Protecting Carmel River Wildlife

California American Water’s strategy for threatened species on the Carmel River is threefold: 1. To protect California Coastal Steelhead Trout, supporting their migration up and down the river by limiting diversions from the upper river and periodically releasing water from our reservoirs. Steelhead migration this year is nearly identical to last year, suggesting that our river management practices have stabilized the opportunity for fish to thrive.  More …

Managing Carmel River

The Monterey Peninsula water challenge is complex. Born from a pristine and pure watershed, the Carmel River provides high quality, refreshing water. This supply is weather dependent, and subject to occasional drought. More …

San Clemente Dam

The San Clemente Dam and Reservoir was built in 1921 to store water from the Carmel River and San Clemente Creek. At the time of construction, little was known about building for earthquake safety. Between 1980 and 1992, initial studies were preformed to determine the safety of the San Clemente Dam in the event of an earthquake on the nearby Tularcitos fault, or a flood caused by a large storm.  

These studies found that the dam was not safe according to current standards. In 1992 the Division of Safety of Dams (DSOD) required that California American Water, as the current owner and operator of the San Clemente Dam, upgrade it to comply with current seismic safety standards. This project is known as the San Clemente Dam Seismic Retrofit, even though one of the alternatives currently being considered is total removal. More ...