ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
20.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT
Meeting Date:			February 24, 2005	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David A. Berger,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Beverly Chaney / Dave Dettman	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Approval: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: N/A

AQUATIC HABITAT AND FLOW CONDITIONS: During January 2005, Carmel River streamflow conditions were excellent for juvenile steelhead rearing, and adult steelhead upstream migration with streamflow to the ocean.

During January 2005, the mean daily streamflow recorded at the District’s Carmel River Sleepy Hollow Weir gaging station averaged 482 cubic feet per second (cfs) and ranged from 152 to 1,590 cfs.

Rainfall was above average for the second month in a row with 5.43 inches of rainfall recorded by Cal-Am at San Clemente Dam (SCD), about 124% of the long-term January average of 4.37 inches at this site. For Water Year (WY) 2004-2005, rainfall totaled 17.33 inches through January or 55% above the accumulated monthly average of 11.17 inches. October’s rainfall total was the highest in over 82 years and December’s was the highest since 1997.

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON: The Carmel River Lagoon mouth was open throughout January with the water surface elevation (WSE) ranging between 3.75 feet and 8.5 feet above sea level depending on wave and tidal influence, as shown below. High WSEs shown January 21 through January 23 are computer glitches, not actual data.

Carmel River Lagoon Water Surface Elevation (feet NGVD) – January 2005

ADULT STEELHEAD COUNTS AT SAN CLEMENTE DAM: The District’s automatic adult fish counter at the San Clemente Dam Ladder has been in operation since December 28, 2004, when San Clemente Dam began spilling. As of January 31, 2005, 91 counts had been recorded, which is well above the average run-to-date of 59 fish for the 1993-2004 period. A digital surveillance camera was installed in January that is being used to check the operation of the counter, and assess the condition, size, and sex of the fish.

Adult Steelhead Count-- 2004-2005 season
San Clemente Reservoir Fish Ladder, Monterey County, CA

TOTAL THRU
01/31/2005
91

MONTH	NUMBER OF ADULTS
Dec 2004	0
Jan 2005	91
Feb 2005
Mar 2005
April 2005

*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.

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