Dams such as northern California’s Copco No. 1 have reshaped much of the Klamath River Basin in the Pacific Northwest. They also fuel conflict over the river’s waters—both farms and fish need the critical resource.

In February 2010, conservationists, fishermen, Native Americans, and farmers reached a historic compromise to share water between fish and farms across Oregon and California and remove four hydroelectric dams as early as 2020.

Klamath dams produce power for some 70,000 people, but these mammoth structures have destroyed some of the continent’s most prolific salmon habitat. Conservations hail the 2010 plan as the largest river restoration effort in American history.

Dam, Levee, and Irrigation Photos

Everyone needs freshwater, but many people don’t live near a reliable source. See how human hands have changed the way water moves around the Earth.