Southern Tier counties among worst in New York for risky dams

Stacker
·7 min read

(Stacker) — In New York, there are a total of 438 high-hazard dams. Up to 37.7% of them could pose a threat to residents, including those that were assessed to be an immediate threat or in poor condition, those that were not rated, and those which had ratings withheld.

As part of a national analysis, GetMyBoat identified counties in New York with the most dams at risk of failure that pose the greatest potential threat to nearby residents, using data from the Army Corps of Engineers’ National Inventory of Dams, pulled in October 2023. The public database allowing Americans to look up the conditions of nearby dams has grown to include more than 90,000 dams.

As more dams get added to the national inventory, analyses of this database reveal a growing number of dams in poor and unsatisfactory condition, some of which have the potential to be life-threatening should they fail—dams the inventory deems “high-hazard.”

Counties in this analysis are ranked by the share of high-hazard dams that could pose a danger to human life, including those assessed to be in “poor” or “unsatisfactory” condition, those that haven’t received inspections, and those where the state agency that oversees them has not rated its conditions. Ties were broken by the overall number of dams meeting those criteria, and then by their concentration among local populations, though some ties may remain.

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A designation of “poor” is given to inspected dams showing deficiencies that threaten the dam’s integrity during normal operations. “Unsatisfactory” is given to dams that require “immediate or emergency remedial action,” according to the Army Corps of Engineers. About 1 in 10 of the inventory’s dam listings have no condition reported by state agencies.

“It is likely most of these dams should be listed at not rated, but we will work with the appropriate agencies to verify the information and update the NID accordingly,” Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson Gene Pawlik said in a statement.

Read on to see how dams in your area fare based on publicly available data.

43. St. Lawrence County

– Total high-hazard dams: 29
– Number potentially dangerous: 2 (6.9%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 in poor condition
— 1 not rated

42. Warren County

– Total high-hazard dams: 8
– Number potentially dangerous: 1 (12.5%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 in poor condition

41. Schoharie County

– Total high-hazard dams: 7
– Number potentially dangerous: 1 (14.3%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 in poor condition

40. Sullivan County

– Total high-hazard dams: 14
– Number potentially dangerous: 2 (14.3%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 2 posing immediate threat

39. Saratoga County

– Total high-hazard dams: 13
– Number potentially dangerous: 2 (15.4%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 2 in poor condition

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38. Madison County

– Total high-hazard dams: 6
– Number potentially dangerous: 1 (16.7%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 in poor condition

37. Dutchess County

– Total high-hazard dams: 14
– Number potentially dangerous: 3 (21.4%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 2 in poor condition
— 1 condition withheld

36. Cattaraugus County

– Total high-hazard dams: 12
– Number potentially dangerous: 3 (25.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 3 not rated

35. Rensselaer County

– Total high-hazard dams: 10
– Number potentially dangerous: 3 (30.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 3 in poor condition

34. Clinton County

– Total high-hazard dams: 10
– Number potentially dangerous: 3 (30.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 2 in poor condition
— 1 not rated

33. Erie County

– Total high-hazard dams: 3
– Number potentially dangerous: 1 (33.3%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 in poor condition

32. Albany County

– Total high-hazard dams: 15
– Number potentially dangerous: 5 (33.3%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 3 in poor condition
— 2 condition withheld

31. Orange County

– Total high-hazard dams: 33
– Number potentially dangerous: 11 (33.3%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 3 posing immediate threat
— 7 in poor condition
— 1 not rated

30. Chemung County

– Total high-hazard dams: 8
– Number potentially dangerous: 3 (37.5%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 3 in poor condition

29. Herkimer County

– Total high-hazard dams: 10
– Number potentially dangerous: 4 (40.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 2 in poor condition
— 2 not rated

28. Putnam County

– Total high-hazard dams: 22
– Number potentially dangerous: 9 (40.9%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 4 in poor condition
— 5 not rated

27. Ulster County

– Total high-hazard dams: 7
– Number potentially dangerous: 3 (42.9%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 3 in poor condition

26. Onondaga County

– Total high-hazard dams: 9
– Number potentially dangerous: 4 (44.4%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 4 in poor condition

25. Westchester County

– Total high-hazard dams: 36
– Number potentially dangerous: 16 (44.4%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 12 in poor condition
— 4 not rated

24. Ontario County

– Total high-hazard dams: 2
– Number potentially dangerous: 1 (50.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 not rated

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23. Cayuga County

– Total high-hazard dams: 2
– Number potentially dangerous: 1 (50.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 in poor condition

22. Livingston County

– Total high-hazard dams: 2
– Number potentially dangerous: 1 (50.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 condition withheld

21. Montgomery County

– Total high-hazard dams: 2
– Number potentially dangerous: 1 (50.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 in poor condition

20. Seneca County

– Total high-hazard dams: 2
– Number potentially dangerous: 1 (50.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 posing immediate threat

19. Tompkins County

– Total high-hazard dams: 4
– Number potentially dangerous: 2 (50.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 2 in poor condition

18. Oneida County

– Total high-hazard dams: 10
– Number potentially dangerous: 5 (50.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 2 in poor condition
— 3 not rated

17. Monroe County

– Total high-hazard dams: 14
– Number potentially dangerous: 8 (57.1%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 2 in poor condition
— 6 not rated

16. Chautauqua County

– Total high-hazard dams: 5
– Number potentially dangerous: 3 (60.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 in poor condition
— 2 not rated

15. Chenango County

– Total high-hazard dams: 10
– Number potentially dangerous: 6 (60.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 6 in poor condition

14. Cortland County

– Total high-hazard dams: 3
– Number potentially dangerous: 2 (66.7%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 2 in poor condition

13. Fulton County

– Total high-hazard dams: 7
– Number potentially dangerous: 5 (71.4%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 5 in poor condition

12. Delaware County

– Total high-hazard dams: 7
– Number potentially dangerous: 5 (71.4%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 3 in poor condition
— 1 not rated
— 1 condition withheld

11. Broome County

– Total high-hazard dams: 23
– Number potentially dangerous: 17 (73.9%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 in poor condition
— 15 not rated
— 1 condition withheld

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10. Steuben County

– Total high-hazard dams: 4
– Number potentially dangerous: 3 (75.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 not rated
— 2 condition withheld

9. Hamilton County

– Total high-hazard dams: 4
– Number potentially dangerous: 3 (75.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 3 in poor condition

8. Tioga County

– Total high-hazard dams: 5
– Number potentially dangerous: 4 (80.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 4 in poor condition

7. Rockland County

– Total high-hazard dams: 13
– Number potentially dangerous: 11 (84.6%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 6 in poor condition
— 5 not rated

6. Nassau County

– Total high-hazard dams: 1
– Number potentially dangerous: 1 (100.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 in poor condition

5. Schenectady County

– Total high-hazard dams: 1
– Number potentially dangerous: 1 (100.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 not rated

4. Wyoming County

– Total high-hazard dams: 1
– Number potentially dangerous: 1 (100.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 not rated

3. Yates County

– Total high-hazard dams: 1
– Number potentially dangerous: 1 (100.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 not rated

2. Wayne County

– Total high-hazard dams: 2
– Number potentially dangerous: 2 (100.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 in poor condition
— 1 not rated

1. Schuyler County

– Total high-hazard dams: 3
– Number potentially dangerous: 3 (100.0%)
– Potentially dangerous dams include:
— 1 in poor condition
— 2 not rated

This story features data reporting by Paxtyn Merten, writing by Dom DiFurio, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.

This story originally appeared on GetMyBoat and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

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