Europe Removes Record 603 River Barriers in 2025, Reconnecting 3,740 Kilometers

Crews removed 603 barriers across 21 European countries in 2025, an 11% increase over the previous record of 542 set in 2024, according to the annual report from Dam Removal Europe (DRE). The total marks the fifth straight year of growth for river restoration on the continent, up from roughly 100 removals per year six years ago.

Most removed structures were small and obsolete: culverts accounted for half of all removals, weirs for 31%, and only about 10% were larger dams. Just 5% had ever been used for hydropower, and many of those had already ceased operation. Nearly 78% of barriers stood less than two meters tall, while only 2% exceeded five meters.

Sweden led with at least 173 removals, many of them old timber dams from the logging era. Finland followed with 143 removals, and Spain ranked third. Together, the removals reconnected more than 3,740 kilometers of rivers, a distance comparable to driving from Lisbon to Moscow.

Iceland and North Macedonia participated for the first time. In Iceland, a farm dam on the Melsá River that had blocked fish passage since 1958 was dismantled, restoring over two kilometers of habitat for sea trout and Atlantic salmon. In North Macedonia, a wartime concrete structure on the Pčinja River, packed with salvaged railway steel, was removed, reopening roughly 70 kilometers for at least 10 fish species, including four endemic to Europe such as the Vardar bitterling.

In southern France, the Isaby dam on a tributary of the Gave de Pau River was demolished in October 2025, restoring up to 10 kilometers of river network for threatened species including Atlantic salmon and the Iberian desman, a small mole relative dependent on clean, flowing water.

Freshwater fish have been heavily affected by river fragmentation, with 42% of Europe's freshwater fish species now threatened with extinction. Removing obsolete barriers is considered one of the most direct ways to aid population recovery.

Europe's rivers remain fragmented by an estimated 1.2 million barriers, of which more than 150,000 are considered obsolete. Progress has been uneven: southeastern Europe accounted for just 1.3% of 2025 removals, reflecting fewer resources and less monitoring.

Policy momentum is growing. A 2024 European Union law set a target to restore 25,000 kilometers of free-flowing rivers by 2030. Austria introduced its first national river connectivity plan in March 2026, at a time when only 12% of the country's rivers still flow freely.