ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
23.	QUARTERLY CARMEL RIVER EROSION PROTECTION AND RESTORATION PROJECTS REPORT
Meeting Date:			October 19, 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 Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: N/A

Carmel River Advisory Committee: The Carmel River Advisory Committee was scheduled to meet on October 15, 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: The California Department of Water Resources (DWR), which is the state agency administering the IRWM grant program, accepted the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel Bay, and South Monterey Bay planning region into the IRWM grant program funded from the sale of bonds authorized under Propositions 84 and 1E. However, in the draft recommendations for the Regional Acceptance Process (RAP), DWR did not formally recognize that the region adopted a plan according to the requirements in the enabling legislation that will fund the next round of grants from the state. In a September 21, 2009 letter, MPWMD requested that DWR reconsider the determination that the IRWM plan adopted by MPWMD in November 2007 did not meet Proposition 50 requirements. Final decisions concerning RAP and plan adoption are anticipated in Fall 2009.

Carmel River Lagoon and State Beach Management: District staff will participate in a site inspection along the north side of the lagoon on October 21, 2009. A group of property owners affected by floods from the ocean in 2005 and 2008 have put together a proposal to install vinyl sheet piling along approximately 2,300 feet of the northern limit of the lagoon. The Carmel River Lagoon Technical Advisory Committee, made up of a number of public agencies including the District, recommended that such a concept be one of the potential projects to be evaluated as part of the development of a comprehensive long term management plan for the lagoon and barrier beach across the mouth of the river.

Engineered Logjam Workshop: Larry Hampson, MPWMD Senior Water Resources Engineer, attended a week-long workshop on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. The focus of the workshop was to learn about the design and construction of engineered log jams to benefit fisheries and to help in the recovery of native ecosystems. These structures haves been used in rivers in the state of Washington for approximately 10 years and provide an alternative to traditional river engineering methods.

Woods/Marotta Streambank Repairs along the Carmel River: The first phase of restoration work at the Woods and Marotta properties, located immediately downstream of Via Mallorca Road Bridge on the north side of the river, was completed in September 2009. Work included the removal of 23 dump truck loads (about 200 cubic yards) of unauthorized fill. Material hauled away consisted of concrete, sackcrete, and other deleterious materials that were found in the streambank. During the last half of August and first half of September, District staff performed several inspections of construction work and installed riparian cuttings in the restored streambank. District Riparian Projects Coordinator Thomas Christensen also provided technical assistance to the property owners during installation of an irrigation system and advised the owners about an appropriate schedule for operating the system. Remaining tasks in the first phase of repair work include construction clean-up of the river access through Rancho Cañada and completion of an as-built drawing to document the repair work. The second phase of the project will involve District staff in monitoring the repair site for several years to determine whether revegetation work is successful. The property owners will be responsible for weed removal and operation of an irrigation system along the streambank for a minimum of three years to maintain in good condition the riparian vegetation installed as part of the project.

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