ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
29.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT
Meeting Date:			September 16, 2013	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David J. Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Beverly Chaney	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: N/A

AQUATIC HABITAT AND FLOW CONDITIONS:  During August 2013, Carmel River streamflow at the MPWMD Highway 1 gage (HW 1) was 0 cubic-feet per second (cfs).  Lower river flows during July were not adequate for migration for any life stage of steelhead.

During August 2013, the mean daily streamflow recorded at the District’s Carmel River at Sleepy Hollow Weir gaging station was held relatively steady, ranging from 3.6 to 4.4 cfs, with a monthly mean of 3.8 cfs.  Unimpaired runoff at San Clemente Dam (SCD) for the month was 0 AF.  Unimpaired runoff at SCD for Water Year (WY) 2013, which starts on October 1^st, has totaled 27,303 AF or about 40% of the long-term average through August.  

During August 2013, 0.0 inches of rainfall were recorded at California American Water’s (CAW) SCD.  The rainfall total for WY 2013 is 14.47 inches, which is 68% of the long-term Year-To-Date average of 21.22 inches and 68% of the long-term annual average of 21.37 inches.  WY 2013 is the seventh hydrologic drought since 1902, with two consecutive “dry” or “critically dry” years.  The January to August 2013 flow conditions categorize well within “CRITICALLY DRY” and are similar to conditions in 1994 and 2007.

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  During August 2013, the lagoon’s water-surface elevation (WSE) remained fairly steady at approximately 2.7 feet above mean sea level (see graph below).  Surface inflow to the lagoon ceased on May 24, 2013.

Water-quality profiles were completed at five lagoon sites on August 30, 2013.  During sampling the lagoon’s WSE was approximately 3.0 feet above mean-sea-level, the mouth was closed and the aerator in the south arm was running.  The water had a greenish-blue tint with visibility to 1.5 meters (m).  The submerged pondweed (Potamogeton sp.) that grows in the south arm each summer had mostly died but the mat remained so thick the meter probe could not penetrate it at Sites O1 and O4. A red-colored “ball-algae” was also blooming in the south arm.

Only Site S2 (CAWD pipe) had significant water depth (2.5 m). Salinity levels remained low, with concentrations of less than 2.5 part-per-thousand (ppt) at all sites, but dissolved oxygen (DO) levels were also low, ranging from 2.2 to 7.0 milligrams per liter (mg/L).  Water temperatures were warm at 20 to 22 degrees Celsius.  Overall, water-quality conditions in the lagoon are poor for steelhead.

LOWER RIVER STEELHEAD RESCUES:  District staff began fish rescues on April 19, 2013 as flow at the HW 1 gage declined to 10 cfs.  Through the end of August, 41,385 steelhead had been captured and released upstream in permanent habitat or taken to the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility (SHSRF) including: 40,483 young-of-the-year (YOY), 640 age 1+ juveniles, 13 adults (released in ocean), and 249 mortalities (0.60%). The river has now dried back nearly to Robinson Canyon Bridge (RM 8.46) as well as an additional mile of stream between Boronda Bridge and DeDampierre Park (RM 14.1).

SLEEPY HOLLOW STEELHEAD REARING FACILITY:  The SHSRF began accepting rescued fish on May 28, 2013.  Through the end of August, a total of 23,678 fish had been stocked in the rearing troughs (RT) or rearing channel (RC). Numbers to date are: 12,656 YOY, 169 age 1+ juveniles, and 10,853 mortalities.  Fish survival at the facility through August was 55%.

Last month’s acute disease outbreak in the rearing troughs slowed in August as the ongoing Columnaris and Ich treatments took effect, but the smallest fish continued to experience some die-off. Most of the larger fish in the rearing channel remained healthy.

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