ITEM:		ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
2.	Consider Expenditure of Budgeted Funds To Conduct Survey of Carmel River Channel Profile and Cross-Sections
Meeting Date:			August 9, 2007	Budgeted:	Yes
From:			David A. Berger	Program/	Erosion Protection
			General Manager	Line Item No.: 2-2-3
Prepared By:			Larry Hampson	Cost Estimate:	$30,000
General Counsel Approval: N/A
Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on August 9, 2007 and recommended ___________.
CEQA Compliance: N/A

SUMMARY: Staff proposes to contract with Graham Matthews & Associates to conduct a survey of the long profile and selected cross-sections in the channel of the Carmel River. Approximately 15.5 miles of the river between the lagoon and the upstream end of Camp Steffani would be surveyed. The work is consistent with monitoring goals established in the Carmel River Management Plan, which was adopted in 1984 to restore the river between the Pacific Ocean and Camp Steffani.

Graham Matthews & Associates will set additional survey control at three locations, gather detailed ground elevation data along the profile of the channel and at selected cross-sections, conduct pebble counts, and compile data for comparison with similar information data gathered in the past (see Exhibit 2-A, Scope of Work). This data will be used to maintain a long-term record and to compare with past and future monitoring data. Comparisons of repeated surveys carried out over long periods can yield information about the long-term rate of aggradation (sediment build-up in the channel) or degradation (loss of sediment from the channel), effects of restoration projects along the river, and can inform decisions about infrastructure maintenance and repairs and proposed restoration projects. Graham Matthews and Associates has a unique set of skills and experience in gathering this type of data along the Carmel River.

RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the General Manager to enter into an agreement with Graham Matthews & Associates for a not-to-exceed amount of $30,000 to conduct a survey of the Carmel River channel and cross-sections.

IMPACT TO STAFF/RESOURCES: Funds for these expenditures are included in the FY 2007-2008 budget under Project Expenses for Program 2-3-3 (Survey Carmel River – Profile and cross-sections, Account 4-7895.90, $30,000). Staff time will be required to administer the contract.

BACKGROUND: Most of the riverbed and streambanks along the alluvial section (the lower 15.5 miles) of the Carmel River in Monterey County, California are composed of loosely consolidated silts, sands, gravels and cobbles. Erosion along the river occurred at relatively low flows between the late 1970’s and the late 1990’s. The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) has carried out a stream restoration program since 1984 to stabilize and restore the streamside corridor, monitor changes, and address other water-related problems along the Carmel River.

Because the river bottom changes in response to the amount of sediment that flows through it, an important aspect of managing this portion of the riparian corridor is long-term monitoring and documentation of changes in the elevation and width of the river bottom. Gravel mining, main stem reservoirs, and streambank armoring have contributed to a sediment-starved condition in the river channel downstream of Los Padres Dam, which is located at approximately River Mile (RM, measured from the ocean) 25. A chronic lack of sediment from the upper watershed has been a factor in channel incision, streambank instability, infrastructure damage, loss of property, and episodes of bank erosion downstream of Los Padres Dam over the past several decades.

One result of this condition is that in-channel supports for basic infrastructure (bridges with roads and utilities) have been undermined and compromised at several locations. In addition, there are areas along the river where scour at the base of slope protection installed to prevent bank erosion has caused bank slumping and/or the protection appears to be at risk of failure during high flows.

Pebble counts are useful in monitoring changes in the grain size distribution of sediment flowing through the river. This information is used by fisheries biologists in assessing the quality of habitat for steelhead spawning, by sediment transport experts in modeling the flow of sediment, and in flood analysis simulations. Additional background information is contained in Exhibit 2-A, Scope of Work.

EXHIBITS

2-A Scope of Work, Budget and Schedule, Long Profile and Cross-Section Survey, Carmel River Channel

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