Thanks to a $3.3 million grant from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the project will take a huge leap toward completion of the final design phase for removing the dam.
“What we’re seeing with dam removal is that a river will restore itself quicker than anyone predicted,” said Jenkin.
Matilija Dam would be a prime candidate. It provides no recreational value, no flood control and no water to the area. It has trapped 8 million cubic yards of sediment in its reservoir, and by 2020, it will be completely silted up. It presents a major safety risk, and its owner, Ventura County, wants it gone. Patagonia, the outdoor gear maker, has thrown its considerable weight — and more than $275,000 — behind the removal effort. The river runs through the backyard of the company's headquarters....regarding "Managed Shoreline Retreat":
"The real aim is to give the beach room to adapt over the course of decades," he said. "In drought, we have a scarcity of sediment in the system and the beach naturally retreats. Then we have a flood cycle and the beach grows back again. Trying to hold that line interrupts the whole process."
And here's the latest on the Elwha dam removal project:
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| High Country News Sept 2017 |
Links:
https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2017/08/07/one-of-the-largest-dam-removals-in-california-history-inches-forward
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060059083
http://www.hcn.org/issues/49.15/rivers-six-years-after-its-dams-came-down-a-river-is-reborn
