Dwindling Dollars for Dam Safety

Posted by: Tim Halbur

9 October 2011 - 9:00am

New requirements have made safety officials more aware of the safety issues surrounding the U.S.'s 84,000 dams. Problem is, there are fewer funds available to fix the mounting problems they find.

And while funding is fading, reports Russell Ray, the population downstream of dams is growing:

"Funding for the National Dam Safety Program, which provides funding for the safety and security of U.S. dams and is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is set to be cut nearly in half, from more than $11 million to about $6 million."

Supports of dam safety have pushed The Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act, which Ray says "...would provide $200 million for the repair, rehabilitation and removal of publicly-owned dams."

Full Story: Dam Safety Improvements Shed Light on a Bigger Problem

Source: Renewable Energy World, October 7, 2011