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A multiscale approach to balance trade-offs among dam infrastructure, river restoration, and cost.


ABSTRACT: Aging infrastructure and growing interests in river restoration have led to a substantial rise in dam removals in the United States. However, the decision to remove a dam involves many complex trade-offs. The benefits of dam removal for hazard reduction and ecological restoration are potentially offset by the loss of hydroelectricity production, water supply, and other important services. We use a multiobjective approach to examine a wide array of trade-offs and synergies involved with strategic dam removal at three spatial scales in New England. We find that increasing the scale of decision-making improves the efficiency of trade-offs among ecosystem services, river safety, and economic costs resulting from dam removal, but this may lead to heterogeneous and less equitable local-scale outcomes. Our model may help facilitate multilateral funding, policy, and stakeholder agreements by analyzing the trade-offs of coordinated dam decisions, including net benefit alternatives to dam removal, at scales that satisfy these agreements.

SUBMITTER: Roy SG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6255187 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A multiscale approach to balance trade-offs among dam infrastructure, river restoration, and cost.

Roy Samuel G SG   Uchida Emi E   de Souza Simone P SP   Blachly Ben B   Fox Emma E   Gardner Kevin K   Gold Arthur J AJ   Jansujwicz Jessica J   Klein Sharon S   McGreavy Bridie B   Mo Weiwei W   Smith Sean M C SMC   Vogler Emily E   Wilson Karen K   Zydlewski Joseph J   Hart David D  

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20181105 47


Aging infrastructure and growing interests in river restoration have led to a substantial rise in dam removals in the United States. However, the decision to remove a dam involves many complex trade-offs. The benefits of dam removal for hazard reduction and ecological restoration are potentially offset by the loss of hydroelectricity production, water supply, and other important services. We use a multiobjective approach to examine a wide array of trade-offs and synergies involved with strategic  ...[more]

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