Reconnecting Waters, Part II

Containing nature means reducing nature. But reconnecting our waters brings shocking restoration.

Western capitalist ideology has sought to contain—and own—nature. When it comes to our waters, this ideology has taken the form of using dams, floodwalls, pipes, levees, and drainage to simplify ecosystems, manipulating them in the interest of short-term—not long-term—profitability.

But a recent UN climate report confirms what many people have long known: "Levees and floodwalls remove the critical connection between rivers and their floodplains and interrupt important ecological processes that deliver numerous benefits." In other words, flooding becomes worse when we try to fight nature. Flooding aside, the more obvious harms of extensive damming are disruptions to animals' migration, extinction of birds who need wetlands, destruction of riverside forest habitat, and the erosion of coastal deltas, which protect seaside communities from the worst effects of our rising seas.

A growing tide: dams removed since 1916. Removing dams brings immediate relief to ecosystems.

So what happens when we design with water, rather than against it? Removing these harmful structures restores aquatic plant life, which captures carbon and fights climate change. Water quality increases, lowering municipal cleaning costs and making everyone healthier. Migratory species bounce back surprisingly fast. And river flow capacity skyrockets, making flooding far less likely.

For an inspiring example, check out what happened after the largest dam removal in U.S. history: returntoelwha.com