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Dams on Long Island: Their Economic Impact
Mary Creedon Seatuck Environmental Association Islip, New York August 21, 2018 2
Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………3
Dams, Sedimentation, and Coastal Erosion…………………………………………….. 4 I. Trapped Sediment Contributes to Coastal Erosion…………………………..4 II. The Economic Impact of Coastal Erosion…………………………………... 6 i. Coastal Erosion and Salt Marsh Drowning…. …………………..6 ii. Beach Nourishment………………………………………………6 iii. Coastal Erosion Impacts on Property Values………………….... 8 III. Economic Value of Coastal Recreation……………………………………... 9
Fisheries………………………………………………………………………………....10 I. Economic Contribution of Fisheries………………………………………...10 II. Changes to Anadromous Fish Species Stocks………………………………12
Property Values……………………………………………………………………….…15 I. Impact of Dam Removal on Property Values…………………………….....15
Public Expenditures on Dams…………………………………………………………...16 I. Cost of Dam Maintenance: A Long Island Case Study……………………..16 II. Efficacy of Fish Ladders…………………………………………………….17
Conclusion…… ………………………………………………………………………...18 References………………………………………………………………………….……19 Useful Information Moving Forward……………………………………………..……. 21 3
Introduction
According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Long Island boasts 98 dams obstructing its rivers, streams, and creeks. Not only are the waters behind the dam prevented from reaching the coast, but anadromous species of migratory fish whose historic spawning grounds lie in the headwaters of Long Island’s coastal waterways are prevented from traveling upstream to spawn. Many dams were originally utilized in the creation of hydro-power and built alongside mills to power colonial and post – revolution industry on Long Island, but their use in this regard has long been defunct. Currently, of the 98 dams on the island, over 70 are used either solely for recreation, or for recreation in congruence with other purposes. However, dams have not only altered the natural landscape to the detriment of wildlife, but have altered the natural geological processes that shape Long Island and its coastline to the detriment of its economy. This economic analysis will address several areas in which dams impact their surrounding environment and economy. The research discussed is Long Island specific wherever possible; included within the Long Island and New York State specific data is information on fisheries and the impact of dams on their productivity. However, there are several areas where no studies have been conducted on Long Island, such as the impact of dams on coastal erosion and the associated impacts on both the environment as well as economic implications for industry, tourism, and taxpayers. In these circumstances, data was obtained from studies that were conducted elsewhere but under conditions to those similar on Long Island. While the data in these circumstances are therefore not a completely accurate picture of the situation on Long Island, the findings of these studies can nevertheless be extrapolated and applied when looking at how dams on the island impact their surrounding environment. The following report is divided into four sections. The first reviews existing research on small dams and their impact on coastal erosion, including their impact on salt marsh drowning and the decline of estuarine environments. This section will then include an analysis of the economic value of ecosystem benefits provided by salt marshes, including their role in flood and storm surge protection, recreation, tourism, and their role in sustaining Long Island fisheries, as well as a brief analysis of the cost of recurring beach nourishment projects to Long Island taxpayers. The next section addresses the contribution of both commercial and recreational 4 fishing to New York State’s economy. Data provided is Long Island specific where available. This section will also look at catch data and current DEC regulations for commercial and recreational fisheries on Long Island, specifically addressing the anadromous fish species that have historically spawned in Long Island’s rivers and streams. The third section will look at the impact of dams and small dam removal on property values for houses on dams, using studies from Wisconsin and Maine. The fourth section looks at the cost of dam maintenance as well as the cost effectiveness of fish ladders. This section will include data from studies not conducted on Long Island, but will include Long Island specific data and costs wherever possible.
Dams, Sedimentation, and Coastal Erosion
I. Trapped sediment contributes to Coastal Erosion
A dam is a structure that restricts the free flow of surface water or underground streams and creates an impoundment, or artificial body of water, behind its barrier. When not dammed, free flowing rivers and streams carry and transport suspended sediment along their riverbed to the mouth of the river. On Long Island, these streams and rivers empty into one of three estuaries: The Long Island Sound, Peconic Bay, and the south shore bays system, which includes the Great South Bay. Because dams trap water, they also trap all other materials, such as sediment, that would normally be carried to the coast. The inhibition of coastal sediment deposition by dammed rivers creates a problem that is two-fold in nature. Sediment build up in impoundments decreases the depth of the impoundment, thereby creating conditions where invasive aquatic plant species thrive. These species then choke the impoundment, making it difficult if not impossible for recreational activities to take place. Maintaining the dam is a costly endeavor for taxpayers. This issue will be further addressed in the fourth section that looks at the cost of dam and impoundment maintenance on Long Island. The other major issue caused by dams relating to sedimentation is the lack of sediment that is carried to the coast. Most research regarding dams and their inhibition of coastal sedimentation focuses on large dams. However, of the ninety-eight dams that the DEC includes on their Dam Safety Inventory list of dams on Long Island, sixty-two are less than ten feet high, and all but two of the dams are under twenty feet high. There are few studies to be found on small dam inhibition of coastal sedimentation, and none that studied dams on Long Island. However, a 2008 case analysis 5 published in the Middle States Geographer of five small dams in Connecticut linked sedimentation in smaller reservoirs with erosion occurring on the state’s coastline. Fluvial sediment, or sediment transported by rivers and streams, is carried to the coast and then further transported to marshes, dunes, beaches, and other coastal features. Long shore current, which runs parallel to the coastline and is created by the pressure gradient attributable to the angle of waves approaching the shore, is the most common mode of coastal transport for these sediments (McCusker 2008). Numerous studies have documented the importance of sediment supply to coastlines, as ongoing replenishment allows them to keep up with natural factors such as subsidence and sea level rise (Stanley 1996; Chen 1998; Adam 2002; Davidson-Arnott 2002; Hughes 2004). The warming global climate is already causing higher sea levels, a problem which will continue to plague coastlines into the next century. While rising sea levels on their own pose an issue for infrastructure and homes located near the coast, lack of sedimentation exacerbates erosion. In an region such as Long Island, which, according to the 2010 census, is densely populated with over 7.5 million inhabitants and has limited land area, coastal erosion is an imminent threat. The Connecticut study found a total estimated trapped sediment volume of 934,211 cubic meters for the five impoundments included in its study. The study also found higher rates of sedimentation in dams with lower overall sediment volume, indicating that once dams have reached their sediment capacity, they seemingly cease trapping sediment. However, when these small dams have not reached their sediment carrying capacity, they act like larger dams and remove larger quantities of sediment from fluvial transport systems (McCusker 2008). This entrapment of sediment has cost implications that will be further discussed in the fourth section on dam maintenance. When estimates of coastal erosion rates in Connecticut are converted to volumes of sediment, they number approximately 116,738 m3yr -1 of erosion (McCusker 2008). The sediment estimation produced by this study is approximately 6.5% of this erosion estimate. However, there are an estimated 4,000 additional dams in Connecticut, and were the sedimentation volumes of these dams found, the amount of trapped sediment may approximate the amount of sediment lost to erosion. While dams are not the only factor contributing to coastal erosion, this study found that sediment trapped in impoundments is likely a significant contributor to coastal erosion, and 6 an ongoing contributor in the case of impoundments that have not yet reached their capacity for sediment (McCusker 2008). II. The Economic Impact of Coastal Erosion
i. Coastal Erosion and Salt Marsh Drowning
Salt marshes, or coastal wetlands, serve as not only habitat to a number of wildlife species on Long Island but provide valuable ecosystem services. They reduce the impact of storm surges and flooding associated with severe weather events such as hurricanes, enhance the productivity of fisheries, filter pollutants such as agricultural run-off of nitrogen and phosphorous, and sequester carbon from the atmosphere (Costanza et al. 1997). The emergence and survival of salt marshes is dependent on the rate of relative sea level rise in accordance with sedimentation rates and vegetation growth (Mudd 2011). When sedimentation is constant, salt marshes are able to replenish themselves and are generally able to keep up with rising sea levels. Salt marsh drowning is a phenomenon that occurs when salt marshes are starved of sediment. In these scenarios, marshes are converted to subtidal mudflats, and lose their ability to provide the aforementioned ecosystem services. This conversion comes at a cost to taxpayers and individuals. Decreased protection from storm surges, in conjunction with an increase in extreme weather events that is already occurring and is predicted to continue due to the changing and warming climate, will likely mean higher flood insurance costs for coastal homeowners and an increased risk of flooding. More flooding means higher costs for taxpayers as well, as coastal infrastructure and public beaches require ongoing repair. Salt marsh drowning also destroys wildlife habitat and decreases the productivity of fisheries. Salt marshes serve as a nursery not only for commercially fished species, but also the species that are preyed upon by species caught commercially. In this way they play an important role in the food web of both the commercial fishing and shellfishing industry, as well as the industry built around recreational angling.
ii. Beach Nourishment
Coastal erosion management policy remains uncoordinated across not only the United States, but may differ from municipality to municipality along the same coastal system. A common policy response to coastal erosion by local governments, often at the urging of shorefront 7 homeowners, is beach nourishment. Beach nourishment is the process by which sediment, typically sand, that is lost through erosion or longshore drift is replaced with sediment from elsewhere. Sediment may be transported from inland areas or pumped onto the beach from offshore. However, beach nourishment projects are a temporary fix to the issue of coastal erosion. Because they are not a permanent solution, the represent a recurring cost to taxpayers. A 2014 map of beach nourishment projects on the south shore of Long Island and its barrier islands indicates fourteen nourishment projects that took place across the towns of East Hampton, Southampton, Brookhaven, and Islip, with additional projects occurring at Jones Beach, Point Lookout, Rockaway, and Coney Island (Quogue Beaches 2014). Beach nourishment is costly; according to the “Save the Dunes and Beaches Foundation” of Quogue, a village on Long Island’s south shore town of Southampton, a project developed for their beaches would cost $900 per linear beach foot. The project planned to deposit 1.1 million cubic yards of sand along 14,325 lineal feet of oceanfront beaches in Quogue. The total cost for the project was estimated at $13 million, with costs to be shared by the Village of Quogue, oceanfront homeowners who would directly benefit from the nourishment project, with possible funding from state or federal sources. However, the Foundation acknowledged that beach nourishment is not a permanent solution but rather one that requires continual upkeep and therefore has continuing costs. Beach nourishment projects typically require an initial large deposit of sand, with periodic supplements depending on the erosion rate and beach design. The proposed project for Quogue’s beaches was expected to protect the beaches for a mere ten years. The project was rejected by the Village of Quogue in spring of 2017 due to the high costs of the project; as of July 2018, however, officials had scheduled a public hearing for a new plan that would replenish only 6,000 lineal beach feet. The cost of beach nourishment is an issue facing multiple Long Island towns, as many simply do not have the taxpayer funds for repeated multi- million dollar projects. Not only is beach nourishment a costly undertaking that fails to provide a long term solution to the issue of coastal erosion, it is often ecologically inappropriate. Imported sand usually has significant differences in comparison to local sediment in terms of both the mineral composition and grain size. By depositing foreign sand, the local fauna of beaches can be negatively impacted (Peterson et al. 2000; Rakocinski et al. 1996). While not a perfect solution, beach nourishment is less damaging to the environment than building structures such as bulkheads. Because beach 8 nourishment fails to provide a long term solution to the issue of coastal erosion, some studies have suggested that it is an inappropriate management response to coastal erosion. In the long run, some of these studies favor a policy of shoreline retreat (Landry 2011). Such a policy would come with loss in value of infrastructure and property. However, this study looked only at the issue of beach nourishment in dealing with coastal erosion and determined it to be an inefficient solution; the study did not address the role that dams play in inhibiting coastal sediment deposition and their subsequent role in erosion. While removing dams on Long Island may not provide a sole solution to the issue of erosion, it is a more ecologically appropriate response that could play a vital role in erosion management. Removing dams would allow increased amounts of sediment to reach the coast, which would increase the resilience of beaches and salt marshes to rising sea levels.
iii. Coastal Erosion Impacts on Property Values
While beach nourishment project costs present a funding challenge to municipalities, receding coastlines present another cost; their impact on property value. Valuing ecosystem services provided by coastlines is not a straightforward endeavor. However, given that one of the most economically relevant services provided by salt marshes, beaches, and dunes on Long Island is that of storm surge and flooding protection, it’s useful to look at the expected cost of damages due to rising sea levels and increased flooding in order to determine the economic value of the protection provided by coastlines, which are threatened by coastal erosion. A 2000 report prepared for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by the Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment on the cost of coastal erosion nationwide found that property owners in the U.S. within the first few hundred feet of the coast faced as much of a risk from erosion as from flooding. For the next few decades, approximately 1,500 homes will be lost on average each year, with costs to property owners averaging $530 million a year. At the 2000 enrollment levels, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) would pay $80 million a year for damage related to erosion, which is approximately 5% of 2000 premium levels. In 2000, due to erosion, property values in areas most at risk of coastal erosion had already fallen approximately 10%, or $3.3 billion to $4.8 billion. Over the next 40 years, most of the damage caused by erosion is likely to occur in low lying areas that are also highly at risk due to flooding. 9
III. Economic Value of Coastal Recreation
Long Island’s beaches and coastlines not only provide ecosystem services in their role as a buffer for flooding and storm surges, but play an important role in regards to recreation and tourism on the island. A 1990 report for the Long Island Sound Study looked at the economic value of the Long Island Sound, one of the island’s three estuaries. The study, conducted by Dr. Marilyn A. Altobello, an Associate Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Connecticut, looked at the value of commercial fishing and shellfishing, recreational fishing, boating, and beach swimming on both the Connecticut and New York sides of the Sound. The data and economic values are reported in 1990 dollars (According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, $1 in 1990 is worth $1.93 in 2018). The reported income for commercial fishing and shellfishing harvesters in 1990 was $53 million. Using a multiplier to demonstrate the ripple effects of the commercial catch on the economy, Altobello found that the commercial fishing industry in the sound contributed $148 million to the economy. This represents not only the harvest value and direct expenditures such as diesel fuel for vessels and gear, among other purchases, but indirect expenditures such as the wages of employees of companies related to fishing that are then spent on other goods and services. However, this number does not include the value of processing, wholesaling and retailing, due to lack of data for those activities. Altobello found that the total recreational value of the sound was $303 million (1990 dollars, worth almost $585 in 2018 dollars). This number was found through surveys that asked participants the amount they would be willing to pay per day for swimming, boating, and recreational angling and multiplying these values by the documented of users and number of days. Expenditures for participants include restaurants, transportation costs, lodging, and equipment purchases for boaters and fishers. Beach swimming was responsible for $182 million, boating for $99 million, and sport fishing comprised only $22 million of the total recreational value of the sound. Using a multiplier, the direct and indirect economic effect of beach swimming in the Sound was found to be $661 in 1990. The total economic impact of sport angling was found to be $1.043 billion, and the total economic impact of boating was determined 10 to be $1.465 billion. Altobello attempted to determine an estimate of economic value of the sound’s coastal wetlands, finding them to be worth $94 million for their biological productivity and other ecosystem services. However, she recommended further study in this area, as the value of natural habitats and water quality is difficult to quantify. She found the intrinsic value of the estuary, related to its natural beauty and habitat for wildlife and plants, to be worth approximately $152 million (half of the recreational user value). In total, the economic value of the Long Island Sound in 1990 was found equal to $5.53 billion, or $10.6729 billion in 2018 dollars. Given that the Sound is only one of three main estuaries on Long Island, the value of all three likely numbers in the tens of billions of dollars. Preserving the coastline and estuarine habitats is vital to maintaining that economic value, as much of these figures were derived from the value of beach recreation, aesthetic value, and the value of coastal wetlands within the estuarine system. If removing Long Island dams would help preserve the coastal tourism economy, which is an integral aspect of the economy of many of Long Island’s shorefront towns, it should be seriously considered as a solution to the issue of coastal erosion which threatens shore front activities and infrastructure.
Fisheries
I. Economic Contribution of Fisheries
Dam removal needs to be an integral component of any plan to restore populations of migratory river herring (alewife and blueback), along with brook trout and American eel to Long Island. Not only do herring populations face a nearly impossible challenge in reaching their spawning grounds when dams block their historic river runs, but dams also threaten the existence of coastal salt marshes where American eel, along with other species, serve as a vital component to the ecosystem. American eel, along with oyster toadfish, thrive in estuarine environments. These species both feed on crabs, which in turn feed on oyster and clam beds. The shellfisheries off of Long Island were, at one time, among the largest in the United States. Controlling the crab population through natural means would enhance shellfish restoration efforts for the benefit of both the ecosystem and preserving an integral aspect of Long Island’s history, culture and economy (Kritzer 2010). 11
While Long Island’s commercial fishing industry remains an important contributor to the region’s economy, it has changed over the past century as humans have altered the surrounding environment. American eels are not only important in maintaining healthy ecosystems to restore Long Island’s shellfisheries, but once served as a significant and viable commercial catch. They were relied upon by Native Americans and early colonists as a staple protein, and through the 1960s, data from the National Marine Fisheries Service shows that landings in New York were regularly greater than 100 metric tons. Since the mid 1990s, however, landings have dropped to less than five metric tons (Kritzer 2010). Given that eels are dependent on healthy estuaries to thrive in Long Island’s coastal waters, and also that they make their homes in rivers in the region, dams that both obstruct their passage and detrimentally impact coastal ecosystems have likely been a contributing factor to their lowered numbers. Saltwater fishing is historically important to the culture and economy of Long Island, and it remains so to this day. Both commercial fishing and recreational angling contribute to the economy of the Island. For commercial fishing, the fishing itself is the beginning of a value added chain that multiplies throughout the economy as the catch is sold to wholesalers, retailers and restaurants, and finally reaches the consumer. Throughout that entire process value is added in the form of wages and the expenditures involved in running the respective businesses. Nearly $59 million worth of fish and shellfish were landed by commercial fishermen in New York State in 2007, without accounting for the multiplier effect that rippled through the economy as a result. For sport fishing, the economic contribution of the activity ends with the angler. However, that does not mean that the contribution of recreational fishing to the economy is insignificant. In 2006, more than $300 million was spent by over 250,000 recreational salt water anglers in New York State on fishing associated expenses such as bait, ice, gear, fuel, and hotel rooms (Kritzer 2010). A more recent study from 2012 demonstrated that recreational fishing associated expenditures were actually growing on Long Island, as that year they were worth $381,300,000. The industry employed 2,960 people, and the contribution of marine recreational fishing to New York State’s gross domestic product (GDP) was $241,950,000. The income impacts generated by marine recreational fishing were equivalent to $151,100,000. The study, conducted at Farmingdale State College on Long Island, found that recreational fishing was a substantial contributor to the island’s economy. The main vehicle for its contribution was through job 12 creation, as well as the intersection of recreational fishing with the tourism economy, which is vital to the livelihood of many villages and hamlets on the island. Despite its importance, not only economically but culturally on Long Island, the marine recreational fishing sector faces severe challenges. These challenges include a lack of infrastructure investment in the industry in addition to water pollution and the loss of ecosystem services from degraded coastal ecosystems (Li 2016). Ecosystem degradation not only increases environmental vulnerability but lowers the resiliency of coastal salt marshes to both natural and anthropogenic disasters. Salt marsh preservation is one way to combat the increased vulnerability of coastal ecosystems. As mentioned in the first section of this report, the inhibition of coastal sediment deposition by small dams may be one factor that is significantly contributing to the issues of coastal erosion and salt marsh drowning. The New York Sea Grant Institute is a cooperative program between Cornell University and the State University of New York, with offices at Stony Brook University. According to a study sponsored by the Institute and conducted in consultation with both industry and government representatives, the overall economic contribution of recreational anglers, the commercial fishing industry, and the seafood industry to New York State was estimated to value $11.5 billion in 1999 dollars. $5.7 billion of that was attributed to activities directly within the aforementioned industries, with the remaining $5.9 billion coming from the activity generated indirectly by the commercial fishing, sport fishing, and seafood industries. $3,601,500,000 was the total economic contribution of the sport fishing industry, with commercial fishing contributing a total of $149,600,000 and the seafood industry leading the three sectors with a total economic contribution of $7,789,900,000. Altogether, 113,300 jobs (including a mix of full time, part time, and seasonal jobs) were created within the three industries, with an additional 64,600 full time equivalent jobs created as a result of the economic impact of the marine sector.
II. Changes to Anadromous Fish Species Stocks
Because the species impacted by dams on Long Island are migratory, it’s important to look not only at their numbers in our waters, but how the species has been affected over its entire range. The impact that the dozens of small Long Island dams have on the species as a whole is replicated by the thousands of other dams blocking their passage in rivers along the eastern coast. 13
And while recreational and commercial fishing remain viable and important sectors of Long Island’s economy, the latter has seen significant changes over the course of the past century. According to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), American eel, one of the species adversely impacted by small dams on Long Island, used to support certain significant commercial fisheries. In the past, landings of the species ranged from 2.5 to 3.6 million pounds for the eastern seaboard. In 1987, landings of eel dropped to 1.6 million pounds. Since the late 1980s, landings have ranged from 700,000 to 1.5 million pounds. In 2015, state reported landings of eel were 11% lower than the year prior at 884,000 pounds. The total value for commercial eel landings that year was approximately $13.6 million. The recreational catch has also been declining: in 1985, the harvest peeked at 160,000 eels. In 2009, the last year for which data is available, the recreational harvest was estimated to be 6,000 eels. These numbers represent the sum of the American eel harvest in multiple Atlantic states, not solely off of Long Island. But given the significant damming of Long Island’s streams and the overall decline in the eel harvest, it’s plausible to infer that the commercial viability of American eel in Long Island’s commercial fisheries has dramatically declined. The ASMFC attributes the decline in stock to historical overfishing, food web alterations, predation, environmental changes, toxins, contaminants, disease, and habitat loss. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) initiated a review of the American eel under the Endangered Species Act, ultimately concluding in 2015 that the species was stable and not endangered. However, the FWS did hold that for the ongoing stability of the species there needs to be ongoing monitoring of harvest levels, efforts to maintain healthy habitats, and improve river passage for migrating eels. Like American eel, river herring are an important species in the web of Long Island’s estuarine ecosystem. And like American eel, their numbers have also been trending downward.The ASMFC holds that river herring, along with shad, were once the support behind the largest commercial and recreational fisheries in the Atlantic. They historically spawned in almost all coastal rivers and tributaries, but their populations have significantly decreased since colonizers arrived in North America. Their passage to their historical upstream spawning grounds has been impeded by the construction of dams, along with overfishing and habitat degradation have significantly lowered their numbers. In 1969, commercial landings for shad and river herring (which includes the species alewife and blueback herring, which are native to Long Island), by both domestic and foreign ships, peaked at 140 million pounds. Less than four million 14 pounds a year have been landed by domestic fleets since 2000. In 2006, the harvest was comprised of only 823,000 pounds. In 2015, only an estimated 1.3 million pounds of river herring were landed. There is little recreational catch data available for river herring. In 2012, the ASMFC conducted a benchmark stock assessment and found that of 52 assessed stocks of blueback and alewife herring, 23 had been depleted in comparison to historic levels, one was increasing, and 28 stocks lacked sufficient time series data to determine the trend in stock size. The term depleted is used instead of overfishing, as the decline is also related to predation, climate change, pollution, and habitat loss. Habitat loss is largely attributed by the ASMFC to dam construction. In reviewing species restoration methods, the Commission recommended, among other measures, enhancement of dam passage and mitigating dam related fish mortality (ASMFC 2018). Due to the decline in river herring populations on Long Island, the DEC in 2012 banned their harvest from all waters in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, as well as any waters that are tributaries to the Long Island Sound. The decision came as a result of a 2011 fishery sustainability study, conducted by the DEC and presented to the ASMFC. There was a lack of data for the river herring fishery on Long Island, and the limited stock information was collected thanks to the efforts of volunteers. The study found that the low levels of herring, mainly alewife, that spawned in the streams on Long Island, was at least partially attributable to human alteration of the landscape. Dams built for irrigation or hydropower no longer fulfill their original purpose, but remain in place and their impoundments are used for recreation. There are few passage facilities on Long Island’s 98 dams. Highway construction, culverts, and other water diversion measures have also adversely affect the habitat of river herring (Hattala 2011). The DEC allowed the commercial and recreational river herring fisheries of the Hudson River and its tributaries to remain open, but put strict regulations in order to sustainably manage and restore the stock over time (DEC 2012). The Greater Atlantic Region of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Fisheries has developed a river herring conservation plan to protect and restore river herring stocks on the Northeastern seaboard and inland rivers. It was developed in 2013 as a partnership between the ASMFC and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). As part of its restoration efforts, the plan includes the need for continued habitat conservation efforts as well as efforts to restore river passage to herring, including removing passage barriers such as 15 dams to allow river herring to access their historic spawning grounds upstream (Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries 2015).
Property values
I. Impact of Dam Removal on Property Values
Homeowners along impoundments may be resistant to dam removal projects in an attempt to both preserve their property values as well as any waterfront views they may have. However, empirical studies conducted in both Maine and Wisconsin found that property values along impoundments were not adversely affected when dams were removed and free flowing streams were restored to the landscape. The Wisconsin study, which was conducted by Bill Provencher, Helen Sarakinos, and Tanya Meyer of the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, found that property values actually increased when small dams were removed. The study analyzed market sales data in south-central Wisconsin, within commuting distance of Madison, for residential properties from the period 1993 to 2002. It looked at home values in the vicinity of streams that had been free flowing for at least twenty years, those located where dams were intact, and homes near streams where a small dam had recently been removed. The study concluded that residential property in the area of a free flowing stream was more valuable than an identical property parcel located near a small impoundment. Additionally, property on the shoreline of a small impoundment did not confer a rise in the value of residential homes when compared to properties located along free flowing streams. The homes included in this study were predominately inhabited year round, and all were located in smaller municipalities. Fourteen sites were included in the analysis; six of them had dams that had been removed in the period from 1995 to 2000 (removed sites), four of the sites had dams that were intact during the period of study (intact sites), and the final four sites had free flowing rivers that passed through the municipality (free flowing sites). Six of the sites were former mill towns, nearly all of the sites have some amount of park space along the waterfront, and four sites from the removed and intact categories were dominated by residential rather than commercial properties. All of the impoundments were small, with maximum depths ranging from five to fifteen feet and surface cover ranging from eight to 194 acres. 16
In addition to the findings that shorefront property along small impoundments is actually lower in value than property that borders free flowing streams, the study also found that removing a dam does not harm property values in the short run (two years in this case) and actually increases them over the long run. The study’s authors do hold that the results of this study are likely dependent on the fact that the impoundments studied are small rather than large. However, given that the surface area acreage for all impoundments on Long Island, according to the DEC’s inventory of dams, are less than the 194 acres of the largest impoundment included in this study, it’s possible to infer that the removal of dams on Long Island would have a similar positive impact on property values. This study also only looked at the impact of dams and impoundments on property values, and did not analyze the other economics costs associated with dam removal, such as the impact on those visiting impoundments for swimming or fishing. Likewise, the study did not analyze the benefit that accrues from restored fish runs on undammed rivers (Provencher 2008). Another study, conducted in Maine, similarly found dam removal to have a positive impact on property values. The study differed from the Wisconsin case analysis, however, in that it solely measured the property value change for homes along the Kennebec River, instigated by the 1999 removal of the Edwards dam in Augusta as well the removal of two other dams along the river system. The study, conducted by Dr. Lynne Y. Lewis of Bates College, found that properties located closer to the dam sites were lower in value than properties located further away. However, upon the removal of the Edwards dam, the penalty for proximity to the dam site decreased. Additionally, the dam removal positively affected the fisheries of the Kennebec River as well as the river’s recreational value. Commercially valuable fish have returned to the river above the dam site, and recreational fishing in addition to man-powered boating has resumed along the river (Lewis 2008).
Public Expenditures on Dams
I. Cost of Dam Maintenance: A Long Island Case Study
Maintaining Long Island’s aging dams and impoundments not only causes issues for wildlife, fisheries, and coastal erosion, but there is also the issue of sedimentation build up within impoundments. While the previous sections of this paper address the indirect costs associated 17 with dams, ensuring that Long Island’s impoundments remain safe for recreational use is a direct cost to taxpayers. Currently, the impoundment known as Lower Lake, also called Lily Lake, in Yaphank in the Town of Brookhaven, is undergoing draining and dredging to remove aquatic plant species and sedimentation that impedes recreation. The process of draining the lake began on August 20th, 2018, by removing some boards in the dam that contains the trapped Carmans River to increase water flow out of the impoundment. The project is expected to be completed in May of 2019. Planning for the project began in 2009 with the Suffolk County Feasibility Study to Eradicate Aquatic Invasive/Nuisance Species in the Upper and Lower Lakes in Yaphank and Canaan Lake in North Patchogue. The dredging of Upper Lake was completed in 2013. The current project is projected to cost anywhere from $2 to $2.5 million of taxpayer money, and will be completed by Brookhaven Town’s Department of Recycling and Sustainable Materials Management. The lake, according to a statement by Town Supervisor Ed Romaine at a press conference on August 20th, 2018, has not been dredged since the dam was built 250 years ago. The Town holds that the project will restore recreational opportunities on the impoundment, and that it is part of efforts to preserve the Carmans River (Town of Brookhaven 2018). However, if the town were truly looking to preserve and protect the river, it could instead have looked at options for dam removal. This would not only solve the long term issue related to sediment build up in impoundments, but it would allow for the landscape to revert to its natural state and serve as habitat for the anadromous fish species that spawn in Long Island’s rivers and streams. Additionally, the $2 million projected cost is solely for the maintenance of the Lower Lake impoundment, and is a short term solution. Eventually, the lake will again fill with sediment, necessitating another multi-million-dollar project to restore it to its original anthropogenic state.
II. Efficacy of Fish Ladders
Over the past decade, a number of fish ladders have been installed at the site of some dams on Long Island. However, installation costs for these structures are quite high and fall to taxpayers to cover. On August 2nd, 2018, Suffolk County officials announced that they had secured $1 million in funding to finish the construction of a fish ladder at the site of the Lower Lake dam in Yaphank. An additional $200,000 in funding was secured from the DEC for the 18 project. The project is set to begin construction in February 2019, and will cost $1.2 million. The fish ladder is expected to help anadromous migratory fish species such as river herring, American eel, and brook trout reach their spawning grounds at the upper reaches of the Carmans River (Rohrbacker 2018). However, Lower Lake is not the only impoundment or dam on the river, and fish ladders do not mitigate the issue of a thermal boundary created by the dam, which impedes the passage of brook trout upstream. Additionally, the cost effectiveness of fish ladders has been demonstrated to be very low. Installation costs are generally steep, as is the case with the Lower Lake fish ladder, and studies have shown that they are not very effective in increasing the number of fish reaching spawning grounds upstream. One study that focused on a number of species, including American shad and river herring, found that for shad, less than 3% of fish made it past dams and fish ladders to reach spawning grounds (Brown 2013). The numbers for other species (such as river herring) were marginally higher. These numbers are even more discouraging given that the study is based on the severely diminished stock of these species, whereas historical migrations numbered in the millions (Waldman 2013). While design of fish ladders is continuously evolving, given the already severely decreased numbers of these species, looking to restore the populations of anadromous species may require more effective action, such as dam removal for unimpeded access to upstream spawning grounds.
Conclusion
Almost all of the ninety-eight dams on Long Island no longer serve their original purpose. Over seventy of them are listed by the DEC as being used for recreation, and most that are used for recreation serve no other purpose. In this sense, dams on Long Island are largely obsolete. They’ve become, over the past several decades and centuries, an aspect of the landscape that is viewed as natural when in reality they are anything but. Dams significantly alter the natural movement of rivers and streams on Long Island, altering both the landscape and the habitat for wildlife who rely upon free river passage to propagate their species. Additionally, the negative effects of dams on wildlife and the coastline have adverse implications for coastal erosion, coastal recreation, and fisheries. Coastal recreation and tourism, along with commercial fishing, are significant contributors to Long Island’s economy and sectors that should be upheld not only to increase the region’s GDP but preserve its history and culture. Dam removal is a politically 19 difficult but ecologically and economically necessary choice in any efforts to protect our wildlife, coastlines, and economic viability on Long Island.
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Useful Information Moving Forward:
Dam Removal In New York State: http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/remediation_hudson_pdf/damremoval.pdf
Dam Removal Outcomes: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40899-016-0062-7
EPA FAQ on Dam Removal: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016- 12/documents/2016_december_2_clean_final_dam_removal_faqs_0.pdf
Paying for Dam Removal https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/Paying-Dam-Removal_513758_7.pdf https://www.fws.gov/northeast/fisheries/fishpassage.html
Case Studies on Dam Removal https://headwaterseconomics.org/wp-content/uploads/Report-Dam-Removal-Case-Studies.pdf
Estimating the Costs and Benefits of Dam Removal: https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/52/8/724/255069