Old dams present a policy dilemma. If nothing is done, they will continue to deteriorate, potentially with bad results. Yet maintenance and upgrades are expensive. Might public funds be directed instead toward removal of obsolete dams, opening up free-flowing rivers? Selective and strategic dam removal would require public support and, even more fundamentally, awareness about this issue.
From the Keene Sentinel: "A multi-year study has found that restoring the Connecticut River’s natural water flows through changes in dam operations would have few environmental benefits for the watershed."
From NHPR: "Right now, a group of hydroelectric dams on the Connecticut River are undergoing a once-in-a-generation process – a federal relicensing. NHPR’s Annie Ropeik went to the dams and talked with people who live, work and play nearby about what they hope might change."
From Bangor Daily News: "The planned annual lowering of water levels on the Stillwater branch of the Penobscot River caused the death of thousands of river herring — and one Atlantic salmon — last week, but a state official said the impact on the thriving herring resource was minimal."
From Maine Public: "Alewives are making their usual spawning migration to Maine in unusually high numbers this year, thanks in part to restoration efforts and the removal of dams on the Penobscot and Kennebec Rivers."
From Valley News: "The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services this week joined Upper Valley residents and conservation groups in criticizing studies from the owner of the Wilder Dam that say the hydropower facility has little effect on erosion along the Connecticut River."
From Bangor Daily News: "Fluctuations in lake levels are normal because Graham Lake is an impoundment of the Union River controlled by a dam. Drought conditions have exacerbated conditions and homeowners and conservationists are seeking relief when two dams are relicensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission."