
About Dan Beard
DANIEL P. BEARD has been a forceful advocate for reform of water resource policy and management for more than four decades. Read More

Read an Excerpt
What most people don’t realize is that dams and other structures are not permanent fixtures on the landscape. They are there because we made a political decision to build them.
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Upcoming Appearances
Dan Beard has spoken to a variety of audiences
across the globe about the need for a common sense agenda for change in water policy. Join Dan at one of his many upcoming appearances.
Check the schedule.
Summary of the Book
Deadbeat Dams is an insider’s story of western water. America is facing a water crisis, and nowhere is this more evident than in the West where significant problems abound. How are we responding to this rapidly growing crisis? We’re not. Deadbeat Dams reveals the desperate need to change western water policies and exposes the public to the lack of common sense, corruption, and utter waste of taxpayers’ money that the author witnessed over a long government career spanning three decades. The faults of the present system of federally assisted water management efforts are amply detailed, and an agenda for reform is provided that can be used as ammunition by a new generation of water reformers.
Reviews
"Deadbeat Dams is a courageous book and much needed… Dams kill rivers – Deadbeat Dams restores rivers and our hope for a sustainable future.”
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Waterkeeper Alliance