ITEM:

INFORMATIONAL ITEM/STAFF REPORT

 

23.

CARMEL RIVER FISHERY REPORT FOR MARCH 2020

 

Meeting Date:

March 16, 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:  February 2020 was the driest February on record with 0.0 inches of rain. Mainstem flows continued to slowly drop during the month, and passage conditions were “fair” for adult steelhead and “fair to good” for smolts. Rearing conditions for juveniles were also “fair to good”.

 

February’s mean daily streamflow at the Sleepy Hollow Weir dropped from 71 to 42 cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) (monthly mean 54.6 cfs) resulting in 3,140 acre-feet (AF) of runoff. Mean daily streamflow at the Highway 1 gage dropped from 70 to 39 cfs (monthly mean 52.2 cfs) resulting in 3,000 acre-feet (AF) of runoff.

 

There were 0.00 inches of rainfall in February as recorded at the San Clemente gauge. The rainfall total for WY 2020 (which started on October 1, 2019) is 11.48 inches, or 74% of the long-term year-to-date average of 15.54 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 off on February 12th, due to continued movement of the large landslide in the reservoir that is affecting the outlet pipe. It remained off the rest of the month. As of February 29th, 14 adult steelhead have been trapped and transported above the dam, seven of those were tagged by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) crews.

 

CARMEL RIVER LAGOON:  The lagoon mouth opened on December 3, 2019. The lagoon’s water surface elevation (WSE) was variable in February, with several brief closings primarily from wave and tidal action, ranging from ~4.0 - 11.2 feet (North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NAVD 88) (See graph below).

 

Water quality depth-profiles were conducted at five sites on February 20, 2020 while the lagoon mouth was open and draining, the WSE was 2.21 feet, and river inflow was 45 cfs. Steelhead rearing conditions were generally “fair” throughout the lagoon due to the high salinity levels below 0.5m depth (range was 1 - 29 ppt). Dissolved oxygen (DO) levels (7 – 13 mg/l) and water temperatures (50 - 56 degrees F) were excellent.                                                           

Carmel River Lagoon Plot:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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