1. Environmental trade‑offs of dam removal – fish passage and ecosystem impacts
- “after years of fighting, Brookfield Renewable agreed to sell four dams on the Kennebec River which will let Atlantic Salmon go back up river to their spawning territory.” – glenstein
- “The Elwha dam removal resulted in no native salmon runs. All the salmon in Elwha are still raised in hatcheries.” – cyberax
- “fish ladders … are less efficient than just removing the dam.” – RajT88
2. Historical, cultural, and community value arguments
- “Many NOOMBYs consider local dams indispensable ties to their community’s past; in Billerica, some town officials have objected to the demolition of the Talbot Mills Dam on the grounds that ‘it has long served as a symbol of the Industrial Revolution’ that remains ‘unquestionably one of the major focal points in the area.’” – notabotiswear
- “the same bogus argument is used both against dam building and against dam removal shows that it's bogus and not compelling.” – chihuahua
- “In your opinion. It's clearly being empathetic to the area’s history…” – lukeify
3. Aging infrastructure: costs, safety, and liability
- “They are also very difficult, and very expensive, to maintain as they age… the county/state cannot find anyone who wants to take it over because of the expense in repairing it.” – monomania
- “Many of these small dams are also safety hazards because of the very hazardous horizontal vortex they create as water flows over them. Swimmers are caught in this and drown.” – pfdietz
- “Basically, dams will give you some cheap electric and a water supply for a while but after 50‑70 years they're a huge liability.” – monomania