New Report: Dam Removal Movement Breaks Barriers and Records

Obsolete river barriers are safety hazards.

The report warns about the safety risks posed by obsolete river barriers, detailing 129 deaths over the past years. Despite the growing momentum behind dam removals, European rivers are fragmented by more than 1.2 million barriers, including over 150 000 obsolete barriers – many of which pose significant hazards to people and wildlife. Some dams, in particular weirs (low-head dams), have been identified as potential “drowning machines”, due to the formation of inescapably strong subsurface currents. Yet there is no European wide analysis of dangerous dam incidents.

For this report, Dam Removal Europe made the first attempt to collect information about risks that dams pose to swimmers, kayakers, and other recreational river users. It found that 82 incidents occurred in 16 countries, which resulted in 129 fatalities. Most incidents happened from 2000 on. The research also revealed that the victims’ ages ranged from 2 to 59 years – with most in their mid-20s to mid-30s.

Along with this threat, more intense storms and extreme floods due to climate change are also increasing the risk of dams collapsing, particularly ageing and obsolete barriers – threatening lives, properties and economic damage. With tens of thousands of obsolete dams scattered across Europe, the potential for catastrophic failures is a growing risk for downstream communities. Indeed, at least three river barriers collapsed last year due to heavy rain in Norway, Northern Ireland, and Slovenia.