California's largest-ever dam removal project will take advantage of the area's unique topography to allow builders to divert permanently the Carmel River into a new channel.
Built in 1921 about 18.5 miles upstream of the Pacific Ocean in Monterey County, the 106-ft-tall San Clemente Dam is filled with 2.5 million cu yards of sediment. It is at risk of failure during an earthquake or probable maximum flood.