New Analysis Finds Sustainable Rivers Program Delivers Strong Returns for Taxpayers, Communities and Recreation

A new independent analysis found that the Sustainable Rivers Program, a partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and The Nature Conservancy that improves how the nation’s existing dams operate, delivers strong economic returns while boosting recreation, river health and community resilience. The report concludes the program is cost-effective both in the near term and over time, and the returns show up in the places and communities that depend on healthy rivers every day.

Commissioned by The Nature Conservancy and conducted by RTI International, the analysis found the SRP returns roughly $12 to $14 in benefits for every $1 invested. By 2040, the program is projected to generate approximately $243 million to $265 million in net present value. In plain terms: this program pays off and then keeps paying off.

“Americans should not have to choose between strong communities, healthy rivers and responsible use of taxpayer dollars,” said TNC CEO Jennifer Morris. “This analysis shows we can get all three. The SRP is a practical way to modernize infrastructure we already own and hand local communities a win.”

America has more than 90,000 dams. Most were built decades ago, designed to serve a single purpose—flood control, navigation, hydropower or water supply—and have operated the same way ever since. But rivers are systems. When a dam holds back or releases water on a fixed schedule regardless of season, temperature or ecosystem need, the effects travel downstream: fish populations decline, wetlands dry out, water quality drops and communities lose the recreational and economic values that healthy rivers provide. The SRP works differently. By adjusting how existing dams operate—without new construction, without new infrastructure—it creates water flows that more closely mirror natural patterns to give rivers more of what they need, when they need it. Today the program spans 65 rivers and nearly 15,000 miles of American waterways across 27 Army Corps districts, from the Pacific Northwest to the Gulf Coast, making it the most comprehensive effort in the country to modernize how existing dams serve the communities, ecosystems and economies.

A strong payoff, site by site

The report backs up the broad returns with case studies from four river systems, each showing how changes in dam operations create measurable benefits that reach directly into the lives of people residing, working and recreating nearby:

• At Melvin Price Locks and Dam on the Illinois-Missouri border, RTI found the program could deliver a net present value of $2.7 million and a benefit-cost ratio of 12.43 by 2040, with benefits exceeding costs within three years. The site is tied to lake sturgeon recovery, migratory bird habitat and recreation gains. The nearby Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary averages about 111,000 vehicles a year, reaching 121,000 in 2024—a visible measure of what a healthier river system draws.

• On the Des Moines River in Iowa, the study found a net present value of $17.7 million and a benefit-cost ratio of 8.98, with benefits projected to exceed costs by 2028, tied to bird habitat, fisheries and nutrient reduction.

• At Caddo Lake and Big Cypress Bayou on the Texas-Louisiana border, RTI found a net present value of $2.86 million and a benefit-cost ratio of 7.89, with benefits exceeding costs within five years, linked to fisheries, floodplain reconnection, recreation, tourism and flood protection. Nearby rural communities benefit directly from boating, birdwatching, hunting and fishing that a restored river makes possible.

• The Green River in Kentucky offers the longest view. RTI estimated the program has already generated about $20 million in realized benefits since 2010, with cumulative benefits projected to exceed $37 million by 2040. That trajectory reflects what sustained investment in smarter dam operations produces over time.

Why it matters beyond the riverbank

The findings give lawmakers and agency leaders a conservation story grounded not only in habitat and wildlife, but in fiscal discipline. The report frames the SRP as infrastructure modernization, not expansion—unlocking more value from assets the public already owns.

“The SRP proves that smart public investment does not have to be complicated,” said Bill Frist, M.D., former U.S. Senate Majority Leader and chair of TNC’s Global Board of Directors. “When a program strengthens flood resilience, supports recreation, helps local economies and returns many times its cost, that is exactly the kind of stewardship taxpayers deserve. This is not a program the country can afford to walk away from.”

A broad coalition, shared benefits

Launched in 2002 on Kentucky’s Green River, the program has grown to 65 rivers across 27 Army Corps districts—one of the most diverse conservation partnerships in the country. Beyond the Army Corps and TNC, it includes federal and state agencies, utilities, universities, local stakeholders and leaders in wetland and waterfowl conservation.

“When I led the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, programs like the SRP represented the best of what the Corps could do, using science, partnership and disciplined operations to deliver more value from infrastructure that already exists,” said Lieutenant General (Ret.) Thomas P. Bostick, 53rd Chief of Engineers and Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “Analyses like this help quantify what practitioners have seen over time: these approaches can produce meaningful benefits that grow with sustained application. Federal water infrastructure is a long-term investment, and managing it well requires a long-term perspective.”

At a moment when the value of every federal investment is under scrutiny, the evidence here is clear: programs that deliver strong returns for taxpayers, healthy rivers for communities and better days on the water for millions of Americans are exactly what responsible stewardship looks like. The SRP has earned its place in that conversation—and the data shows what continued investment can produce.

“What makes this program work is that it brings together people who don’t always agree—navigation interests, municipal water suppliers, anglers, hunters, boaters, conservation advocates—and finds solutions that work for all of them,” said Jim Howe, senior advisor, North America Policy and Government Relations, TNC. “That doesn't happen by accident. It happens because the science is sound and the results are real. Across 65 rivers and nearly 15,000 miles of American waterways, we’re proving that you can modernize how dams operate and make things better for everyone along the river.”