A Backlog Of ‘High-Hazard Potential’ Dam Repairs

Dams are designated “high-hazard potential” when their collapse could cost human life. The classification is not related to their actual integrity. Below: state-regulated “high-hazard” dams that have been repaired, and those still in need of repair, by year.

[Chart]

Notes

— Data not available for 2009, 2011 and 2012.
— Figures for 2010 and 2013 reflect assessments of 66 percent and 76 percent, respectively, of state-regulated “high-hazard potential” dams.
— Data for dams in need of repair in 2014 were not yet available; 2013 figures repeated instead.
— Through 2008, the data was reported by each state to the Association of State Dam Safety Officials. From 2010 on, the data was collected by the National Inventory of Dams.

Source: Association of State Dam Safety Officials

Credit: Alyson Hurt/NPR