I have been working on an article on dam removals and I wanted to share some of my research.

To find out which dams near you have been removed (or are slated for removal), try searching through this document available from American Rivers:

If you want to scare yourself, look at the 2006 deficiency statistics.

As a sample, my home state of Iowa has 83 dams that have been classified as high hazard, meaning they pose a serious threat to human life if they should fail. Of those high hazard dams, 9 have been identified as structurally deficient or unsafe.

But that pales in comparison to some other states. Texas has 101 high hazard dams that are structurally deficient or unsafe. Georgia has 156. Ohio has 170. Pennsylvania has 215.

Only three states (Colorado, Connecticut, & Rhode Island) have zero dams deemed unsafe of this classification.