ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
28.	QUARTERLY CARMEL RIVER EROSION PROTECTION AND RESTORATION PROJECTS REPORT
Meeting Date:			July 20, 2009	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			Darby Fuerst	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Larry Hampson	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Approval: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: N/A

Carmel River Advisory Committee: The Carmel River Advisory Committee was scheduled to meet on July 16, 2009. Final minutes of this meeting will be provided to the MPWMD Board of Directors under Committee Reports in a future Board packet (see Informational Items in monthly Board packets).

State Propositions 84 and 1E Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Grant Program: On June 26, 2009, General Manager Darby Fuerst and Senior Water Resources Engineer Larry Hampson traveled to Fresno for an interview with staff from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), which is the agency administering the IRWM grant program. The purpose of the interview was to describe the formation of Monterey Peninsula, Carmel Bay, and South Monterey Bay Integrated Regional Water Management planning region and answer questions about the region from DWR staff. William “Bill” Phillips, Deputy General Manager at the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, and Brad Hageman, Assistant General Manager for the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency also attended the interview and represented the planning region. This was the second formal step in the Regional Acceptance Process (RAP) set up by DWR to qualify regions to be in the IRWM grant program funded from the sale of bonds authorized under Propositions 84 and 1E. In September 2009, DWR expects to announce the results of the RAP and resume the process of soliciting grant applications for IRWM grant funds.

The most pointed question from DWR staff concerned why the Monterey Peninsula planning region should not be included in a new IRWM planning region proposed for Greater Monterey County (all of Monterey County except the Monterey Peninsula planning region). Several reasons for maintaining separate planning regions were described including such factors as: 1.) there is no comingling of surface and groundwater supplies between the regions; 2.) flood control is separate between the regions (i.e., one region does not contribute flood water to another); 3.) management responsibility for water resources is separated by existing agreements; 4.) water quantity and quality issues are managed quite differently between the regions; 5.) combining planning regions at this time could result in a paralysis of existing efforts; 6.) the planning process within the Monterey Peninsula region is currently functioning well.

Carmel River Lagoon and State Beach Management: On May 20, 2009, California State Parks carried out work at the Carmel River State Beach to close the river mouth as Carmel River inflow dropped and the rainy season ended. MPWMD staff monitored conditions at the lagoon and at Carmel River State Beach and recommended that State Parks take additional measures to ensure that the lagoon did not overtop the beach and cause a rapid evacuation of the lagoon. On May 28, 2009, under the guidance of State Parks staff, Hank Smith, a member of the Carmel River Steelhead Association, used a bulldozer donated by Monterey Peninsula Engineering to place additional sand across the mouth to prevent a breach of the sandbar. The lagoon rose to a maximum level of 8.70 feet (NGVD ’29) on June 9, 2009 before beginning to drop slowly.

Los Padres Reservoir Area-Capacity Study: California Sate University at Monterey Bay completed an analysis of the stage-volume and stage-area relationships for the reservoir and determined that current storage capacity is approximately 1,770 acre-feet (AF). This value is significantly higher than the 1998 storage estimate of 1,569 AF. The difference was attributed to different methodologies used in obtaining data and indicates a somewhat lower long-term sedimentation rate than previously estimated (about 21 AF/year vs. a previous estimate of 30 AF/year).

Lower San Carlos Restoration Project: In June 2009, Graham Matthews and Associates provided a draft set of plans that are being reviewed by District staff. The proposed project is located between Rancho San Carlos Road Bridge and Via Mallorca Bridge in an area that required emergency streambank protection work during 2005 and 2006.

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