San Clemente Dam to be Torn Down After All?

The silted-up, unsafe, San Clemente Dam

With its reservoir filled in, the San Clemente Dam is useless for water storage. It prevents steelhead from reaching their spawning grounds and, as the nearly 90 year old structure is fragile enough to fail in even a moderate earthquake, it poses a serious threat to downstream communities.

We wrote earlier this year about dam-owner, Cal-Am’s announcement that they were rejecting the nearly completed (and nearly fully funded) plan to remove the dam and moving forward with an alternate plan to inter it in concrete where it stands. We doubted the permitting agencies would allow Cal-Am to do this since, while buttressing the dam in place might make it safe for downstream residents, it could easily make a real recovery for the Carmel River steelhead impossible.

And, sure enough, Cal-Am is already abandoning the buttressing plan.

This bit of theater on Cal-Am’s part was apparently an attempt to pressure someone else (the government or the foundations providing dam removal funding) into accepting liability for the removal project. Although Cal-Am does not appear to have succeeded in shifting the liability, they have now announced that they are back on board with the removal project. Hopefully, this badly needed project can get rolling now without any further shenanigans.

 

Order WR 2009-0060: State Water Board Cracks Down on Cal-Am’s Carmel River Water Addiction

The Carmel River

A few weeks ago, Monterey Peninsula residents were treated to an unusual spectacle as much of the local business and political leadership boarded busses for Sacramento for a humiliating session of begging and pleading with the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).

Who Owns the Rain?

Engorged with water pirated from its rightful human owners, a Coccora (Amanita calyptroderma) emerges from the forest floor

Just when we were thinking no one could be more dysfunctional than our community and state when it comes to dealing with limited water supplies, the LA Times publishes an article describing how water districts in Colorado are complaining that homeowners using rain barrels to capture run-off from their roofs are stealing water in violation of law.

Cal-Am Puts Steelhead and Ratepayers at Risk With Decision to Leave Worthless San Clemente Dam in Place

San Clemente Dam is almost completely filled in with silt and is worthless for water storage – or any other purpose. It is also structurally unsafe and at risk of failure during earthquakes or high flows. This morning (when this picture was taken) the dam was spilling about 1,000 cubic feet per second. On March 10, 1995, the dam survived a 16,000cfs flow that overtopped it completely.

2008 Year in Review

Well it’s been an interesting year, here at Xasáuan Today. We’ve looked at the Monterey Peninsula’s water supply problems and picked apart the county’s transportation dilemma. We’ve questioned development on eroding beaches and dissected the Light Brown Apple Moth. We’ve chimed in on local political issues. We’ve gone on some bike rides, examined some mushrooms, and even found time for a visit to Pat Springs.

But nothing gets attention quite like a fire.

Will the Fire Make Monterey’s Water Problems Worse?

The Carmel River watershed as seen from Pine Ridge 16 months after the Marble Cone Fire

Enforcing Order 95-10

Mayors and other Monterey Peninsula notables have had their knickers in a twist ever since the news broke two weeks ago that the State Water Resources Control Board is considering actually enforcing their Order 95-10. What’s the big deal? Well, Order 95-10 decrees that our friendly water company, Cal-Am, has the right to pump only 3,376 acre feet per year of water from Carmel Valley – the source of most of the Monterey Peninsula’s water. Last year Cal-Am kept water in Peninsula taps by pumping 11,285 acre feet. Complying with Order 95-10 would thus mean a 70% cutback in Carmel Valley pumping and, obviously, require some pretty hefty cutbacks in water use by Monterey Peninsula residents and businesses.

So where did this Order 95-10 come from, how come it’s never been enforced, and why has the SWRCB suddenly gotten interested in enforcing it now?