Latest Dams News

Monterrey suffers weeks-long water cutoff amid drought
MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — The industrial hub of Monterrey has long been one of Mexico’s most prosperous cities, so its almost 5 million residents were shocked when they lost the most basic of services: water. A combination of an intense drought, poor planning and high water use...
Man who coordinated Honduras activist's murder sentenced
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — The man convicted last year of coordinating the killing of Honduran environmental activist Berta Cáceres was sentenced Monday to more than 22 years in prison. A judge sentenced Roberto David Castillo Mejía to 22 years and six months in prison for the...

Biologists try to save ancient fish as Colorado River fades
PAGE, Ariz. (AP) — Barrett Friesen steers a motorboat toward the shore of Lake Powell, with the Glen Canyon Dam towering overhead. Pale “bathtub rings” line the canyon’s rocky face, starkly illustrating how water levels have slumped in the second-largest U.S. reservoir amid rising demand...

Replacing benefits of Snake River dams would cost billions
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The benefits provided by four giant hydroelectric dams on the lower Snake River in Washington state can be replaced if the dams are breached to save endangered salmon runs, according to a new report released Thursday. But it would be expensive. ...
Exchange: SRP, cities eye higher height for Verde River dam
PHOENIX (AP) — Cities across metro Phoenix have partnered with the Salt River Project to figure out how best to increase water storage on the Verde River. In the long run, the partners want to offset the declining capacity of Horseshoe Reservoir by raising the height of the...
‘Ghost boat’ rides the waters of a troubled former lake
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Drivers on the Beltline in West Raleigh may catch a glimpse of two people fishing from a boat, mouths agape, seemingly celebrating the catch one of them is pulling in. It’s a peaceful scene, except that the two people, and the fish, are skeletons, and the...
1 of 2 runaway barges pulled from Potomac to shore
WILLIAMSPORT, Md. (AP) — One of two construction barges that floated down the Potomac River amid flooding over the weekend was pulled to shore Thursday, according to a National Park Service official. The river slowed enough for a tug boat and two other boats to safely retrieve the...
AP: WA has 50 dams in 'poor' condition that need repairs
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A small earthen dam in Stevens County that was rated the worst in the state in 2016 had a slightly improved condition when it was re-inspected in 2021, according to an analysis released this week by The Associated Press. The Van Stone Pit Lake Dam was the only...
Frail North Dakota dam 'not out of the woods' from flooding
CAVALIER, N.D. (AP) — An engineer heading planned reconstruction of an aging dam in northeastern North Dakota warned the state's governor Monday that upcoming rainfall could add pressure to the earthen structure already weakened by flooding. Zach Hermann, of Fargo-based Houston...
North Dakota dam, fortified by sandbags, seems to be holding
WALHALLA, N.D. (AP) — An aging earthen dam in a rural area of northeastern North Dakota besieged by high waters was holding Thursday after National Guard members placed 213 sandbags weighing 1 ton each, local officials said. The Bourbanis Dam is a high-hazard flood control...
