Dams both mighty and modest dot the Connecticut landscape, but dams are the wallpaper of the environment. They go mostly unnoticed — until the deluge. What they do for the water supply, storm resilience and electricity generation is critical; what would happen when one fails could be catastrophic.

When I discovered in research for this column how many dams Connecticut has, I began asking people if they had any idea of the number. The low guess was 60; the high was 1,000.

The answer is 4,800. In its 5,018 square miles Connecticut has close to one dam for each square mile. It has more human-made dams per 100 linear miles of river than any other state.

So while this appears to be a state full of ponds and lakes it is in actuality a land rich with streams and rivers that have been dammed up for power, drinking water, recreation or because they were in someone’s way. Most have been in place for at least a century.

The number and age of dams should not be as astonishing as it first seems, given two fundamental truths about Connecticut: (1) The state is a plentifully watered place that developed quickly from woodlands into farmland into Industrial Revolution mill villages, making dams a feature of every town; and (2) the Land of Steady Habits doesn’t mess with the way things are until forced by urgent need or urgent risk.

That day has arrived. The needs and risks posed by many dams have reached urgency, threatening public safety and property and sharply affecting fish species and the animals above them in the food chain.

The legislature’s Environment Committee recently held a public hearing on a Senate bill that would give dams, including those privately owned, the attention they must have to meet at least the needs for public safety and property.

The proposal would update existing statutes by making it illegal to maintain a dam in condition "that might endanger life or property." No doubt spurred by the latest dam emergency, when a “partial failure” of the privately-owned Fitchville Pond Dam in Bozrah sent water from the flooding Yantic River into Norwich in January, the bill would allow action sooner.

The bill’s statement of purpose says it would “enable the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to more readily take action to protect the public safety when a dam poses an imminent risk.” Specifically, the agency can act to stabilize or repair a dam in poor shape when conditions such as an impending deluge of rain mean it might not hold.

Jan Ellen Spiegel of CT Mirror has done a great, eye-opening service to everyone downstream of a dam — which, by the numbers, is just about all the state’s residents and businesses. Her recent article serves as a what-you-need-to-know fact sheet about the state’s dams.

Among the fascinating, sometimes frightening information she shares are the state’s interactive map of where the dams are and the safety ratings DEEP uses in its inspections. A Class C hazard rating is “high;” Class B is “significant.” The state is riddled with Bs and Cs.

All dams in the state are supposed to be on the DEEP registry, and owners are supposed to comply with directives resulting from inspections.

In the year preceding the Bozrah dam emergency, rainfall in Connecticut was about 65 inches, which is 17 inches above normal. In January itself, New London County had 8.16 inches, more than 200 percent above the average. The weather extremes linked to climate change will likely continue to strain older dams to their limits and perhaps beyond, so the proposed changes should become law as an important tool for DEEP and public safety officials.

While the state did finally get around to a plan for repairing its bridges — with many still awaiting their fixes — dams have remained out of the public eye. People are generally unaware of the benefits and hazards the aging structures present. The state needs a public conversation that begins with safety and includes the role existing hydro-power dams can play in the state’s renewable energy portfolio, along with solar and wind.

Dams are working facilities built for specific jobs. Are they still doing those jobs? What do we want from them next? It starts with safety.

Lisa McGinley is a member of The Day Editorial Board.