Yes. It got mocked with parody videos of ''mock-Roy Dupuis'' emptying a bottle of water in a river to ''set it free''.

We have some of the cheapest, cleanest, reliable energy avaliable thanks to a colossal dam system + long winter snow buffering in uninhabited vast areas that are projected to see an increase in annual rain/snow fall.

The cost is a very temporary increase in pollution when the flooded land adjusts to a lake ecosystem. You don't even have to fuck with fish migration because you can make a ''ramp'' for them to climb with minimal loss of water.

Environmentalists are still bitching.

There is still considerable potential for development on rivers further north, but transport to population centers becomes an issue. Still interesting for some industries and server farms.