The ongoing saga of the trout interests, government agencies and environmentalists to tear down dams across America has now brought focus on the 1923 O’Shaughnessy Dam which created the Hetch Hetchy reservoir supplying water to San Francisco. The Rindge Dam has been in the crosshairs of these opponents of dams for 30 years, using millions (probably billions) of taxpayer dollars all the while to further this “politically correct” movement. We taxpayers can expect further raids on our pocket books by these haters of dams if common sense does not soon prevail in these matters. The four other dams in the upper watershed (Century, Malibu Lake, Westlake and Lake Sherwood) can be expected to be entered on the “tear down” agenda until all 70,000 plus dams in the United States are removed at taxpayer expense. Misstatements of facts by the opponents of the Rindge Dam continue unabated, as the tactic is to repeat erroneous or unsubstantiated information so often that even the instigators of dam removal believe their own rhetoric.
For the record:1. The flow of sediment to Santa Monica Bay has not been impaired in any way since the reservoir behind the dam filled with sediment in the mid-1960s (Santa Monica beaches are wider than in the 1940s). 2. The “wild trout” formerly in Malibu Creek ballyhooed as a unique strain of steelhead trout were “tainted” with trout implants above the ranch line by Henry Keller around the turn of the century. 3. The “no water” behind the dam is incorrect as 10 million gallons are in the aquifer below the wetland behind the dam. 4. No credible evidence is known to exist that steelhead ever existed in the upper watershed (trout, yes-lot of plants) due to waterfalls blocking their access and the hostile climate and the under-grounding of streams in the upper watershed.
The frenzy to remove dams throughout America is on the rise. Our elected government leaders continue to waste taxpayer funds on dubious projects based on the “politically correct” urgings of un-elected government employees and environmental constituencies. This November may be the best chance in decades to send a message to incumbents of all political parties that profligate spending has to stop. The $24 billion deficit in California is caused by many factors, one of which is senseless spending on projects that pale in comparison to the vital needs of its citizens.
Ronald L. Rindge
P.S. What is the back-up water supply for Malibu? How many gallons exist to fight fires and serve the city and public? What happens to property values if water is not available?