The Dams of the Arroyo Seco

Click on the picture for more information about that dam

Devil's Gate Dam

This was the first of the County Flood Control District's flood dams, built in 1920.  Click on the picture of the dam to see more historic pictures as well as some spectacular postcards of the dam.

Brown Mountain Barrier Dam

The US Forest Service completed this dam in 1943.  It sits squarely in the middle of the Arroyo Seco stream 3.5 miles above the mouth of the canyon at JPL.  Click on the picture for rare pictures of the dam in 1943.

Intake Dam

This is Pasadena's diversion for domestic water supply from the Arroyo Seco.  This picture was taken on March 5, 1937.

Scoville Dam and Bridge

The first major dam in the Arroyo was built by the Scoville family in the waning years of the nineteenth century.  Remnants can still be seen below the Colorado Street Bridge. Click on the picture for more.

Dam Removal

Several new reports offer damning testimony on the effects and prospects of dams in streams and rivers like the Arroyo Seco.

This report from the Aspen Institute details how to assess the impacts and functionality of dams today.

• Dam Removal: A New Option for A New Century

The Heinz Foundation has recently issued two important reports on the same topic:

• Dam Removal Research: Status and Prospects

• Dam Removal: Science and Decision Making