WANG Ruonan1, 2, WU Wenqiang1, PENG Wenqi1, LI Shuwen2

1. China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
2. Hebei University of Engineering, Hebei Handan 056038, China

Abstract: The history of dams' removal in the United States has been 100 years since 1912. During this period, the U.S. has dismantled 1108 dams. By analyzing and comparing the information such as the number, region, heights, and age of these dams, we gave the features of dams' removal in the U.S. Before the 1980s, the number and region of dams' removal is small, but people recognized the disadvantage of dams as well as the necessity of dams' removal. In the 1980s, the number and region of dams' removal have been increased. However, the height is still less than 20meters. And ecological restoration is the most important reason of dams' removal. As a result, the U.S. has paid more attention to the safety of dam. In the 1990s, the number of dams' removal continued to increase, and the U.S. achieved a breakthrough on the removed dams' height. In addition, Guidelines for Retirement of Dams and Hydroelectric Facilities has been finished. In the 21st century, not only the number, but also the height and length of dams' removal has set new records. In this period, the concrete dam has been the main part that needs to be removed for the overlong service life. Besides, the result shows that there has been a connection between the situations of dams' removal and the socioeconomic status.

Key words: the United States; dam; history of dam removal; era feature

Published in: Journal of China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Vol. 13, No. 3, June 2015