards? What is the flood passage capacity of the dam?
• Would the dam survive maximum headwater conditions (impoundment filled to the top)? Is it possible to see sliding, overturning or foundation failure (such as cracks, holes, crumbled sections, and so forth)?

Fish, wildlife, and environmental issues

People are recognizing ways to minimize the impacts they have on the environment and wildlife. A number of fish, wildlife, and environment questions need to be taken into consideration when deciding to repair or remove a dam.
 

• What is the quality of habitat in the impoundment? Upstream? Downstream?
• What is the amount and type of lake or pond habitat that would be lost through dam removal (for example, how many acres of warm-water fishery? How many acres of waterfowl habitat)?
• What are the amount and type of reconnected river habitat that would be gained through dam removal?
• How would dam removal/repair affect wetlands?
• Are the species affected by dam related activities species of concern? Are there endangered species present?

Next section: Dam and river ecosystem basics
 

URL: http://www.ies.wisc.edu/research/wrm00/highissueid.htm