Mr Rindge spoke with poetic fondness of fishing for his beloved trout in the upper reaches of the Malibu Creek before his wife persuaded him to construct a dam to hold water for their cattle in anticipation of prolonged droughts. Of the 109 miles of the Malibu creek watershed, the Steelhead had 70 miles of suitable habitat for spawning. Since 1926 the Steelhead habitat has been reduced to just 2 miles. Although much of the upper watershed has been degraded with development, removing the dam opens up miles and miles of prime spawning ecosystems through to Malibu Creek State Park with its deep cool pools that once held the largest steelhead.
As the plan for the dams removal draws near, criticism has grown over the cost of restoring the creeks fish habitat. A local newspaper reported that some city council members do not trust the State to improve its own state controlled waterway. But if the state does not jump in, no other entity can manage or take responsibility for repairing the obstructed waterway, ( certainly not the city of Malibu ). Due to a vocal minority, local mob that shouted down council members over the Malibu Lagoon Restoration Project, the Malibu City council changed their support of the Restoration to opposing it even though the City council had zero jurisdiction over State Land. Again it appears that the council may bow to a few local interest groups who do not understand the importance of allowing the sediment locked up behind the dam to flow down the creek to replenish our beaches that are suffering from sediment deficiencies. Broad Beach and its $20 million sand replenishment project is just one example of beach front houses being threatened from a lack beach replenishment. If money is not spent removing useless concrete barriers in our watersheds it will be used for damages resulting in coastal erosion.
If the city council is figuring it can count on surfers to oppose the dams removal like the Lagoon project they are mistaken. Surfers up and down the coast realize the importance of sediment flows out to the surf zones and will feverishly support the dams removal.
ReplyDeleteI fully understand peoples' misgivings regarding this project, especially those that live or own property downstream from the dam. However strange it might seem, removing Rindge Dam is a valid proposal that will have several benefits.
The most obvious benefit is, of course, vastly expanding available habitat for steelhead trout.
An additional major benefit is restoring Malibu Creek's natural sediment transport processes. Although the dam is filled with sediments, the sediment deposit behind the dam has an unnaturally low gradient. Massive amounts of sediments continue to accumulate in this low-gradient reach. Removing the dam means greatly increasing the delivery of sand to Malibu's beaches. This improves the quality of beach recreation. It also reduces coastal erosion. Reduced erosion and associated damage to property can potentially significantly offset the cost of the project.
Please attend upcoming meetings regarding the proposal and become informed before forming an opinion or allowing yourself to suffer from unfounded fears.
411 is about facts. Here's some facts about southern steelhead:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.swr.noaa.gov/hcd/soCalHistoric.htm