Colorado Premiere
The proposed Temperance Flat Dam would be the second tallest in California and the sixth dam on the San Joaquin River. The estimated $2.6 billion project would increase storage capacity in the basin, but it would also drown the scenic San Joaquin River Gorge. Although a new dam might make California politicians feel better about the state’s ongoing water problems, it would add only 1 percent to the Central Valley Project’s yield. In a time when all the economically feasible dams have already been built, this short proves that adding another won’t get us any closer to Eden.