American Rivers
20210211
American Rivers Dam Removal Database
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.5234068
In the last century, the U.S. led the world in dam building for many purposes, including hydropower, irrigation, flood control and water storage. While dams can benefit society, they also cause considerable harm to rivers. Dams have depleted fisheries, degraded river ecosystems, and altered recreational opportunities on nearly all of our nation’s rivers. Today, many dams that were once at the epicenter of a community’s livelihood are now old, unsafe or no longer serving their intended purposes. American Rivers’ Dam Removal Database includes all dam removals in the United States (of which we have been made aware) in which a significant portion of the dam has been removed for the full height of the dam, such that ecological function, natural river flow and fish passage can be restored at the site. This database is revised and updated annually with information provided by contributors across the country. The database may be used by anyone provided that citation is given to American Rivers and the DOI link is included.
Suggested Citation: American Rivers. 2021. Raw Dataset – ARDamRemovalList_figshare_Feb2021. figshare. Available: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.5234068. Retrieved: TIME, DATE.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has catalogued that at least 90,000 dams greater than six-feet tall are blocking our rivers and streams. There are tens of thousands of additional small dams that fall through the cracks of our national inventory. Dams fragment our nation’s rivers, preventing fish from accessing historic habitat, impeding natural river processes, creating safety hazards and costing resources to maintain. The dam removal movement in the U.S. began to accelerate in the 1990s. This database tracks those projects as closely as possible in order to monitor the progress of dam removal over time across the country, among other things. American Rivers welcomes any feedback, including missing dams (or information on those that have been rebuilt), at any time.
1912
202012
range of years represented in database
Annually
None
dam removal
river restoration
fish passage
connectivity
-179.5
-66.5
71.5
18.5
None. When using this dataset please cite using provided citation (in abstract).
This dataset is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Use of this dataset does not grant a license to the user, nor does it create a contractual relationship between the user and American Rivers, Inc. Users agree not to infringe on the intellectual property rights of American Rivers, Inc. Users must cite American Rivers, Inc., and include a link to the database’s DOI in order to use this data in the public domain, including in maps. American Rivers, Inc. collects and curates this dataset annually. It is strongly recommended that these data are directly acquired from American Rivers, Inc. or figshare at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.5234068, and not indirectly through other sources, which may have changed the data in some way.
Although the data disseminated by American Rivers, Inc., have undergone data formatting and quality review prior to posting, errors or inaccuracies may still exist in the data as it is provided by collaborators. Neither American Rivers, Inc., nor any of their employees or collaborators, make any warranty, express or implied, nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, nor represent that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights. No warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding the accuracy or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This disclaimer applies both to individual and aggregate uses of the data. American Rivers, Inc., shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data retrieved from this database.
American Rivers
Jessie Thomas-Blate
Director of River Restoration
Mailing and Physical
1101 14th St. NW
Suite 1400
Washington
D.C.
20005
USA
202.347.7550
jthomas@americanrivers.org
Environment as of Metadata Creation: Microsoft Windows 10
No formal attribute accuracy tests were conducted.
No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted.
Data set is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details. This information was developed from the best documented information from available resources and contributors.
Locational accuracy was verified using Google Earth imagery and available locational descriptions.
No vertical positions are defined in the dataset.
American Rivers’ Dam Removal Database is updated on an annual basis. Each year, American Rivers sends an email to contacts involved in dam removal across the United States soliciting information about dam removals using a template. Occasionally, American Rivers is contacted by other stakeholders who are aware of dam removals, in which case the same template is provided for completion and addition to the database. Once the data is received, the data is standardized for consistent terminology, coordinates are converted to decimal degrees, and the data is incorporated into the full database. Once all data is compiled, it is uploaded annually as an addendum to figshare for public use.
2021
Latitude and Longitude fields are provided within the csv in decimal degrees.
ARDamRemovalList_Figshare_Feb2021.csv
Table containing dam removals and attributes about dams that have been removed across the United States.
Producer defined
AR_ID
A unique identifier for dam removals. State abbreviation followed by numeric id.
Producer defined
NID_ID
The official NID identification number for the dam, known formerly as the National ID. This is a required field, and must have an entry for each dam included in the NID. This field is used as the unique identifier for each dam record. The first two characters of the identity are the state two-letter abbreviation, based on the location of the dam. The last five characters of the identity are a unique number (AB#####).The NID ID is the Corps Identification Number assigned to each dam in the 1995-96 NID update, under the National Dam Inspection Program (P.L. 92-367). Once assigned, this number should be not changed. However, the following guidelines are provided for assignment of ID numbers for new dams. Each new dam will be assigned an NID ID number by the state or federal coordinator. NID ID numbers will not be reused. If a dam is retired or is otherwise not longer in existence, that ID number is retired. The state coordinator is responsible for assigning ID numbers for all dams, regardless of ownership. The numbers may not necessarily be continuous, because of a previously established scheme which assigned certain number ranges to federal agencies. Continued use of this numbering scheme for new dams is at the discretion of the state coordinator. Please contact ASDSO or USACE Dam Safety Team for further information on the process of assigning NID ID numbers or if an alternative number sequence is necessary to meet the needs of the state.
National Inventory of Dams Data Dictionary
The first two characters of the identity are the state two-letter abbreviation, based on the location of the dam. The last five characters of the identity are a unique number (AB#####).
Dam_Name
Dam name as provided by stakeholder. Some entries include alternative names.
Producer defined
Year_Removed
Year dam was removed, as provided by stakeholder. This field may contain dam removal start date and/or end date if removal occurs throughout several years.
Producer defined
Latitiude
Decimal degrees of dam location prior to removal.
Producer defined
Longitude
Decimal degrees of dam location prior to removal.
Producer defined
City_County
Closest city or county to the dam removal site.
Producer defined
River
River in which removed dam was located.
Producer defined
HUC8
A unique name of the hydrologic unit (8 digit) from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset.
USGS National Watershed Boundary Dataset
State
State abbreviation as defined by USPS.
USPS
Dam_Height_ft
Dam height, prior to removal, as provided by stakeholder. Recorded in feet.
Producer defined
Dam_Length_ft
Dam length, prior to removal, as provided by stakeholder. Recorded in feet.
Producer defined
Year_Built
Year removed dam was built, as provided by stakeholder.
Producer defined
Original_Use
Designated use of dam prior to removal, as provided by stakeholder.
Producer defined
Type_Material
Type of dam and/or material that comprised the removed dam.
Producer defined
Miles_Restored_US
River miles opened for fish passage upstream of the former dam structure as reported by stakeholder.
Producer defined
Miles_Restored_DS
River miles opened for fish passage downstream of the former dam structure as reported by stakeholder.
Producer defined
River_Miles_Reported
River miles opened for fish passage as reported by stakeholder (may include only upstream or upstream plus downstream miles). Used from 1912-2017. In 2018, replaced by Miles_Restored_DS and Miles_Restored_US.
Producer defined
Last_Updated
Date of latest update to dam removal record. Format YYYYMMDD.
Producer defined
The entity and attribute information provided here describes the tabular data associated with the data set. Please review the detailed descriptions that are provided (the individual attribute descriptions) for information on the values that appear as fields/table entries of the data set.
The entity and attribute information was generated by the individual and/or agency identified as the originator of the data set. Please review the rest of the metadata record for additional details and information.
Figshare
Although the data disseminated by American Rivers, Inc., have undergone data formatting and quality review prior to posting, errors or inaccuracies may still exist in the data as it is provided by collaborators. Neither American Rivers, Inc., nor any of their employees or collaborators, make any warranty, express or implied, nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, nor represent that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights. No warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding the accuracy or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This disclaimer applies both to individual and aggregate uses of the data. American Rivers, Inc., shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data retrieved from this database.
Tabular Data
https://doi.org/
None. No fees are applicable for obtaining the data set.
20210211
American Rivers
Jessie Thomas-Blate
Director of River Restoration
Mailing and Physical
1101 14th St. NW
Suite 1400
Washington
D.C.
20005
USA
202.347.7550
jthomas@americanrivers.org
FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
FGDC-STD-001-1998