ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
22.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR JULY 2015
Meeting Date:			August 17, 2015	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 July 2015, flow conditions in the lower river were inadequate for migration of all steelhead life stages. Mean daily streamflow at the MPWMD Highway 1 (HW 1) gage ranged from 0 to 1.5 cubic feet-per-second (cfs) (mean 0.06 cfs) with 3.7 total acre-feet (AF) of runoff, while flow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir ranged from 5 to 10 cfs (mean 7 cfs). 

By mid-July, the lower Carmel River had mostly dried up to Schulte Road Bridge, river mile (RM) 6.7, before rewetting later in the month to RM 6.3. The additional 0.2 miles of river near the Carmel Valley Trail and Saddle Club (CVTSC) (RM 13.3) also rewetted. All major tributaries below San Clemente Dam (SCD) remained dry at their confluences with the Carmel River.

During July, remnants of a large tropical storm brought up to an inch of rainfall to parts of Carmel Valley but only 0.09 inches of rainfall were recorded at California American Water’s (Cal-Am) SCD gage. The rainfall total for WY 2015 (which started on October 1, 2014) is 16.0 inches, or 76% of the long-term year-to-date average of 21.0 inches.

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  On December 12, 2014, the lagoon filled and opened to the sea for the first time since May 24, 2013. After a final breaching in late March 2015, the beach berm built up and the lagoon started slowly filling. The lagoon’s water-surface elevation (WSE) in July dropped steadily from 5.0 to 3.5 feet above mean sea level as water slowly seeped through the sand berm or evaporated (see graph below).  

Water-quality profiles were conducted in mid-July at five lagoon sites. Conditions were generally “poor” for steelhead rearing with water temperatures between 70 - 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Dissolved oxygen (DO) was variable, ranging from 0.1 - 13 mg/L, and salinity levels ranged from 2 - 12 parts per thousand (ppt).

JUVENILE STEELHEAD RESCUES: Rescues began on May 22, 2015 as flow at the HW 1 Gage dropped below 10 cfs. Through the end of July, 644 steelhead were rescued between HW1 and DeDampierre Park in Carmel Valley Village including: 544 YOY, 44 age 1+ juveniles, 50 resident adults, and six mortality (0.9%). All rescued fish were transported and released into the Carmel River in the Cachagua reach below Los Padres Dam.