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Dam removal economics: Research to guide repair-or-remove decisions
Updated: Oct 30
In a webinar with Open Rivers Fund, we discuss the economic benefits of dam removal, research gaps, and a new searchable database.
Dam infrastructure across the United States is aging. The average dam in the National Inventory is more than 50 years old. Many no longer serve their original purpose, and some are at risk of catastrophic failure. Bringing the nation’s non-federal dams up to safe operating condition could cost an estimated $165 billion.
That leaves private owners, utilities, and public agencies facing difficult repair-or-remove decisions, often with little economic evidence to guide them. What exists has been scattered across journal articles, agency orders, and consultant reports.
“One question that comes up again and again from the communities, partners, and decision-makers we work with is: What does dam removal actually cost, and what do communities gain in return?” says Stacey Olson, program manager at Resources Legacy Fund, whose Open Rivers Fund supports community-led dam removal and river restoration throughout the American West. “We asked Greene Economics to compile the economic evidence on dam removal and help us make sense of it.”
In a webinar with Open Rivers Fund, Rabia Ahmed, principal economist and managing partner at Greene Economics, and Sabine Postma, senior research associate, walk through their research, which identified economic values across nine categories, from avoided maintenance costs to fisheries and recreation. They also demonstrate a searchable database, hosted by Open Rivers Fund. Dollar values are standardized to 2025 dollars where available, and more studies will be added over time.
You’ll learn:
Why removal is often cheaper than repair, and how avoided maintenance costs can add up to an estimated $88.1 million a year for the Klamath hydroelectric project.
How dam removal affects commercial and recreational fisheries, including $27.2 million a year in observed recreational fishing benefits after Maine’s Edwards Dam removal.
How river recreation and tourism can grow, including $59.1 million a year in visitor spending after the Elwha River dams came out.
How removal projects create jobs and regional economic activity.
Why flood-risk effects must be evaluated dam by dam.
Why some impacts resist dollar values but still belong in the decision, including the cultural and subsistence impacts of salmon loss.
Where the evidence remains thin, especially for small, non-hydroelectric dams.
How to use the database to find studies relevant to a specific project.
Explore the Economic Benefits database on the Open Rivers Fund website.
Rabia Ahmed is a principal economist and managing partner at Greene Economics. Her work helps communities, tribes, and public agencies understand the economic tradeoffs involved in water resource, infrastructure, and environmental decisions.
Sabine Postma is an environmental scientist and senior research associate at Greene Economics. Her research supports economic analysis of natural resource and environmental policy questions.
