ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
17.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR OCTOBER 2016
Meeting Date:			November 14, 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:  October flow conditions in the lower Carmel River were poor for migration but fair to good for rearing for all steelhead life stages.  Rearing conditions in the upper watershed were good. The “wetted front” has advanced significantly downstream to the Meadows Road reach (River Mile ~5.7).

Mean daily streamflow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir ranged from 6.8 to 15 cubic feet-per-second (cfs) (monthly mean 9.1 cfs) resulting in 561 acre-feet (AF) of runoff, while Highway 1 remained dry.

Two storms in October brought 2.00 inches of rainfall as recorded at Cal-Am’s San Clemente gauge. The rainfall total for WY 2017 (which started on October 1, 2016) is 2.00 inches, or 263% of the long-term year-to-date average of 0.76 inches. 

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:   October water surface elevations (WSE) rose from approximately 6.0 to 8.3 feet above mean-sea-level due primarily to wave overtopping (see graph below).

Water-quality profiles were conducted on November 1 at five lagoon sites. Water conditions in the main body, north, and lower south arms were generally “fair” for steelhead rearing in the upper 1-meter of the water column, but “poor” in the deeper areas due to high salinity and low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels. Lagoon water temperatures ranged from 62-66 degrees Fahrenheit, DO from 1-7 mg/L, while salinity levels were between 6-25 parts per thousand (ppt). 

JUVENILE STEELHEAD POPULATION SURVEYS: Staff completed its annual population surveys at nine sites between Scarlett Well and Los Padres Dam. Results will be available in the District’s 2016 Annual Mitigation Report next spring.

SLEEPY HOLLOW STEELHEAD REARING FACILITY:  The first rescued fish were brought to the Facility on June 13, 2016.  On August 24^th, District and NMFS staff  PIT tagged (Passive Integrated Transponder Tags) and transferred 361 fish from holding tanks to the rearing channel. PIT tagged fish are individually numbered and can be tracked as they migrate past fixed electrical arrays placed in the river. An additional 15 fish were tagged on September 19 and placed in the rearing channel September 22.

On October 22, as part of the new Sleepy Hollow Bridge project, Granite Construction removed the diversion dam and pipeline located ~200 meters upstream of the Facility’s intake screen and pumps. This caused a huge jump in turbidly levels in the river. Staff turned off the intake pumps for as long as possible but had to turn them back on later in the afternoon, causing a turbidity level spike in the rearing channel. The river channel cleared up by ~5 pm and the rearing channel was fairly clear by the following morning but four fish at the head of the channel jumped out overnight and died.

At the end of October there were 346 steelhead in the Facility including: 239 small/medium YOY/1+, 90 large 1+ fish, and 17 extra-large 2+ fish.  There have been 61 mortalities (18%) (six in quarantine, 26 post-tagging mortality, 25 missing/presumed cannibalism, and four large fish that jumped out of the channel during the October high turbidity event).

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