OPINION: We ignore aging dams at our peril

In September 2018, the impending arrival of Hurricane Florence prompted the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation to take action.

In an advisory to dam owners, officials warned that the storm could dump 10 to 20 inches of rain in some areas of the commonwealth if it were to linger. DCR urged owners to connect with engineers to understand specific issues with their structures; find and review their emergency action plans (if one was in place); safely lower water levels in their dams' lakes (if possible); and visually inspect their dams to ensure that debris would not negatively impact any spillways.

Three years later, Hurricane Ida posed its own set of severe-weather challenges. On Sept. 3 - days after the storm's initial arrival in Virginia - DCR issued an alert to homeowners and even renters to secure flood insurance in time for peak hurricane season. Officials cautioned that standard policies likely do not cover flood-related issues, and that 1 inch of water in a 2,500-square-foot home could result in more than $25,000 in damage.

The commonwealth was spared the worst of Florence's and Ida's wrath. But both of these memos raise the question: Do we react to crises as they happen - or worse, after the fact? Or do we make investments now to shore up vulnerabilities in aging dams? We ignore them at our peril - Virginia has to prioritize them in its infrastructure improvements.

The National Inventory of Dams, a database operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, shows that as of 2018, the average age of structures in the commonwealth was 56. In its 2021 infrastructure report card, the American Society of Civil Engineers cited 356 Virginia dams as carrying a high hazard status. That means if they were to fail, there would be a probable loss of life or serious economic damage, DCR explains.

Congress recently has upped federal involvement in the issue, with the July introduction of the Twenty-First Century Dams Act. The Association of State Dam Safety Officials supports the $21.1 billion bill as a step toward improved "safety, grid resilience benefits and power-generating capacity."

Within the American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card categories, several items have received great attention through recent COVID-19 relief and recovery programs, including broadband, stormwater and drinking water. As hurricane season continues through the end of November, we ignore aging dams at our peril. Virginia has to prioritize them in its infrastructure improvements.