Molló (Ritort) Dam Removal — Catalonia's Green Agenda Reopens 8 km of a Trout Genetic Reserve (Spain)

The Molló (Ritort) dam, built in 1991, was 7 m high and 24 m wide and diverted water to the Ritort mini-hydropower plant, breaking the connectivity of a river that is a Natura 2000 site and a trout genetic reserve.
Demolition ran from late August to early November 2020 under Catalonia's Green Agenda, carried out by Infraestructures.cat under the coordination of the Catalan Water Agency. Dam Removal Europe reports 8 km of river reopened, and the Generalitat-related reporting cites an investment of close to EUR 208,000 over four months. The works also removed the water-intake structures on the Ritort and the Fabert stream and a pipe crossing it, after the plant's concession expired.
Sources differ on the demolition method (a zipline system versus a hydraulic hammer). The local community is reported to have responded favourably.
Caution: no post-removal monitoring of fish, habitat or flow has been published in the sources found, so the ecological gain is expected rather than demonstrated. An NGO, Ríos con Vida, claims its complaints to the environmental prosecutor led to the permits being withdrawn; that is one party's claim, not an official finding.

Read the full analysis: https://naciodigital.cat/desmantellada-la-minicentral-electrica-del-riu-ritort-a-mollo.html