The sediment behind the Elwah dams is one of the factors that makes the $325 million Elwha restoration the largest dam removal project ever anywhere, with some 24 million cubic yards of sediment to manage. Much of the material will remain behind in the watershed, distributed along the river’s middle and lower run. But a lot of it is also rinsing out to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where it is expected the material will help rebuild the near shore and beaches eroded to ankle-turning cobble. Here it comes: sediment starts to really hit the Elwha