ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
18.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR AUGUST 2014
Meeting Date:			September 15, 2014	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 2014, Carmel River streamflow at the MPWMD Highway 1 gage (HW 1) was 0 cubic-feet per second (cfs).   As of August 31, the wetted front remained near Robinson Canyon Road Bridge (River Mile, [RM], 8.46). An additional 1.5 miles of stream was dry or intermittent in the reach between Boronda Road Bridge (RM 12.7) and Rosie’s Bridge (Esquiline Road, RM 14.5).

Mean daily streamflow in August at the District’s Carmel River at Sleepy Hollow Weir gaging station ranged from 0.89 to 3.9 cfs, with a mean monthly flow of 1.93 cfs.  During August, 0.0 inches of rainfall were recorded at California American Water’s (CAW) San Clemente Dam (SCD).  The rainfall total for WY 2014 (which started on October 1, 2013) is 10.42 inches, or 49% of the long-term annual average (to date) of 21.15 inches.

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  In August 2014, the lagoon’s water-surface elevation (WSE) remained relatively steady between 2.4 - 2.9 feet above mean sea level (see graph below).  Surface inflow to the lagoon ceased on May 24, 2013.

Water quality profiles were conducted in late August at five sites. Conditions are generally poor for steelhead rearing. Most of the lagoon is very shallow with warm water temperatures ranging from 66 - 73 degrees F, dissolved oxygen (DO) levels ranged from 0.3 – 15.5 mg/l, and salinity levels remained low at 1 - 4 ppt.

LOWER RIVER STEELHEAD RESCUES:  Staff began steelhead smolt and juvenile rescues on March 3, 2014, the earliest rescue start since 1991. By the end of August, a total of 3,235 fish had been rescued, including: 873 smolts, 2,013 non-smolted juveniles, 325 young-of-year (YOY), and six adults. The YOY fish are progeny from non-sea run spawning adults – possibly the large fish released from the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility last fall. The smolts and adults were acclimated to seawater then released into the ocean at Stewart’s Cove, near the Carmel River mouth. The juveniles and YOY were transported farther upstream and released.

SPAWNING GRAVEL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT AT LOS PADRES: In 2013, Staff received a $170,000 grant from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Fisheries Restoration Grant Program (FRGP) for the purchase and placement of spawning gravels below Los Padres Dam. Natural gravel is now trapped behind the dam causing the substrate downstream to become too coarse for adult steelhead to spawn in. With the addition of up to 1,500 tons of 1.5 – 4 inch gravel, staff hopes to increase available spawning habitat through the Cachagua area by 50% as the rock migrates downstream each winter. Permitting was completed in July 2014 and gravel deliveries began on August 12^th. Staff plans to begin gravel placement in late September and October 2014.

This year’s project continues the 20-year spawning gravel enhancement program started by the District in 1993. With the completion of the this project, the District will have placed approximately 4,900 tons of gravel between Los Padres Dam and Sleepy Hollow, downstream of San Clemente Dam.

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