Nestled within the scenic Malibu Canyon Road lies a forgotten giant: a 100-foot dam, now a relic of the past, that long blocked the natural flow of Malibu Creek.

Built in 1926 by the powerful and wealthy May Rindge, nicknamed the ‘Queen of Malibu’, the purpose of the dam was to provide water to her extensive farm.

But for decades it has been a significant obstacle to the ecosystem and a target of environmental restoration efforts.

‘It’s like a million people a year drive up and down this road,’ said Russell Marlow, senior project manager for California Trout’s South Coast Region. SF GATE.

‘This is in the middle of Los Angeles County, and there’s a large dam right here that needs to be removed, and we can easily see the impact that’s having.’

Inside the scenic Malibu Canyon Road lies a forgotten giant: a 100-foot dam, now a relic of the past, that long blocked the natural flow of Malibu Creek

Built in 1926 by the influential ‘Queen of Malibu’ May Rindge (pictured), the dam was once designed to supply water to her extensive farm.

Marlow likens Malibu’s Rindge Dam to the Klamath River dams in Northern California, which were removed after decades of advocacy by indigenous communities. These dams deteriorated water quality and hindered salmon migration, contributing to species decline.

Similarly, the Rindge Dam reduced the habitat of endangered Southern California steelhead and disrupted Malibu’s natural watershed for decades.

The dam’s impact extends to the coast of Malibu, blocking sediments that would otherwise replenish the coastline. Both the Klamath and Rindge Dams are top priorities on California Trout’s list of California dams most urgently in need of removal.

Built by Rindge in 1926, the purpose of the dam was to provide water for the family’s farm. However, the reservoir quickly filled with sediment and became virtually unusable by the 1940s and was decommissioned in 1967.

It has remained a silent obstruction in Malibu Creek ever since, as momentum for its gradual removal builds.

Rindge, the widow of Frederick Hastings Rindge, earned this nickname for her firm grip on the region. He owned the entire Rancho Topanga Malibu Sequit and famously fought against infrastructure violations on his land. Rindge even commissioned the ‘railway to nowhere’, a 15-mile private railway to prevent the Southern Pacific Railroad from building its own line through Malibu.

A court battle for public highway access while successfully keeping the railroad out ultimately resulted in the construction of what is now the Pacific Coast Highway in 1929.

The reservoir quickly filled with sediment and became virtually unusable by the 1940s and was decommissioned in 1967, remaining a silent obstruction to Malibu Creek ever since.

Financially strapped, Rindge built the dam to collect water from Malibu Creek for his farm, but it soon became clear that sediment-rich Southern California streams did not make ideal reservoirs.

By the time he died in 1941, his huge investment was filled with sediment and was already beginning to deteriorate.

The dam, now closed to the public for safety reasons, holds an estimated 780,000 cubic meters of sediment that would normally nourish Malibu’s beaches; this sediment is becoming increasingly valuable as climate change intensifies coastal erosion.

The dam also serves as an impenetrable wall for endangered Southern steelhead, which were once abundant in Malibu Creek and use open waterways to migrate between freshwater and the ocean.

The Rindge Dam removal process, initiated in 1992 with the Malibu Creek Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study, has progressed slowly due to scientific and engineering complexities.

But a final report in 2020 marked the beginning of the project’s design phase, with removal expected to begin in 2028 at an estimated cost of $279 million.

Over time, the dam became a significant obstacle to the ecosystem and the target of environmental restoration efforts.

Removing the dam is seen as an important step in restoring the stream’s ecosystem and revitalizing the steelhead population

As part of recent progress in the work, helicopters have been used to survey sediment behind the dam, which will be relocated to help restore Malibu’s beaches and other areas.

According to Marlow, the removal will be a gradual process; The dam will need to be lowered in sections while removing sediment and vegetation, and repeated after seasonal water flows.

‘This is a transformative, landscape-level change in the shadow of a major city,’ Marlow said.

“I’m trying to instill in the greater Los Angeles area the idea that this is happening in their backyard, and in a few years they’ll be able to get up off the side of the road and peek their heads out.” done and see one of the largest dam removal projects in North America underway.’