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SPRING 1998

 

The Making of a Hydrologist

 
Photo courtesy Jeff Haltiner   Photo by Carol Arnold  
JEFF HALTINER, of Philip Williams and Associates, project manager for the Coastal Conservancy's Carmel River project, first heard the call to a career as hydrologist at this very place forty years ago, when he was eight years old. While visiting the lagoon with several buddies on a sunny winter day, he noticed that its water level was nearly at the level of the beach dune top and five or six feet above the ocean. Digging with sticks and other primitive tools, he and his allies made a small channel and established a hydrological connection, a few inches wide.

A trickle of water began, then quickly became a raging torrent, twenty feet wide, flowing fast and deep. It created a "moat" that stranded dozens of beach visitors on the opposite side, unable to return to their cars, forcing them to walk east through the artichoke fields to Highway 1, where the City of Carmel eventually provided a bus ride back to the beach.
      Never caught and brought to justice, Haltiner became a hydrologist. He has spent his later career attempting to manage water and channels with more control and environmental benefits. He sincerely regrets breaching the lagoon without the proper permits and inconveniencing so many. On the other hand, he has never forgotten the feeling of awe, amazement, and joy as this dramatic spectacle unfolded. 

 
   

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