Hydroclimate change is stressing dams and their management, altering the benefits, costs, and risks of built water infrastructure for people and the environment. Removing obsolete dams and barriers holds promise as a nature-based solution to adapt to climate-related events, including more severe droughts and floods. While most dam removal studies describe the impacts of dams on people and the environment, few studies directly connect removal with climate change, resilience, or adaptation.
In this Science Talk, Prof. Null will discuss how dam and barrier removal can enhance climate resilience, drawing on a review of 50 peer-reviewed and grey literature studies. The research interprets climate resilience broadly, encompassing environmental, economic, engineering, social, and cultural criteria. Removing dams and barriers enhances climate resilience by reconnecting rivers, enhancing fisheries, providing access to stream temperature refuges, and reducing risk where changing hydrology exceeds dam design standards.
Several cases will be highlighted where dams and barriers have already been removed to improve climate resilience, alongside more than 70 unique metrics for assessing resilience. There is no universal approach for measuring resilience, as river systems and objectives vary. Many dams are instrumental for flood risk reduction, water supply reliability, hydropower generation, reservoir temperature management, novel ecosystems, and blocking dispersal of invasive species. Research linking dam removal to climate resilience is still emerging and is essential for prioritizing the removal of unsafe, underperforming, and obsolete dams, thereby directing funding for maintaining and rehabilitating valuable water infrastructure to withstand extreme climate events.
Speaker
Professor Sarah Null
