We continued to run stories from our dam series this weekend. Join us as we shine a light on municipal dam owners. And dig into ways to improve dam safety drawn from the experiences of other states.
A handful of the Adirondack Park’s riskiest dams are owned by towns. Some of those towns have been slow to meet state requirements and to pull together the financing needed to make (often costly) upgrades.
Town leaders say they need more financial support from the state to get the job done. The state says its the responsibility of all dam owners, including municipalities, to keep up with repair needs.
The other story outlines strategies that could be employed to improve a state dam safety program. Those strategies include raising funds through dam owner fees and strengthening risk analysis approaches.
The Global Picture
I spend most of my time focused on the details of Adirondack water issues – a region abundant with high-quality water and highly protected resources. It still faces huge challenges and is important for its own sake and in a global context.
When it comes to that global context, though, there is a much bigger picture. Much bigger.
The United Nations last month held its first water-focused conference since 1977 and issued 2023 United National World Water Development Report, which highlighted how far behind the world is in reaching benchmarks on the way to a goal of ensuring the human right to clean water and sanitation.
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