Literature Review on Dam Removal: A U-Turn Towards the Sustainable Management

Modern dam construction developed rapidly after the industrial revolution and the manufacturing of the heavy construction machinery,. The benefits of this industry, such as flood control, agricultural and tourism developments, hydropower generation and drinking water supply, shaded its negative impacts. Dam removal in the developed countries, which have passed the rapid dam construction period, is an outcome of the sustainable development approach. Nowadays negative impacts of rapid dam construction projects are taking place gradually in our country. For the first time in Iran, this paper reviews the history, reasons and literature on dam removal and investigates its relation with the water management paradigms. After introducing the key indicators and decision-making models, the dam removal process has been explained and recent dam removal trends in the United States is presented. Finally, one of the applicability cases in Iran has been investigated in a brief comparative study.