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With the assistance of bulldozers during the rainy winter season, the Carmel River Lagoon flows into the Pacific Ocean at Carmel River State Beach.  Without this man-made beaching, nearby homes would be subject to flooding. This year’s breach seems premature as it hasn’t rained much. I don’t understand why homes were built on the edge of a lagoon. Politics? Money? Well, the sandbag business is brisk. The beach, meanwhile, is severed in half. As shown in this photo, the current from the lagoon is too strong to allow foot traffic to get to the other side of the beach. Other issues include the effect of breaching on steelhead trout. In prior years the breaching “meandered” to slow down the current for spawning fish. This year’s effort appears to be a straight shot. Water, too much or too little and its cost, is always an issue here.