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ITEM: |
INFORMATIONAL
ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS |
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31. |
CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR |
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Meeting Date: |
April 20, 2015 |
Budgeted: |
N/A |
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From: |
David J. Stoldt, |
Program/ |
N/A |
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General Manager |
Line Item No.: |
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Prepared By: |
Beverly Chaney |
Cost Estimate: |
N/A |
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General
Counsel Review: N/A |
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Committee Recommendation: N/A |
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CEQA Compliance: N/A |
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AQUATIC HABITAT AND FLOW CONDITIONS: During
March 2015, the lack of rain caused a continued decline in streamflow. Flow conditions during March were adequate
for juvenile and smolt steelhead migration but adult
steelhead migration was impaired for much of the month. Mean daily streamflow at the MPWMD Highway 1 gage (HW 1) ranged from 11
to 58 cfs (mean 28 cfs)
with 1,720 total acre-feet (AF) of runoff, while the Sleepy Hollow Weir ranged
from 21 to 57 cfs (mean 33 cfs).
During March, 0.42
inches of rainfall were recorded at Cal-Am’s San
Clemente Dam (SCD) gage. The rainfall
total for WY 2015 (which started on October 1, 2014) is 14.27 inches, or 76% of
the long-term year-to-date average of 18.73 inches.
CARMEL RIVER
LAGOON: On December 12, 2014,
the lagoon filled and opened to the sea for the first time since May 24,
2013. In March 2015, a pattern of
tidally influenced daily open/close events persisted for the first half of the
month, followed by two weeks of slowly filling before reaching approximately
9.2 feet, then breaching on March 29th. The lagoon’s water-surface elevation (WSE)
ranged from approximately 1.2 – 9.2 feet above mean sea level (see graph
below).
Water-quality profiles
were conducted in mid-March at five lagoon sites. Conditions were generally “fair to good” for
steelhead rearing with water temperatures generally in the mid-50’s degrees F.
and dissolved oxygen (DO) ranging from 9 – 13 mg/L. Salinity levels were generally higher than
last month due to wave overtopping and ranged from 2 - 28 ppt.
ADULT
STEELHEAD AT SAN CLEMENTE DAM: The fish counter and video camera were installed and tested
at the ladder in early December 2014.
Due to concerns regarding excessive water leakage from the top several
bays, the ladder was shut down on March 16th. District and Cal-Am
staff captured seven juvenile steelhead from the top six bays
of the ladder and moved them to lower bays. The bypass pipe was then activated to keep
the lower two-thirds of the ladder flowing.
After consulting with the Division of Safety of Dams (DSOD), the
District, and NMFS, Cal-Am decided to cease normal ladder operations and
continue the use of the bypass pipe for the remainder of the month.
After reviewing the video files from
the counter, staff discovered that some of the previously reported adult counts
were not adult steelhead after all. Many
of the night counts were actually caused by a woodrat and a raccoon using the
counter box as a bridge and triggering the counter as they crossed over. Several other counts were made by small
juvenile steelhead moving up the ladder.
Based on this new evidence the 2014-15 adult steelhead count has been
corrected. Through the end of March,
there have been a total of only seven adult steelhead recorded at the counter
as follows: including two in December, zero in January, three in February, and
two in March.
ADULT STEELHEAD AT LOS PADRES DAM: The fish ladder and
trap are operational.
Through the
end of March 2015, there have been zero sea-run adult fish recorded in the
trap.
U:\staff\Boardpacket\2015\20150420\InfoItems\31\Item
31.docx