Restoring aquatic habitats through dam removal

This report presents results from a four-year project (2018–2022) to document the effects of small, run-of-river dams and dam removal on water quality (stream temperature and dissolved oxy-gen (DO)), aquatic macroinvertebrates, and fishes. Temperature and DO are critical water quality parameters that shape biogeochemical processes and biotic assemblages in streams. Macroinverte-brate and fish assemblages can be reflective of habitat and water quality due to their diversity and sensitivity to high temperatures and low DO and are often used as indicators of ecosystem health (e.g., Clean Water Act Section 401). This study aimed to better explain the responses of these im-portant ecological parameters to small dam removals, which may support a more comprehensive un-derstanding of the benefits of restoration to aquatic ecosystems.