602 Dams, Weirs And Sluices Removed From European Rivers And Streams In 2025 - A New Record [View all]

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A few miles downstream from a lava field in western Iceland, the gargle of free-flowing water is unbroken for the first time in decades after hydraulic peckers chipped away at a dilapidated dam that once powered a farm. The structure on the River Melsá had continued to block fish migration long after falling into disrepair.

“It wasn’t providing any electricity; the old power house had sheep living in it,” said Hamish Moir, a river engineer from CBEC, a Scottish firm that provided technical support for the demolition in December. To see the river restored to its natural state was “really rewarding”, he said.

The dam was officially the first that Iceland has removed from its rivers, but across Europe a record-breaking 602 barriers were removed last year, according to new analysis. A report from Dam Removal Europe found that the number of dams, weirs, culverts and sluices dismantled grew by 11% from the year before, letting more waterways resume their natural course. It is part of a global trend to restore rivers to help wildlife thrive.

The 2,324 miles (3,740km) of rivers that were reconnected through barrier removals in 2025 brings the EU a step closer to its goal of restoring 15,500 miles to their natural state by 2030. Chris Baker, the director of the European branch of Wetlands International, said: “For centuries, Europe treated rivers as engines for economic growth – damming them for mills and hydropower, straightening them for navigation, and burying them beneath cities. We built our prosperity by fragmenting our rivers, but the ecological price has been enormous.”

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/21/record-number-of-dams-dismantled-in-europe-in-effort-to-help-wildlife-thrive