Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP)
Department
City and Regional Planning
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. Caitlin S. Dyckman
Committee Member
Dr. Madeleine Bolick
Committee Member
Dr. Russell Stall
Abstract
Throughout the United States, the dam infrastructure is aging out of their lifespan. This increases risk of loss of life and property, particularly with dam failure. Dam aging necessitates proactive planning methods is needed to prepare communities for dam removal effects rather than responding to failure disasters. This thesis studies how city planners and local officials can use nature-based solutions, river restoration, and resilient policy tools to prepare for upstream dam removal. I created a Dam Removal Preparedness (DRP) Framework for integrating nature-based solutions, resilient policy, and restoration methods and used it as a scoring system to assess community plans’ dam removal preparedness. The DRP includes thirty-one planning objectives. I augmented the document evaluation with a GIS analysis to provide a spatial component using land use, zoning, and flood risk areas. I evaluated the plans in five communities with recent dam removals based on the planning objectives from the DRP and the type of plan in each community. My results show that communities had low ratings of dam removal preparedness and no individual plan type implemented DRP strategies consistently. There were common approaches across communities, including regional water management and development regulations using nature-based solutions. This suggests that the planning in communities is fragmented and that addressing water and ecosystem issues are not prioritized. My thesis introduces the importance of integrating sectors responsible for dam removal in a proactive manner. The DRP Framework is a guide for communities to address long-term measures using nature-based solutions and resilient policy tools. The DRP Framework will help reduce flood risk from variable riverine systems while supporting riverine ecosystems, and protect communities against dam failure disasters.
Recommended Citation
Kaisner, Leah, "The Dam Plan Matters: Proactive Policy and Nature-Based Solutions for Deliberate Dam Removal" (2026). All Theses. 4741.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4741