information:extraction
Small dams

As with large dams, small dams have multiple uses, such as, but not limited to, hydropower production, flood protection, and water storage. Small dams can be particularly useful on farms to capture runoff for later use, for example, during the dry season. Small scale dams have the potential to generate benefits without displacing people as well, and small, decentralised hydroelectric dams can aid rural development in developing countries. In the United States alone, there are approximately 2,000,000 or more "small" dams that are not included in the Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of dams. Records of small dams are kept by state regulatory agencies and therefore information about small dams is dispersed and uneven in geographic coverage.

Countries worldwide consider small hydropower plants (SHPs) important for their energy strategies, and there has been a notable increase in interest in SHPs. Couto and Olden (2018) conducted a global study and found 82,891 small hydropower plants (SHPs) operating or under construction. Technical definitions of SHPs, such as their maximum generation capacity, dam height, reservoir area, etc., vary by country.