The Environment Report: A New Look at Old Dams

Public radio listeners heard/will hear a story on today's Environment Report about the 80,000 dams that exist on waterways in the United States. A portion of the transcript follows:

Ron Corso is with the United States Society on Dams.

“There’s enough sites out there to dramatically increase the amount of hydropower that exists today, and the FERC has more applications in front of it than it has in twenty years.” The FERC is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It's the government agency that oversees dams.

Corso says communities are weighing the economic costs before repairing or retro-fitting an old dam.

And if the dam is small – say under 20 feet tall – Corso says it often is not worth the cost.

The height of Argo Dam: 18 feet

Full story: The Environment Report: A New Look at Old Dams