ITEM:

INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS

 

23.

QUARTERLY CARMEL RIVER RIPARIAN CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT PROGRAM REPORT

 

Meeting Date:

April 16, 2012

Budgeted:

N/A

 

From:

Dave Stoldt,

Program/

N/A

 

General Manager

Line Item No.:

 

Prepared By:

Thomas Christensen and

Cost Estimate:

N/A

                             Larry Hampson

 

General Counsel Review:  N/A

Committee Recommendation:  N/A

CEQA Compliance:  N/A

 

IRRIGATION OF RIPARIAN VEGETATION: The supplemental watering of riparian restoration plantings occurred during this quarterly period (January through March 2012) at three Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (District) riparian habitat restoration sites because of low rainfall.

 

            Water Use in Acre-Feet (AF)

January - March 2012             0.36 AF

            Year-to-date                            0.36 AF

 

MONITORING OF RIPARIAN VEGETATION: During the winter season, the District suspended the riparian vegetation monitoring program.  The monitoring of soil moisture, groundwater levels, and canopy defoliation (a measure of vegetation moisture stress) will resume in May 2012.  During the months of May through October, staff will take bi-monthly measurements of depth to groundwater and canopy vigor in areas where willow and cottonwood trees may be impacted by lowered water levels caused by groundwater extraction.  The areas monitored are in the vicinity of California American Water’s (CAW) Cañada and San Carlos wells and the District’s Valley Hills (next to CAW’s Cypress Well) and Schulte (next to CAW’s Schulte Well) Restoration Projects.  The District’s monitoring provides insight into the status of soil moisture through the riparian corridor by collecting and analyzing weekly readings from the District’s array of monitoring wells and pumping records for large-capacity Carmel Valley wells in the CAW system.

 

OTHER TASKS PERFORMED SINCE THE JANUARY 2012 QUARTERLY REPORT:

 

1.                  Carmel River Clean Up: District staff removed plastic bags, metal, tires, and trash from long reaches of the Carmel River starting at Esquiline Bridge and extending downstream to the Highway One Bridge.

2.                  French Broom (Genista) Eradication in District Restoration Projects:  District staff (Mark Bekker and Matt Lyons) have been removing an invasive weed (French broom, or genista) from the riparian corridor along the Carmel River from the Village area to Rancho San Carlos Road Bridge.  French broom competes with native plants and can become problematic if left unchecked.

 

3.                  Public Outreach and Education: On March 27, 2012, District staff presented information on the Monterey Peninsula Water Resource System, Mitigation Program, and Carmel River Lagoon Dynamics to seniors of Environmental Science classes from Robert Louis Stevenson School. Highlights included teaching over 20 students about the importance of habitat restoration and water quality.

 

4.                  State Proposition 84 Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Grant Program:  MPWMD has executed agreements for the following projects with these sub-grantees and consultants:

 

a.                   Update IRWM Plan – Denise Duffy & Associates for a Not-to-Exceed (NTE) amount of $127,500.

b.                  Project 2: Development of a salt and nutrient management plan for the Seaside Groundwater Basin – Hydrometrics, Inc. for NTE amount of $75,000.

c.                   Project 3: Assessment of Steelhead Passage Barriers in the Carmel River Watershed – Scott Hennessey for NTE amount of $6,000.

d.                  Project 4 a) Geographic Information Systems Internet Mapping Site Development and

                     and b) Data Management System – Opalsoft for NTE amount of $7,700.

e.                   Project 5: Inter-regional Coordination – Susan Pufahl for NTE amount of $10,000.

f.                   Project 8: Development of a Surface and Groundwater Model for the Carmel Valley Alluvial Aquifer – USGS for NTE of $872.50.

g.                  Project 9: Carmel River Lagoon Ecosystem Protective Barrier Planning and Feasibility – County of Monterey for NTE amount of $54,200.

 

These contracts represent approximately 28% of grant funds.

 

The Consent Calendar for this month also requests approval to expend up to $16,000 for work to support Project 8.  Requests for approval to enter into additional agreements for Project 1 – Update to the Canyon Del Rey Drainage Plan, Project 6 – An assessment for San Jose Creek watershed, and Project 7 – Area of Special Biological Significance alternatives analysis are expected to be presented to the Board of Directors in the coming months.  For detailed project descriptions, please see the following website:

 

http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/Mbay_IRWM/2010PG/2010PG.htm

 

These planning projects are being partially funded with a $995,000 grant from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR).

 

5.                  Sleepy Hollow Ford Removal and Bridge Replacement Project: Consultants for the project completed the type selection, hydraulic analysis, intermediate plans, draft technical specifications, and a cost estimate for the construction of the bridge.  MPWMD submitted a grant proposal to the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) in late March 2012 for just over $1.5 million to construct the bridge.  Funds for the project would come from a fund set up by a Settlement Agreement between Cal-Am, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and CDFG for steelhead enhancement projects along the Carmel River.  Removal of the ford would remove a fish passage barrier at low flows and replace it with a bridge across the river, which would also allow year-round access to raise steelhead at the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility.

 

EXHIBITS

None

                       

 

 

 

 

 

             

U:\staff\Boardpacket\2012\20120416\InfoItems\23\item23.docx