Recent statistics indicate that approximately fifty people drown at low-head dams in the United States each year. Over the last five decades, more than 10 times as many people have died at and around low-head dams than from dam failures. A death at a low head dam is sometimes followed by litigation, often initiated by the family of the deceased. Defendants are often the dam owner, the state, the engineer, and the water users that benefit from the function of the low-head dam. These cases often settle for millions of dollars with the defendants and their insurers paying for the settlement. Building on decades of professional experience with public safety at low-head dams, the authors provide a review of the hydraulic processes that lead to the formation of the dangerous currents downstream from low-head dams, provide generalized suggestions for modifying low-head dams, explain the human and financial implications of costly litigation, summarize the status of federal and state regulations (including governmental immunity), and discuss the outcomes from actual litigation proceedings. The authors will discuss common themes from low head dam litigation assignments from across the US over the past 20 years, including concepts related to negligence and governmental immunity and common arguments made on each side of cases involving drownings at a low head dam. Based on these experiences we will discuss a benefit-cost rationale for low head dam retrofits or removal. The presentation will emphasize how the public can be protected and dam owners can reduce their exposure to liability.
.jpg "Chris Olson photo")