River in Ruin, the Story of the Carmel River

"River in Ruin: The Story of the Carmel River" is a precise weaving of water history -- local and larger -- and a natural, social, and environmental narrative of the Carmel River. March traces the river's misuse from 1879 and details how ever more successful promotions of the Monterey Peninsula demanded more and more water, leading to one dam after another. As a result the river was disastrously depleted, cluttered with concrete rubble, and inhospitable to the fish prized by visitors and residents alike.

March's book is a cautionary take about squandering precious water resources -- about the ultimate cost of a ruined river and the slim but urgent hope of bringing it back to life.

Speaker: Ray March