ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
26.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR JUNE 2019
Meeting Date:			July 15, 2019	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:  June’s dry, but cool, weather brought a more typical pattern to the area causing a slow, steady decline in Carmel River flows and provided good conditions for migrating steelhead and excellent conditions for newly hatched steelhead fry and young-of-the-year (YOY) throughout much of the watershed.

June’s mean daily streamflow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir dropped from 74 to 38 cfs (monthly mean 52 cfs) resulting in 3,080 acre-feet (AF) of runoff. Mean daily streamflow at the Highway 1 gage dropped from 77 to 31 cfs (monthly mean 46 cfs) resulting in 2,270 acre-feet (AF) of runoff. Los Padres Dam was still spilling at 24 cfs as of June 30.

There were 0.00 inches of rainfall in June as recorded at the San Clemente gauge. The rainfall total for WY 2019 (which started on October 1, 2018) is 30.93 inches, or 147% of the long-term year-to-date average of 21.10 inches. 

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  The lagoon mouth opened for the season on January 6, 2019. In June, the lagoon remained open with the water surface elevation (WSE) ranging from approximately 3.6 to 8.5 feet due to changes in tidal and wave action (North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NAVD 88) (see graph below).

Water quality depth-profiles were conducted at five sites on June 21, 2019 while the lagoon mouth was open, the water surface elevation was ~1.5 feet, and river inflow was 38 cfs. Steelhead rearing and migration conditions were generally “good to fair” in the mainstem and south arm, but the north arm has been largely drained. Throughout the lagoon, salinity was variable (6 - 25 ppt), dissolved oxygen (DO) levels ranged from 8 - 11 mg/l, and water temperatures remained fairly steady, at 60 - 65 degrees F. 

TRIBUTARIES STEELHEAD RESCUES: Staff began fish rescues in the lower tributaries in early May. As of June 30, 2019 a total of 3,526 fish have been rescued, including: 3,502 young-of-the-year (YOY), two age 1+ fish, and 22 mortalities (0.6%). The majority of the fish (3,114) have been rescued from Hitchcock Creek.

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