The largest dam removal project in United States history is underway along the California-Oregon border — a process that won’t conclude until the end of next year with the help of heavy machinery and explosives.
The restoration of this former reservoir is going to be an epic task of conservation with very interesting results. I’m sure extensive measurement and tracking will make this not only a useful scientific experiment but hopefully a prototype for future dam removals.
It would be so cool to view it live in action over time
I’ve been up there and spent time on two Rez’s and the Klamath river was so bad. The red algae and low levels were terrible for the salmon runs. The Yurok and Hoopa have relied on it forever and hate the dams.
Hydroelectric power was a dumb idea. Cool idea, but short sighted and reeked of manifest destiny.
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Yeah there’s really no need for so many dams anymore, they were built to power hydroelectric stations that are no longer needed so this is a good thing.
“Why not just let nature take its course? Well, nature didn’t take its course when dams got put in. We can’t pretend this gigantic change in the landscape has not happened and we can’t just ignore the fact that invasive species are a big problem in the west and in California,” said Dave Meurer, director of community affairs for Resource Environmental Solutions, the company leading the restoration project. “Our goal is to give nature a head start.”
Which is another really good point, sadly there’s a lot of invasive plant species that were unknowingly brought over by Europeans mostly for ornamental purposes which have had a devastating effects on native plant life
How is hydro power no longer needed?
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No clue why he would think that. Hydro power is the best source of carbon-free power. It’s also the only reasonable way to do grid-scale storage we have. Unless we see a huge build-out in nuclear, hydro-power will be required for the next century.
It’s also the only reasonable way to do grid-scale storage we have.
That’s not true. There’s TONS of viable alternatives. ex:
Pumped storage hydro is exactly what I was talking about when I said hydro is the only reasonable way to do grid-scale storage we have.
Alternatives are being developed around the world, such as iron-air batteries
When your alternative is something that doesn’t exist yet, you are reinforcing my point that hydro is the only viable grid-scale storage tech we have right now.
I have no clue either as you misread what I wrote. MicroWave is correct, that was my meaning.
This is a insane take. We absolutely need hydro power right now. It was the leading source of electricity before coal. More dams, please.
You can do hydropower without dams. Dams are incredibly destructive to ecosystems.
Do educate me.
It just seems like a huge waste of energy / resources to remove an existing dam than to remediate it somehow. I didn’t see any mention of if this generated power or how it’d be offset.
Not really an environmental win if this hydro power capacity was replaced by coal.
I’m not sure how demolishing renewable energy sources is going to help protect the environment during a climate crisis.
For my two cents, demolish the last fossil fuel power plants in a country, and we can then start taking a look at hydroelectric dams to tear down for environmental concerns.
