Title
Consider recommending that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Board of Directors recommend that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Board of Supervisors adopt the Salinas River Lagoon and Sandbar Management Low Effect Habitat Conservation Plan and associated Incidental Take Permit PER8656461 and authorize the General Manager to implement the plan.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Finance Committee:
recommending that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Board of Directors recommend that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Board of Supervisors adopt the Salinas River Lagoon and Sandbar Management Low Effect Habitat Conservation Plan and associated Incidental Take Permit PER8656461 and authorize the General Manager to implement the plan.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
Like many central California coastal river systems, the Salinas River is not hydrologically connected to the ocean for much of the year. A naturally occurring sandbar forms at the river mouth during periods of low streamflow creating the Salinas River Lagoon (Lagoon). Over the course of the year the sandbar can build up to an elevation that is significantly higher than typical dry season Lagoon stage. When winter storms once again create natural streamflow in the Salinas River, stream discharge becomes trapped behind the sandbar in the Lagoon. Because of the height of the sandbar, the Lagoon has the potential to flood low lying farmland and homes before overtopping the sandbar and flowing to the ocean.
The Agency performs sandbar management on an emergency basis to prevent flooding around the Lagoon. Sandbar management is required in most years including the winter of 2023-24. Sandbar management has the potential to result in take of federally listed species in and around the Lagoon and the Agency does not have a permit to cover incidental take of any listed species.
In 1997 the Agency developed the Salinas River Lagoo...
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