In truth, the United States is fighting a severe crisis with its aging dams. More than 92,000 federally owned and operated structures across the country are currently facing mounting stress from an uptick in extreme weather events. According to the Society of Civil Engineers, it would cost an estimated $165 billion just to address the repair backlog on non-federal dams. All across the country, dam safety staff have been furloughed, particularly in western states. This financial burden is ringing alarm bells about the safety of our critical infrastructure.
The Miami Conservancy District in Ohio — the first regional government created under the U.S. It is in desperate need of $140 million just to bring its dams and levees up to acceptable operational safety levels. Of these structures, the Huffman Dam, placed at the confluence of two rivers, is key. During floods, it can store up an astounding 54 billion gallons of water! This underscores the huge imperative to protect its integrity.
That’s the case in much of the Midwest, where the region’s dams are crumbling. Most of these structures have been in place for 10, 20, even 30 years. Fast-forward to today, when they can’t keep up with the increasing pace of more extreme precipitation events. Bryan Burroughs, a spokesperson for a local environmental organization, explained, “The reason this is popping up everywhere in the country is because it’s a massive aging infrastructure problem.”
Recent events have made the stakes even more urgent. Perhaps the most illustrative example is the repeated failure of the Edenville Dam in central Michigan in 2020. This emergency required evacuation of 10,000 community members and resulted in failure of another dam downstream. In 2018, federal officials permanently revoked the Edenville Dam owner’s license. They implored lawmakers regarding the dam’s capacity to handle extreme flood heights.
MaryLynn Lodor, a board member of Miami Conservancy District, came with some terrific news. Her organization has accomplished an amazing 228% increase in the amount of water stored in her international organization’s dams in the last 80 years. “Our system has experienced 2,170 storage events. The flood in April ranked 12th,” she stated. This huge increase in water storage, either for flood control or drought resilience, needs urgent attention and investment.
Climate change is moving the goal posts on weather trends and events nationwide. Yet, what were once rare, hundred-year flooding events are becoming expected occurrences. Burroughs highlighted this trend, stating, “What used to be a one-in-100-year flood event might have happened three times in the last 40 years.” These changes pose tremendous hazards to the residential communities that live downstream.
As a result, more than 18,000 properties downstream from Ohio’s aging dams are at risk of flooding within the next three decades. In White Cloud, Michigan, officials have drawn down lake levels behind a 150-year-old dam. They recently came to this proactive decision after concern was raised over the bridge’s structural integrity.
Despite these pressing needs, funding remains elusive. The Inflation Reduction Act only gave $10 billion in funding for flood mitigation and drought relief. In 2021, these early successes led legislators to appropriate $3 billion for dam safety upgrades and removals. This funding was made possible via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Local agencies such as the Miami Conservancy District would argue that even with this help, more assistance is needed.
Lodor expressed frustration with the lack of financial assistance, saying, “We have not gotten much support and federal dollars or state money to be able to do the system. It’s already been invested in by the local communities; it would be very difficult for this to be on the backs of the locals.”
Local communities sit at the nexus of fundamental dam safety challenges. Federal agencies—those charged with monitoring and maintaining our nation’s critical infrastructure—face this same crisis. There are more frequent and heavier rain events. Decision-makers at every level need to prioritize dam maintenance and invest in improving our nation’s infrastructure before more lives are lost.