The outrageous ‘Queen of Malibu’ who ruined iconic shoreline by building a private dam

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

The dam was built in 1926 by the powerful and wealthy May Rindge, also known as the ‘Queen of Malibu’, to supply water to her vast ranch.

However, in recent decades it has become a major barrier to the ecosystem and a target for environmental restoration efforts.

“Like, a million people a year drive up and down that road,” Russell Marlow, senior project manager for California Trout’s South Coast Region, told me. SF PORT.

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

The dam, built in 1926 by the influential ‘Queen of Malibu’ May Rindge (pictured), was once intended to supply water to her enormous farm

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

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

The dam’s impact extends to Malibu’s beaches, blocking sediment that would otherwise replenish the coastline. Both the Klamath and Rindge dams top the list of California Trout dams in urgent need of removal.

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

Since then, it has remained a silent obstruction in Malibu Creek, while momentum for its removal gradually increases.

Rindge, widow of Frederick Hastings Rindge, was nicknamed because of her firm hold on the region. She owned the entire Rancho Topanga Malibu Sequit and famously fought against infrastructure encroachment on her land. Rindge even ordered a “Railroad to Nowhere,” a 15-mile privately owned railroad, to keep the Southern Pacific Railway from building its own line through Malibu.

While she successfully kept out the railroad, a lawsuit over public road access eventually resulted in the construction of what is now the Pacific Coast Highway in 1929.

The reservoir quickly filled with sediment, became virtually useless in the 1940s, was decommissioned in 1967, and has remained a silent obstruction in Malibu Creek ever since.

Struggling financially, Rindge built the dam to draw water from Malibu Creek for her ranch, but it quickly became clear that Southern California’s sediment-rich creeks are not ideal reservoirs.

By the time of her death in 1941, her enormous investment was filled with sediment and had already begun to deteriorate.

Now closed to the public for safety reasons, the dam has captured an estimated 780,000 cubic yards of sediment that would otherwise feed Malibu’s beaches – sediment that is becoming increasingly valuable as climate change intensifies coastal erosion.

The dam also acts as an impassable wall for the endangered Southern steelhead, a fish that was once abundant in Malibu Creek and relies on open water routes to migrate between freshwater and the ocean.

The Rindge Dam removal process, which began in 1992 with the Malibu Creek Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study, has been slow due to scientific and technical complexity.

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

Over time, the dam has become a major barrier to the ecosystem and a target for environmental restoration efforts

Removing the dam is seen as a critical step in restoring the creek’s ecosystem and revitalizing the steelhead population.

As part of recent progress in the effort, helicopters were used to examine the sediment behind the dam, which will be moved to help restore Malibu beaches and other areas.

According to Marlow, the removal will be a gradual process, with the dam being lowered in sections as sediment and vegetation are cleared, repeating after the seasonal flow of water.

“This is a transformative change at a landscape level in the shadow of a major city,” Marlow said.

“I’m trying to introduce the Los Angeles area to the idea that this is happening in their backyards, and in a few years they’ll be able to pull over to the side of the road and look at their heads. and see one of the largest dam removal projects in North America underway.”