ITEM:

INFORMATIONAL ITEM/STAFF REPORT

 

26.

QUARTERLY CARMEL RIVER RIPARIAN CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT PROGRAM REPORT

 

Meeting Date:

January 25, 2021

Budgeted:

N/A

 

From:

Dave Stoldt,

Program/

N/A

 

General Manager

Line Item No.:

 

 

Prepared By:

Thomas Christensen and

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.

 

IRRIGATION OF RIPARIAN VEGETATION: The supplemental watering of riparian restoration plantings was carried out for the dry season in 2020 at seven Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (District) riparian habitat restoration sites.  The following irrigation systems were in use April through December: Sleepy Hollow, deDampierre, Trail and Saddle Club, Begonia, Cypress, Schulte, and Rancho San Carlos.

 

            Water Use in Acre-Feet (AF)

            (preliminary values subject to revision)

           

            January - March 2020             0.22 AF

            April - June 2020                    0.63

            July – September 2020           1.20

            October – December 2020      1.90 AF

           

            Year-to-date                            3.95 AF

 

MONITORING OF RIPARIAN VEGETATION:   Starting in June 2020, staff recorded monthly observations of canopy vigor on target willow and cottonwood trees to provide an indication of plant water stress and corresponding soil moisture levels.  Four locations (Rancho Cañada, San Carlos, Valley Hills, and Schulte) are monitored monthly for canopy ratings based on a scale from one to ten. This scale evaluates characteristics such as yellowing leaves and percentages of defoliation (see scale on Exhibit 26-A).  A total of 12 willows and 12 cottonwoods at these locations provide a data set of established and planted sample trees that are representative of trees in the Carmel River riparian corridor. Combined with monthly readings from the District’s array of monitoring wells and pumping records for large-capacity Carmel Valley wells in the California American Water service area, the District’s monitoring provides insight into the status of soil moisture through the riparian corridor.

 

Monitoring results for the 2020 season show that riparian vegetation was below threshold moisture stress levels because of adequate soil moisture. The graph in Exhibit 26-A shows average canopy ratings for willows and cottonwoods in selected restoration sites in lower Carmel Valley.  The graph in Exhibit 26-B shows impacts to water table elevations.

 

The types of monitoring measurements made during June - October 2020 are as follows:

 

            Monitoring Measurement                                       

 

            Canopy ratings                                                (See Exhibit 26-A for trends.)          

            Groundwater levels (monitoring wells)          (See Exhibit 26-B for trends.)          

            Groundwater pumping (production wells)

 

OTHER TASKS PERFORMED SINCE THE OCTOBER 2020 QUARTERLY REPORT:

 

1.      On December 23, 2020, District staff helped consultant FISHBIO install the Carmel River Resistance Board Weir. This weir will help District staff count all the adult steelhead entering the Carmel River Watershed. This information is required under the District’s Steelhead Rescue and Rearing Program.

2.      District staff have also been winterizing and carrying out maintenance at the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility.

 

 

EXHIBITS

26-A    Average Willow and Cottonwood Canopy Rating

26-B    Depth to Groundwater

                       

 

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