Michael Casey/Associated Press

An Associated Press analysis has found a growing number of hazardous dams in poor condition across the U.S. The AP tallied more than 2,200 dams in poor or unsatisfactory condition that are rated as high hazard, meaning their failure likely would kill someone. That figure is up substantially from a similar AP review three years ago. Experts say the increase is a result partly of deferred maintenance and new development downstream from old dams that weren't necessarily designed to today's standards. The federal government's National Inventory of Dams has been updated to make the conditions of many dams public, but some agencies still withhold that information.The number of high-hazard dams in deficient condition in South Carolina rose by a third from 2018 to 2021.