ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
17.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT
Meeting Date:			October 17, 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 September 2005, Carmel River streamflow conditions were good for juvenile steelhead rearing in the reach upstream of the Narrows, but poor to critical below the Narrows, necessitating steelhead rescues.

During September 2005, the mean daily streamflow recorded at the District’s Carmel River Sleepy Hollow Weir gaging station averaged 11.1 cubic feet per second (cfs) and ranged from 9.2 to 15 cfs.

There was no measurable rainfall in September as recorded by Cal-Am at San Clemente Dam (SCD). The long-term September average is 0.16 inches at this site. For Water Year (WY) 2005, rainfall totaled 29.95 inches through August, or 40% above the long-term accumulated monthly average of 21.34 inches.

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON: The river mouth closed in early July and the lagoon filled with water, creating good fish habitat in the new south arm. Unfortunately, the sand berm breached, and much of the accumulated water drained from the lagoon. As reported in the June 20, 2005 fisheries staff note, the main body of the lagoon has a high level of accumulated sand this year and coupled with the low water surface elevation (WSE), the amount of steelhead rearing habitat is limited. Water quality is currently becoming variable; high tides are causing seawater and marine organic debris to enter the lagoon. The WSE continued to drop during the beginning of September and started to fluctuate during the middle to end of the month. The WSE ranged from approximately 3.0 feet to 4.3 feet.

Carmel River Lagoon WSE for September 2005

JUVENILE STEELHEAD RESCUES: Fish rescues started at the Highway 1 Bridge on July 14, 2005. Rescues were completed on September 14, 2005 near Cal-Am’s Cypress Well (RM 5.41). As of September 31, 2005, a total of 24,517 juvenile steelhead were rescued from areas downstream of the Cypress Well and delivered to the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility, including 20,805 fish rescued by District staff, and approximately 3,712 fish rescued by the Carmel River Steelhead Association.

SLEEPY HOLLOW STEELHEAD REARING FACILITY (Facility): On July 14, 2005, staff began accepting rescued steelhead from the lower Carmel River.

As of September 30, approximately 19,728 fish were being held at the Facility, including 2,686 yearling fish and 17,728 young-of-the-year (YOY) fish, with a known overall survival rate of 82%.

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