 Despite its partial status as a National Wild and Scenic River , the Merced River has been the subject of dam @-@ building and irrigation diversions . The dams on the Merced River are New Exchequer Dam , McSwain Dam and the Crocker @-@ Huffman Diversion Dam . New Exchequer Dam is the largest dam on the river and forms Lake McClure , which holds 1 @,@ 032 @,@ 000 acre feet ( 1 @.@ 273 × 109 m3 ) . This modern structure was preceded by the old Exchequer Dam forming Exchequer Reservoir , with a capacity of 281 @,@ 000 acre feet ( 347 @,@ 000 @,@ 000 m3 ) . The old concrete arch dam , completed in 1926 , has since been inundated by a new rockfill structure . 
