For a century, the 100-foot Rindge Dam has stood in Malibu Creek State Park, cutting the Santa Monica Mountains off from Malibu Lagoon and the Pacific Ocean. With no functional fish passage, the dam has blocked Southern California Steelhead, one of the West Coast's most critically endangered fish populations, from reaching the cooler upstream habitat they need to spawn. It has also trapped the sediment that would naturally flow downstream to replenish Malibu's beaches, contributing to coastal erosion, while the aging structure itself poses ongoing public safety hazards.

California State Parks is leading the removal effort, with CalTrout, McMillen LLC, and Stillwater Sciences providing engineering, ecological, and scientific expertise. The project takes a whole-watershed approach: rather than treating the dam in isolation, the team is restoring ecological function "from summit to sea," pairing dam removal with baseline biological surveys, hydrology and flood risk modeling, and environmental permitting to make sure the entire system recovers, not just the stretch of creek nearest the dam.

Since entering its pre-construction, engineering, and design phase in April 2023, the project has advanced its plans to 90% completion, with that phase targeted to wrap up in 2026. Removing the dam would reopen 15 miles of stream habitat for steelhead, restore natural sediment transport to nourish eroding beaches, and improve the watershed's resilience to a changing climate. It also carries real economic weight: the project is projected to create nearly 1,900 jobs statewide and generate $157 million in gross regional product during construction, proof that restoring an urban watershed and investing in the local economy can go hand in hand.