View map in Full-Screen Mode for additional function. For more information on the RPM, read description below map.
How to Use the RPM
Users are encouraged to zoom in to the map to examine dams of interest. Clicking on a dam will display information about the dam as well as its percentile ranking of ecological benefit in relation to other dams in the state. The higher the ranking, the greater the estimated ecological benefit associated with removing the dam.
This map can also be viewed in Full-Screen Mode. In Full-Screen mode the user can select and display the estimated ecological benefit percentile by HUC-12 Major Basin (i.e., watershed). (Note: The symbology display in the “Ecological Benefit Percentile by Major Basin” map is simplified from the state-wide map to account for smaller quantity of dams.)
Map data and ecological benefit rankings were generated using publicly available GIS data and outputs from DER’s Restoration Potential Model (RPM). The information can help users compare, evaluate, and prioritize the ecological effects of potential dam removal projects. However, the RPM only evaluates a limited set of dam and watershed characteristics that relate to ecological benefit of dam removal. It does not account for many other variables that must be considered when assessing the propriety and potential impacts of dam removal. Displayed map data was last updated on April 28, 2017.
The RPM Tool ecological benefit rankings should not be interpreted or represented as a comprehensive assessment of dam removal benefits, costs, or feasibility; or as an endorsement by DER for the removal of any particular dam.
For a description of the data and procedure used to generate the model, visit the Dam Removal and Ecological Benefit Tool description.