Granite Construction dewatering crew members remove a pump from an area formerly covered by water and debris as the San Clemente Dam removal project entered its third and final stage in Carmel Valley in June, 2015. When the dam was built in Carmel Valley in 1921, the 106-foot tall structure was designed to hold 2,000 acre-feet of water. By the time of its removal, the reservoir was 95 percent filled with sediment and could only hold about 70 acre-feet. The dam, which was about 15 miles east of Carmel, was also considered seismically unsafe and a risk to more than 1,500 homes and other public buildings in the event it failed in a flood. California American Water Co., the owners of the dam, led the $83 million removal project, partnering with the state Coastal Conservancy and the National Marine Fisheries Service to make up the core project team. “This represents a project that defies orthodoxy,” said state Sen. Bill Monning. “It brought all stakeholders together to bend, break or create the rules to accomplish a great project — the river restoration.” (David Royal – Monterey Herald archive)
