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Half of the world's dams could be 'functionally inoperable' by 2060 from being flooded with sediment — and the American West is a major hotspot
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In the study, published June 5 in the journal Nature Sustainability , researchers assessed the state of reservoir sedimentation globally.
"A big part of preventing reservoir sedimentation problems is upstream soil conservation in the watershed," East said.
Another option is to empty the reservoir of water and let the river cut a channel through the sediment, Kondolf said.
However, released dam sediment brings its own risks.