ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
23.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT
Meeting Date:			April 18, 2016	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: Wet weather returned in March after a very dry February. Flow conditions in the lower Carmel River improved becoming excellent for migration and rearing of all steelhead life stages. In addition, all the tributaries were rewetted and reconnected to the river.

Mean daily streamflow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir ranged from 46 to 1,070 cubic feet-per-second (cfs) (monthly mean 352 cfs) resulting in 21,670 acre-feet (AF) of runoff, while flows at the Highway 1 gage ranged from 51 to 1,090 cubic feet-per-second (cfs) (monthly mean 399 cfs), resulting in 24,520 acre-feet (AF) of runoff. This increase in runoff ends the four-year hydrological drought by about 10,000 AF and makes it likely that we will have a “Normal” water year.

Seven days of wet weather in early March brought a welcomed 5.47 inches of rainfall as recorded at Cal-Am’s San Clemente gauge (167% of the long-term March average). The rainfall total to date for WY 2016 (which started on October 1, 2015) is 21.47 inches, or 115% of the long-term year-to-date average of 18.68 inches.

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON: The lagoon connected to the ocean on January 11, 2016. During March, the water surface elevation (WSE) ranged from approximately 4.2 to 10.8 feet above mean-sea-level as it oscillated with the tides and brief closures (see graph below).

Water-quality profiles were conducted in mid-March at five lagoon sites. Overall, water conditions were “good to excellent” for steelhead rearing and migration with water temperatures between 56 and 62 degrees Fahrenheit, dissolved oxygen (DO) ranging from 1 - 12 mg/L, and low salinity levels from 1 to 5 parts per thousand (ppt).

ADULT STEELHEAD COUNTS: The DIDSON camera was installed in the lower valley on January 12, 2016. The data are currently being reviewed and preliminary results will be reported once available. No adult fish have been observed at the Los Padres Dam fish ladder through March.

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