ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
22.	QUARTERLY CARMEL RIVER RIPARIAN CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT PROGRAM REPORT
Meeting Date:			April 19, 2017	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			Dave Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Thomas Christensen and	Cost Estimate:	N/A
			Larry Hampson
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: This action does not constitute a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines section 15378.

IRRIGATION OF RIPARIAN VEGETATION: Supplemental watering of riparian restoration plantings at nine sites has been on hold since last November because of sufficient rainfall.

Water Use in Acre-Feet (AF)
January - March 2017	0.0 AF
Year-to-date	0.0 AF

MONITORING OF RIPARIAN VEGETATION: During the winter season, the District suspended the riparian vegetation monitoring program. The monitoring of soil moisture, groundwater levels, and canopy defoliation (a measure of vegetation moisture stress) will resume in June 2017. During the months of June through October, staff will take monthly measurements of depth to groundwater and canopy vigor in areas where willow and cottonwood trees may be impacted by lowered water levels caused by groundwater extraction. The areas monitored are in the vicinity of California American Water’s (Cal-Am) Cañada and San Carlos wells, and the District’s Valley Hills (next to Cal-Am’s Cypress Well) and Schulte (next to Cal-Am’s Schulte Well) Restoration Projects. The District’s monitoring provides insight into the status of soil moisture through the riparian corridor by collecting and analyzing monthly readings from the District’s array of monitoring wells and pumping records for large-capacity Carmel Valley wells in the Cal-Am system.

OTHER TASKS PERFORMED SINCE THE JANUARY 2017 QUARTERLY REPORT:

1. Carmel River Clean Up: District staff removed plastic bags, metal, tires, and trash from long reaches of the Carmel River starting at Esquiline Bridge and extending downstream to the Highway One Bridge.

2. Public Outreach and Education: On March 14, 2017, District staff presented information on the District’s Mitigation Program at Carmel High Career Day. Students had an opportunity to ask questions about typical work tasks associated with Fisheries Biologists, River Restoration Design, and Hydrologic Monitoring. Then on March 28, 2017, District staff gave a presentation on the Monterey Peninsula Water Resource System and Carmel River Lagoon Dynamics to seniors of Environmental Science classes from Robert Louis Stevenson School.

3. Carmel River Assessment: In January and February 2017, Carmel River flows reached their highest level since 1998. The February 21^st flow topped out at just under 9,600 cubic feet per second (about a 10% chance flow), which caused flooding in the Paso Hondo area and sent much debris and sediment downstream from the watershed above the former San Clemente Dam site for the first time in almost 100 years. Peak flows and delivery of debris and sediment were likely amplified due to the effects of the 2016 Soberanes fire that burned intensively in some of the subwatersheds that drain directly into the main stem.

District staff inspected river front properties with the owners to help them evaluate bank stability along their property after recent high flows. District staff are also evaluating channel vegetation and debris piles and creating a list of sites for work this summer. Downstream of Rancho San Carlos Road Bridge, significant erosion of mature riparian forest occurred along about 500 feet of the south bank of the channel, which had historically been stable since the early 1980s.

4. State Proposition 1 Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Grant Program: Staff continued to work with the Santa Cruz Foundation and Central Coast funding area entities to develop a proposal for Disadvantaged Community projects.

5. Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility Intake Upgrade: Permit applications for the project were submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers, Regional Water Quality Control Board, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Monterey County Planning.

6. Instream Flow Incremental Method Study: A Draft Final Study was presented to regulatory agencies for review including the State Water Resources Control Board, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

7. Los Padres Dam Long-Term Plan: The District entered into an agreement with AECOM to study dam alternatives. Field work to sample reservoir sediment is expected to begin in Quarter 2, 2017.

8. Salinas and Carmel Rivers Basin Study: Staff met with Reclamation officials in Sacramento to coordinate schedules and tasks for the Basin Study and Drought Contingency Plan. A Plan of Study and Memorandum of Agreement for the Basin Study was finalized.

9. Stormwater Resource Plan: Staff reviewed a draft work plan for the Stormwater Resource Plan and budget. Work on the plan with the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency and City of Monterey and others is expected to commence by mid-2017.

file:///U:\staff\Boardpacket\2017\20170419\InfoItems\22\Item-22.docx