— Written by Lyle Jarvis

The Great Dam Debate

Dams have depleted fisheries and degraded river ecosystems on nearly all of our nation's rivers. They've destroyed aquatic habitats, disrupted natural river ecosystems, altered water flow, temperature and quality. They've also driven extinction for several species of fish.

The problem is, dams help us control and store water for when we need it (supply for homes, agriculture, and industry), handle floods and more. Dams are also used to protect against some invasive species, and perhaps most popularly, for power (although of the 90,000+ dams in the US, less than 3% actually produce power).

The Salmon are Back (And It’s Fin-tastic) 🐟

For over 100 years, four massive hydroelectric dams blocked the Klamath River, cutting off salmon from over 400 miles of their spawning grounds. For nearby tribes (Yurok, Karuk, and Klamath Tribes), this wasn't just an infrastructure issue; it was a threat to their culture and identity.

But after decades of tribal activism, the dams finally came down. And the results are already speaking for themselves:

• Immediate Fish Return: By late 2024, sonar detected approximately 7,700 fish passing the former Iron Gate Dam site.

• Cooling Down: Without the reservoirs acting as "heat batteries," the water temperature has dropped, making it safer for fish to migrate.

• Healing the Land: Crews are already revegetating 2,200 acres of former reservoir footprints to stabilize the riverbanks.

A new short film by Oregon Public Broadcasting, First Descent, follows a group of Indigenous youth kayakers paddling the river from source to sea, which hasn’t been possible for over a century.

🍿 Watch the full short film here: First Descent: Kayaking the Klamath

The Power Play 🔋 

From the power perspective, the idea that we have to choose between dams or no power is simply not true. We have many technical ways to capture the energy from moving water, or to provide the same reliable service to the power grid, all without destroying the ecosystem the way dams like the Klamath did.  Also, the cost of firming renewables with batteries has dropped to the point where it competes directly with the marginal cost of keeping aging hydro online.

In fact, a mix of solar power and 4-hour battery storage ($38-$78/MWh) is now cost-competitive with, and often less expensive than, keeping old hydro plants running or building new ones. When you consider the costs of wrecking a valuable ecosystem, it’s a no-brainer.

The Third Option: Fish-Safe Hydro 💡

If we can't remove a dam because we need the power or the water, we can at least stop it from blending the fish. If you’ve been reading along for a while now, you might remember our coverage of Natel Energy. 

Natel is pioneering a third option: retrofitting dams rather than removing them. With their novel turbine technology, they’re restoring California rivers and helping build a more sustainable future.

• How it works: They designed the "Restoration Hydro Turbine" (RHT) with thick, slanted blades that allow fish to pass through safely, rather than sharp blades that slice.

• Where is it? Their Monroe Drop project in Oregon is actively generating power inside an irrigation canal while letting rainbow trout pass through with 100% survival rates in testing.

• The Potential: By swapping out old turbines for these "FishSafe" ones, we could potentially keep the clean energy and save the salmon at large dam sites where removal isn't an option.

Besides retrofitting old larger dams, Natel is also pioneering restoration hydro approaches that combine large-scale dam removal and replacement with a series of smaller fish safe turbines that more closely mimic beaver dams.

Check out the Natel Energy episode of our NextNow series here!

👀 Some Stories You Might Have Missed This Week 🗞️📺:

1. Philanthropies pledged $300m for solutions at COP (UN)

2. How urban farms can make cities more livable and help feed America (Grist)

3. One of America’s most dangerous volcanoes will soon power homes (WSJ)