Dam removal: synthesis of ecological and physical responses

Dam decommissioning is rapidly emerging as an important river restoration strategy in the U.S., with several major removals recently completed or in progress. But few studies have evaluated the far-reaching consequences of these significant environmental perturbations, especially those resulting from removals of large (>10-15 m tall) structures during the last decade. In particular, interactions between physical and ecological aspects of dam removal are poorly known. From recent work, however, observations are now available from several diverse settings nationwide to allow synthesis of key physical and ecological processes associated with dam removals, including fish and benthic community response, reservoir erosion, downstream sedimentation, water quality issues (including turbidity and contaminant transport), riparian vegetation, food web response, gene flow changes, effects on migratory aquatic species, and invasive species response. Our proposed examination and synthesis of these observations, framed and tested as hypotheses and conceptual models, will provide better understanding of the multifaceted and interrelated consequences of dam decommissioning, thereby providing a basis for formulating realistic expectations for river restoration in addition to identifying key information gaps and research needs.



Publication(s) and Product(s):

Bellmore, J.R., K.M. Vittum, J.J. Duda, and S. Greene. 2015. USGS dam removal science database. Available online at http://doi.org/10.5066/F7K935KT.

Bellmore J. Ryan, Duda Jeffrey J., Craig Laura S., Greene Samantha L., Torgersen Christian E., Collins Mathias J., Vittum Katherine. Status and trends of dam removal research in the United States. WIREs Water 2016. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1164

Bellmore J.R., Pess, G.R, Duda, J.J., O’Connor, J.E, East, A.E., Foley, M.M., Wilcox, A.C., Major, J.J., Shafroth, P.B., Morley, S.A., Magirl, C., Anderson, C.W., Evans, J.E., Torgersen, C.E., Craig, L.S. Conceptualizing Ecological Responses to Dam Removal: If You Remove It, What's to Come?, BioScience, Volume 69, Issue 1, 1 January 2019, Pages 26-39, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biy152

Collins, Mathias J., Noah P. Snyder, Graham Boardman, William S.L. Banks, Mary Andrews, Matthew E. Baker, Maricate Conlon, et al. “Channel Response to Sediment Release: Insights from a Paired Analysis of Dam Removal.” Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, January 1, 2017, n/a-n/a. doi:10.1002/esp.4108.

Duda, Jeffrey J., Daniel J. Wieferich, R. Sky Bristol, J. Ryan Bellmore, Vivian B. Hutchison, Katherine M. Vittum, Laura Craig, and Jonathan A. Warrick. “Dam Removal Information Portal (DRIP)-A Map-Based Resource Linking Scientific Studies and Associated Geospatial Information about Dam Removals.” Report. Open-File Report. Reston, VA, 2016. USGS Publications Warehouse. http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20161132.

East, A. E., G. R. Pess, J. A. Bountry, C. S. Magirl, A. C. Ritchie, J. B. Logan, T. J. Randle, et al. 2015. "Large-Scale Dam Removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: River Channel and Floodplain Geomorphic Change." Geomorphology 228: 765-786. www.scopus.com.

Foley, M. M., Bellmore, J.R., O’Connor, J.E., Duda, J.J., East, A.E., Grant, G.E., Anderson, C.W., Bountry, J.A., Collins, M.J., P. J. Connolly, Craig, L.S., Evans, J.E., Greene, S.L., Magilligan, F.J., Magirl, C.S., Major, J.J., Pess, G.R., Randle, T.J., P. B. Shafroth, Torgersen, C.E., Tullos, D., and Wilcox, A.C. (2017), Dam removal: Listening in, Water Resources Research, 53, doi:10.1002/2017WR020457.

Foley, M.M., Magilligan, F.J., Torgersen, C.E., Major, J.J., Anderson, C.W., Connolly, P.J., Weiferich, D., Shafroth, P.B., Evans, J.E., Infante, D., and Craig, L.S. (2017) Landscape context and the biophysical response of rivers to dam removal in the United States. PLOS ONE 12(7): e0180107. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180107

Magilligan, F. J., Graber, B. E., Nislow, K. H., Chipman, J. W., Sneddon, C. S., & Fox, C. A. (2016). River restoration by dam removal: Enhancing connectivity at watershed scales. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 4(1), 000108. http://doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000108

Major, J.J., East, A.E., O'Connor, J.E., Grant, G.E. Wilcox, A.C., Magirl, C.S., Collins, M.J., Tullos, D.D., 2017, Geomorphic responses to dam removal in the United States-a two-decade perspective, in Tsutsumi, D. and Laronne, J.B., editors, Gravel-Bed Rivers: Processes and Disasters. John Wiley and Sons, p. 355-383.

O'Connor, J. E., Duda, J. J., and Grant, G. E., (2015). 1000 dams down and counting. Science 348 (6234), 496-497. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa9204

O'Connor, J. and East, A., (2014). Synthesizing Studies of Dam Removal. Eos Trans. 95 issue 40. 363-64 doi:10.1002/2014EO400003 [meeting report].

Randle TJ, Bountry J, 2017, Dam removal analysis guidelines for sediment. Bureau of Reclamation Technical Service Center. 211 pp.

Tullos, Desirée D., Mathias J. Collins, J. Ryan Bellmore, Jennifer A. Bountry, Patrick J. Connolly, Patrick B. Shafroth, and Andrew C. Wilcox, 2016. Synthesis of Common Management Concerns Associated with Dam Removal. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1-28. DOI: 10.1111/1752-1688.12450

USGS Dam Removal Information Portal (DRIP): https://data.usgs.gov/drip-dashboard/

Warrick, J.A., Bountry, J.A., East, A.E., Magirl, C.S., Randle, T.J., Gelfenbaum, G., Pess, G.R., Leung, V., and Duda, J.J. (2015). Large-scale dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: Source-to-sink sediment budget and synthesis. Geomorphology 246:729-750. doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.01.010

Welty, E.Z. 2015. linbin: Binning and plotting of linearly referenced data. R package version 0.1. http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/linbin/

Welty, E.Z, Torgersen, C.E., Brenkman, S.J., Duda, J.D., and Armstrong, J.B. (2015). Multiscale analysis of river networks using the linbin R package. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 35(4):802-809.