ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
25.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 2018
Meeting Date:			October 15, 2018	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: This action does not constitute a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378.

AQUATIC HABITAT AND FLOW CONDITIONS:  Releases from Los Padres Reservoir were held steady in September at 7.0 cubic-feet-per-second (cfs), while the reservoir’s water surface elevation dropped to ~1,023 feet by the end of the month. Most sections of lower Carmel River between Meadows Road and the Highway 1 Bridge remain dry, while additional sections below Schulte Bridge are transitional. A short section in the DeDampierre reach is also transitional. Fish rescues that were started in late June were not needed this month (see details below) although rearing conditions for juvenile steelhead remained generally “poor” below the narrows.  All lower valley tributaries are dry at the confluence.

Mean daily streamflow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir ranged from 6.1 to 5.5 cfs (monthly mean 5.76 cfs) resulting in 331 acre-feet (AF) of runoff, while it was dry at the Highway 1 gage.

There were 0.00 inches of rainfall in September as recorded at Cal-Am’s San Clemente gauge. The rainfall total for WY 2018 (which started on October 1, 2017) is 13.52 inches, or 63.6% of the long-term year-to-date average of 21.25 inches. 

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  The lagoon mouth is closed and the water surface level stayed relatively steady between ~5.6-5.9 feet North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) (see graph below).

Water quality depth-profiles were conducted at five sites on September 14 while the lagoon was closed with no river inflow. Steelhead rearing conditions at all sites were generally “fair” with low salinity (1-2 ppt), temperature ranging from 62-70 degrees F, and dissolved oxygen (DO) levels of 3-14 mg/l.

LIFE CYCLE MONITORING: 

Mainstem Carmel River Steelhead Rescues – No rescues were needed in September.

As of September 30th 2,721 fish have been rescued including: 1,360 YOY, 1,346 1+, 14 mortalities (0.5%), 2,210 fish were tagged, and there were 16 recaptures of previously tagged fish.

Tagging – Rescued fish larger than 65 mm are now being tagged with Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags. District staff is currently operating four PIT tag arrays (tag number readers) on the Carmel River in a partnership between the District and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Data is being collected for future analysis and reporting.

Juvenile Steelhead Fall Population Surveys – The District and NMFS are partnering up for a third year of an expanded steelhead population survey program that covers more sites over a larger portion of the watershed while PIT tagging additional fish. Results will be described in the future reports.

SLEEPY HOLLOW STEELHEAD REARING FACILITY: General contractor Mercer-Fraser Company of Eureka, CA, was hired for the Intake Upgrade Project and started construction in September on the $2 million project. The main features of the project include installing a new intake structure that can withstand flood and drought conditions as well as the increased bedload from the San Clemente Dam removal project two years ago, and a new Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) that can be operated in times of poor river water quality to keep the fish healthy.

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