Literally hundreds (OK, thousands) of small dams and water diversions dot California’s streams and rivers, some of which deny steelhead and salmon access to spawning habitat. Many have long outlived their usefulness, and this time-lapse video of a small dam removal should give you an idea what’s involved.
It’s on Bear Creek in the San Francisquito Creek watershed (San Mateo, CA), home to the Stanford’s Searsville Dam, which is also the subject of a removal effort.
