The Dams of the Arroyo Seco

Click on the picture for more information about that dam

Devil's Gate Dam	Brown Mountain Barrier 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.	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

In recent years there has been more careful analysis of 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 issued two important reports on the same topic:

• Dam Removal Research: Status and Prospects

• Dam Removal: Science and Decision Making