Welcome to the new normal:
Title: "Old age, neglect and a changing climate are rendering US dams dangerous"
https://www.dailyclimate.org/us-dams-are-in-disrepair-2609229574.htmlExtract: ""If you have more intense storms, more frequent storms then those deficient dams can't handle that. And you're going to see more problems where dams are under stress due to the high waters levels or the overtopping," Ogden said.
There are more than 90,000 dams in the U.S., according to the National Inventory of Dams, which is kept by the Army Corps of Engineers. Approximately 15,500 of them are classified as high hazard, meaning in the case of failure, at least one life could be lost.
According to the Association of Dam Safety Officials, the average age of dams in the U.S. is 56 years old. By 2025, seven out of 10 dams will be 50 or older.
It would take approximately $22 billion to rehabilitate the most critical dams, according to the Association.
While the Army Corps keeps track of the amount of high, significant and low-hazard dams in the country, the individual hazard potential for each dam is not available for the public, Kathryn Van Marter, a spokeswoman with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told EHN in an email."