ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEM/STAFF REPORT
42.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR MAY 2020
Meeting Date:			June 15, 2020	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:  Dry weather returned in May, but river flows remained excellent after a wet March and early April.

Steelhead passage conditions remain “good to excellent” for outmigration of both adults and smolts. Rearing conditions for juveniles are “excellent”.

May’s mean daily streamflow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir steadily dropped from 79 to 40 cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) (monthly mean 59 cfs) resulting in 3,620 acre-feet (AF) of runoff. Mean daily streamflow at the Highway 1 gage fell from 87 to 51 cfs (monthly mean 66.5 cfs) resulting in 4,090 acre-feet (AF) of runoff.

There were 0.18 inches of rainfall in May as recorded at the San Clemente gauge. The rainfall total for WY 2020 (which started on October 1, 2019) is 17.57 inches, or 84% of the long-term year-to-date average of 20.91 inches. 

LOS PADRES DAM ADULT STEELHEAD COUNT:  The Los Padres Dam fish ladder and trap started operating on December 12, 2019. The ladder was turned on and off intermittently between February and May due to continued movement of the large landslide in the reservoir that is affecting the outlet pipe. The ladder was turned off for the year on May 22. For the year, 66 adult steelhead, and two resident adults, were trapped and transported above the dam (12 in January, 2 in February, 7 in March, 44 in April, and 1 in May). Seven of those were tagged by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) crews, and two of the captured fish had been tagged last year (recaptures).

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  The lagoon mouth opened on December 3, 2019. In May, the lagoon water surface elevation (WSE) ranged from ~3.9 – 10.6 feet (North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NAVD 88) (See graph below).

Water quality depth-profiles were conducted at five sites on May 7, 2020 while the lagoon mouth was open with sea-water wash, water surface elevation was ~4.0 feet, and river inflow was 74 cfs. Steelhead rearing and migration conditions were generally “fair to good”. Throughout the lagoon conditions were better in the main stem than in the north and south arms. Salinity ranged from 1 - 19 ppt, dissolved oxygen (DO) levels ranged from 4.5 - 9 mg/l, and water temperatures ranged from 58 - 66 degrees F. 

Carmel River Lagoon Plot:

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