ITEM:	INFORMATION ITEMS / STAFF REPORTS
20.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT
Meeting Date:		April 19, 2004	Budgeted: N/A
Staff Contact:		Dave Dettman/ Beverly Chaney	Program/Line Item No.: N/A
			Cost Estimate: N/A
General Counsel Approval: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: N/A

AQUATIC HABITAT AND FLOW CONDITIONS: During March 2004, Carmel River streamflow conditions were fair to good for smolt out-migration, adult in-migration, and fish rearing. In March, mean daily streamflow recorded at the District’s Carmel River Sleepy Hollow Weir gaging station averaged 130 cubic feet per second (cfs) and ranged from 6 to 354 cfs.

In March 2004, 0.52 inches of rainfall were recorded by Cal-Am at San Clemente Dam (SCD). The long-term March average at this site is 2.34 inches. For Water Year 2004 through the end of March, the total rainfall is 17.86 inches, or 94 % of average.

The Carmel River Lagoon was open for most of March. The water surface elevation (WSE) ranged from 2.9 feet to 8.9 feet. The Monterey County Public Works Department breached the sandbar on March 25 to protect neighboring homes from flooding.

Carmel Lagoon Water Level March 2004

ADULT STEELHEAD COUNTS AT SAN CLEMENTE DAM: The District’s automatic adult fish counter at the San Clemente Dam Ladder was installed in early January 2004. As of March 31, 2004, 374 counts had been recorded. A digital surveillance camera is being installed that will be used to calibrate the counter, assess the condition of the fish and possibly the sex of each individual. This camera is currently being tested.

TOTAL THRU
03/31/2004
374

MONTH	NUMBER OF ADULTS
JAN 2004	14
FEB 2004	197
MAR 2004	163
APR 2004
MAY 2004

*Visual counts are steelhead observed above the counter during maintenance activities.
**Discharge measured at the MPWMD gaging station at Sleepy Hollow Weir or San Clemente Spillway.

CARMEL RIVER STEELHEAD PASSAGE CONDITIONS: On March 22, 2004, while Carmel River at the Highway 1 Bridge was flowing at 78 cfs, District staff inspected the lower reach of the Carmel River and assessed upstream passage conditions for steelhead. This assessment was recommended by NOAA Fisheries in their June 2002 report, Instream Flow Needs for Steelhead in the Carmel River, to monitor channel conditions that are expected to change over time. Two locations upstream of the Rancho San Carlos Bridge (River Mile 3.9) were found to have newly formed critical riffles that may impede fish passage at lower flows. The riffles will continue to be monitored throughout the spring.

SLEEPY HOLLOW FISH REARING FACILITY: The Facility is currently closed for the winter. Staff expects to begin the Facility start-up procedures in May 2004. Between March and June 2004, staff plans to construct the bird-netting framework over two of the large holding tanks (Tank 1 and 3) and retrofit the third (Tank 2) to perform like a flow-through channel. In March, staff cleaned the rearing channel and tanks of silt and leaves, had all the tank and channel drain-lines videoed and cleared of debris, contacted a local tree service about removing dead oak tree limbs, and other maintenance activities to prepare for the start of the 2004 rearing season.

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