ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEM/STAFF REPORT
21.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 2019
Meeting Date:			December 16, 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:  Carmel River flows dropped slightly in November as the unseasonably dry, warm weather continued for most of the month. Steelhead rearing conditions remained good to fair for all life-stages throughout much of the watershed.

Continued dry conditions prompted another 1.5 cfs discharge reduction from Los Padres Reservoir in early November. Reservoir storage dropped to ~600 acre-feet by the end of the month as the water elevation fell to 1,011 feet (~30 feet below the spillway). (Note: a large storm the last few days of November started to fill the reservoir, but there’s no Cal-Am data for the last three days of the month).

November’s mean daily streamflow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir ranged from 11 to 18 cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) (monthly mean 12.5 cfs) resulting in 744 acre-feet (AF) of runoff. Mean daily streamflow at the Highway 1 gage ranged from 3 to 9 cfs (monthly mean 4 cfs) resulting in 240 acre-feet (AF) of runoff.

There were 1.97 inches of rainfall in November (primarily from Nov. 26-30) as recorded at the San Clemente gauge. The rainfall total for WY 2020 (which started on October 1, 2019) is 1.97 inches, or 69% of the long-term year-to-date average of 2.87 inches. 

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  In November, the water surface elevation (WSE) increased to ~11.8 feet due to river inflow (North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NAVD 88) (See graph below).

Water quality depth-profiles were conducted at five sites on November 25, 2019 while the lagoon mouth was closed, the water surface elevation was ~10.5 feet, and river inflow was 3.9 cfs. Steelhead rearing conditions were generally “good” throughout the lagoon: salinity increased with depth from the wave over wash at 2 - 20 ppt, dissolved oxygen (DO) levels ranged from 4 – 10 mg/l, and water temperatures were between 52 - 58 degrees F. 

JUVENILE STEELHEAD POPULATION SURVEYS:  Every fall, District fisheries staff survey the Carmel River juvenile steelhead population at 11 long-term (1990-2019) monitoring sites between Los Padres Dam and mid-Carmel Valley (Red Rock). In very wet years (2019) extra sites are added lower in the river to gather additional data. Fish population density is frequently reported as number of fish-per-lineal-feet of river (fish/ft). A fully stocked, healthy stream typically has about 1.0 fish/ft.

The 2019 preliminary survey results are in and its very good news. This year’s overall average Carmel River fish/ft is 0.92 fish/ft (4,882 fish/mile) - nearly two and a half times more juvenile steelhead than last year; the greatest number since 2008; and the third highest number since 2003. Several interesting facts stand out – the two lowest valley sites, Valley Greens and Red Rock, both had healthy steelhead populations. Valley Greens is normally dry in the fall but had 0.46 fish/ft this year (there was only 0.01 fish/foot in 2017) and Red Rock had 1.26 fish/ft this year, its highest density since 2003. The steelhead population at the Sleepy Hollow site (just downstream of the former San Clemente Dam) also rebounded significantly this year with 1.12 fish/ft, up 400% from the 0.28 fish/ft in 2018.

Carmel River Lagoon Plot:

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