Future of Large Dams

Conclusion: the Future
In an ideal world, neither the Glen Canyon Dam nor the Bonneville Dam would be needed. Power consumption would be minimal, water conservation would be optimal, and activities which require large amounts of water would be restricted. However, in the current situation of the world, the ecological, socio-cultural, economic, and legal-political conditions are different for all large dams, and no one generalized recommendation can be made regarding what should be done about each individual situation. We do believe that there is no further need for the construction of large dams in the United States and that existing large dams should be removed when the economic and sociological consequences are not too prohibitive. In order to restore valuable riverine systems which have been and continue to be degraded by dams and save integral species from extinction, human desires may have to be compromised.
The Glen Canyon and Bonneville case studies provide strong examples of issues which must be taken into consideration when contemplating the decommissioning of a large dam. Obviously the well being of the people can not be harmed, but neither should we ignore the ecological needs of an ecosystem and its species. At this time, many feel that the economic and sociological costs threatened by the removal of large dams outweigh the often significant ecological and in some cases sociological benefits. This conclusion may reflect an anthropocentric bias in our society, and at the present time, this worldview is a prominent obstacle. Altering this perspective will require governmental mandates and extensive education of the public to advance new societal values and life-style changes which must be implemented at the individual level. When clear human actions begin to reflect a change in how we view the relation between humans and nature, perhaps extensive ecological restoration, including the wide scale decommissioning of large dams will be achievable.

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