Three Aleutians dams could be reclassified as threats to life downstream

Three dams in the Aleutians East Borough could be reclassified as "high hazard" — a designation meaning their failure would put lives at risk downstream — under a draft risk assessment now open for public review.

The three are the Squaw Harbor Dam on Unga Island and the Clear Creek and Delta Creek dams in King Cove. The label doesn't mean the dams are in poor shape; under state and national standards, hazard classification reflects the consequences of a failure, not the condition of the structure. A high-hazard rating means a failure would likely cause loss of life and major property damage.

The reclassification carries real obligations. Dams in the top hazard tiers are required to have an Emergency Action Plan — including a map of the area that would flood and spelled-out warning and evacuation procedures for the people living there. For King Cove and the community near Squaw Harbor, that means both the downstream flood risk itself and the cost of mitigation and emergency planning.

The borough has looked at this kind of risk before: it commissioned a study of Delta Creek mitigation in King Cove in 2021.

The dams are one piece of a broader draft that assesses the natural hazards facing the borough — earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, avalanches, flooding, erosion, wildfire and sea ice. It's the 2027 update to the borough's hazard mitigation plan, and the borough is taking public comment through a survey posted on its website.