1. The Future of Dams in California
February 7, 2018
Alvar Escriva-Bou, Research Fellow
Urban Water Institute’s Spring Water Conference
Palm Springs, CA

2. California relies (and will rely) heavily on nearly 1,500 reservoirs

3. Most of California’s dams were built in the mid-20th century…

4. …so they need infrastructure and operational upgrades
Most were designed based on simplistic assumptions about hydrology and earthquakes
More than 90 need major upgrades to better handle large floods or withstand earthquakes
Operations also need to be updated to work with improved forecasting technology and account for climate change

5. New dams can improve flexibility, but costs are high
Increased storage would improve reliability and allow greater flexibility
But California has dams at the best locations, so new dams will be costly
It’s essential to rethink the management of surface and groundwater storage in a more integrated way
SOURCE: California Water Commission

6. Some dams are ripe for removal
High environmental costs, concerns about earthquake safety, and reduced benefits can prompt dam removal
Over the past 30 years, 36 small dams have been removed
In 2015, breaching of the San Clemente Dam on the Carmel River was the largest in CA’s history
Several other large dams have been targeted
NOTE: The reroute channel of the Carmel River, Monterey County, after the removal of the San Clemente Dam

7. Notes on the use of these slides
These slides were created to accompany a presentation. They do not include full documentation of sources, data samples, methods, and interpretations. To avoid misinterpretations, please contact:
Alvar Escriva-Bou
@AlvarEscriva
Thank you for your interest in this work.

8. The Future of Dams in California
February 7, 2018
Alvar Escriva-Bou, Research Fellow
Urban Water Institute’s Spring Water Conference
Palm Springs, CA