A River Reborn
Location
and geography
Located in Carmel Valley California is the Carmel River
which has two dams San Clemente Dam and Los Padres Dam. Carmel River is a 36mi
river on the central coast of California in Monterey County that originates in
the Santa Lucia Mountains. The biome location of the Carmel River is the
montane chaparral and woodlands. The Carmel River drains a watershed of about
255 square miles.
Reason
for building dam
The reasons for building the dam were to supply
water to the Monterey Peninsula towns. With the population raising the water
wells were few and poor.
Reason(s)
for dam removal
The dam is now obsolete and at risk of collapsing in
an earthquake and its reservoir is so silted up with sand and gravel that it
hasn’t been used to supply water since 2002. This will be the biggest dam
removal project in the history for California.
Ecology
description paragraph
The river flows through various habitats beyond its
bankside riparian zone, starting in mixed evergreen forests, then down through
montane chaparral and woodlands to remnant coastal sage and chaparral and
coastal prairie, concluding through minor coastal sand dunes at its pacific
mouth.
2 special plants
Tule reeds (Schoenoplectus acutus)
Pickle weed Salt grass (Salicornia europeae)
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2 special animals
Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
California red legged frog (Rana draytonii)
Current
use
Right now the dam isn't being used because of the buildup
of the sand and gravel.
Current
threats
If there is an earthquake it and the dam breaks it
will affect 15 hundred homes, so it protects public safety. It also is
affecting the sand replenishment so if it’s no longer then it will increases
and it will dune habitat that is found there. A huge threat right now is the steel head trout being killed so if it’s no longer then it helps the recovery of these trout. It is also affecting the life of the red legged frog this will
help these frogs if the dam is no more.
A great video must
watch
Cited
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_23508105/californias-biggest-dam-removal-project-history-begins-carmel
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