ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEM/STAFF REPORT
20.	CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR MARCH 2023
Meeting Date:			April 17, 2023	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David J. Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Cory Hamilton	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:   March was a return to wet weather with above normal precipitation. River flows reached bankfull conditions once again and remained high the entire month. Cold weather also brought more snow to much of the upper watershed. All major tributaries were flowing at high levels. Adult migration conditions were excellent and rearing conditions were good to excellent throughout the watershed.

March’s mean daily streamflow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir gaging station ranged from 375 to 3,490 cfs (monthly mean 1,114 cfs) resulting in 68,470 acre-feet (AF) of runoff, while flows at the Highway 1 gage ranged from 326 to 2,850 cfs (monthly mean 1,035 cfs), resulting in 63,660 acre-feet (AF).

There were 7.21 inches of rain in March as recorded at the San Clemente gauge. The rainfall total for WY 2023 (which started October 1, 2022) is 34.46 inches, or 183% of the long-term year-to-date average of 18.83 inches.

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  The lagoon water surface elevation (WSE) ranged from approximately 3.8 to 9.5 feet in March, largely due to tidal and wave action (North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NAVD 88) (See graph below). The Lagoon was open to the ocean the entire month.

Carmel River Lagoon Plot:

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