Benefits of the Klamath Dams

 The most common effect of a dam is to dramatically reduce both the peak flows and the sediment load of the river, thereby resulting in coarsening, and degradation of the channel bed in the reaches closest to dams.

But there are other circumstances when dam removal may not be the appropriate choice, when removal would cause socially unacceptable effects, such as the loss of flood protection for critical areas, homeowners devaluation of their property, the resulting loss of tax assessed value to local governments and the destruction of wetlands and refuges created by the dam, or the loss of energy from a hydropower project.