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Volume 2013/14, Issue 4
| November 5, 2013 |
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Stanislaus River Honolulu Bar Revegetation |
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Key Highlights
October 14, 2013 - October 27, 2013
Stanislaus River Weir Monitoring continued and 3,551 Chinook salmon have passed upstream through the weir this year.
Tuolumne River Weir Monitoring continued and 2,058 Chinook salmon have passed upstream through the weir this year.
Mokelumne River Woodbridge Dam Fish Ladder Monitoring continued and 2,546 Chinook salmon passed upstream of the dam this year.
San Joaquin Basin Escapement Surveys. Annual carcass surveys conducted by California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) continued through the week of October 21.
San Joaquin River Conditions. San Joaquin River flow at Vernalis increased from 963 cfs to 2,642 cfs. Daily average water temperature in the San Joaquin River ranged from 58.2�F to 62.5�F at Vernalis, and from 59.0�F to 63.5�F at Mossdale. Daily average dissolved oxygen (DO) in the San Joaquin River ranged from 8.9 mg/L to 9.7 mg/L at Mossdale, and from 8.3 mg/L to 8.9 mg/L in the deep-water ship channel (measured at Rough 'n Ready Island).
Delta Exports. Combined total exports (state and federal pumps) fluctuated during the reporting period, ranging from 1,985 cfs to 3,614 cfs. |
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2013 Stanislaus River Weir Adult Migration Monitoring
A total of 2,751 Chinook salmon were detected passing upstream of the Stanislaus River Weir (RM 31) between October 14 and October 27, increasing the season total  to 3,551 (Figure 1). Daily passage ranged between 52 and 454 Chinook salmon. During the 2012/13 monitoring season, a total of 7,248 Chinook salmon were counted and as of October 27 there were 3,536 and is similar to the numbers observed in 2013 (Table 1).
Seven O. mykiss were detected passing upstream during the reporting period, increasing the season total to nine.
Instantaneous water temperature measured at the weir ranged between 55.0˚F and 58.2˚F, and daily average water temperature at Ripon (RPN; RM 15) ranged between 56.8˚F and 63.6˚F (Figure 3). Instantaneous turbidity ranged between 0.87 NTU and 3.75 NTU (Figure 4). Instantaneous dissolved oxygen at the weir ranged between 9.68 mg/L and 13.10 mg/L, and daily average dissolved oxygen at Ripon (RPN; RM 15) ranged from 9.27 mg/L to 9.76 mg/L (Figure 5).
Daily average flows in the Stanislaus River at Goodwin Dam (GDW; RM 58) increased from 450 cfs to 1,724 cfs. Flows at Ripon (RIP; RM 15) ranged from 375 cfs to 1,409 cfs (Figure 1). Note: flows downstream of Goodwin Dam may differ from dam releases due to irrigation, precipitation, and other factors. Table 1. Annual fall-run Chinook passage at the Stanislaus River weir, 2003-2013.
Figure 1. Cumulative passage of fall-run Chinook salmon recorded at the Stanislaus River weir from 2003-2013.
Figure 2. Daily upstream Chinook passage at the Stanislaus River weir in relation to daily average flows (cfs) recorded in the Stanislaus River at Goodwin (GDW) and Ripon (RIP), 2013.
Figure 3. Daily upstream Chinook passage recorded at the Stanislaus River weir in relation to instantaneous water temperature recorded at the weir, and daily average water temperature recorded in the Stanislaus River at Ripon (RPN), and in the San Joaquin River at Vernalis (VER), Mossdale (MSD) and Rough & Ready (RRI) in 2013.
Figure 4. Daily upstream Chinook passage at the Stanislaus River weir in relation to instantaneous turbidity recorded at the weir in 2013.
Figure 5. Daily upstream Chinook passage at the Stanislaus River weir in relation to instantaneous dissolved oxygen recorded at the weir, and daily average dissolved oxygen recorded in the Stanislaus River at Ripon (RPN), and in the San Joaquin River at Mossdale (MSD) and Rough & Ready (RRI) in 2013.
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2013 Tuolumne River Weir Adult Migration Monitoring
A total of 1,992 Chinook salmon were detected passing upstream of the Tuolumne River Weir (RM 24) between October 14 and October 27, increasing the season total  to 2,058 (Figure 1). Daily passage ranged between 1 and 765 Chinook salmon (Figure 6). Heavy amounts of water hyacinth on the Tuolumne River resulted in an increase of effort on the Tuolumne weir. At multiple locations down stream of the weir water hyacinth was observed impeding the river and possibly delaying Chinook salmon passage.
No O. mykiss have been detected at the Tuolumne River weir this season.
Daily average flow in the Tuolumne River increased from 132 cfs to 781 cfs at La Grange (LGN; RM 50) and 165 cfs and 773 cfs at Modesto (MOD; RM 17) (Figure 7). Note: flows downstream of La Grange may be higher than dam releases due to accretion and Dry Creek inflow.
Instantaneous water temperature measured at the weir ranged between 55.9˚F and 66.9˚F and daily average water temperature at Modesto (MOD; RM 17) ranged between 56.7˚F and 63.0˚F (Figure 8). Instantaneous turbidity ranged between 0.91 NTU and 6.89 NTU (Figure 9), and instantaneous dissolved oxygen ranged between 9.26 mg/L and 10.93 mg/L (Figure 10).
Table 2. Annual Fall-run Chinook salmon passage, 2009 - 2013.
Figure 6. Fall-Run Chinook salmon cumulative passage recorded at the Tuolumne River Weir in 2009 - 2013.
Figure 7. Daily upstream Chinook passage at the Tuolumne River Weir in relation to daily average flows (cfs) recorded in the Tuolumne River at La Grange (LGN) and Modesto (MOD), and in the San Joaquin River at Maze Road Bridge (MRB) and Vernalis (VNS) in 2013.
Figure 8. Daily upstream Chinook passage at the Tuolumne River Weir in relation to instantaneous water temperature recorded at the weir, and daily average water temperature recorded in the Tuolumne River at Modesto (MOD) and in the San Joaquin River at Maze Road Bridge (MRB), Vernalis (VER), Mossdale (MSD) and Rough & Ready (RRI) in 2013.
Figure 9. Daily upstream Chinook passage at the Tuolumne River Weir in relation to instantaneous turbidity recorded at the weir in 2013.
Figure 10. Daily upstream Chinook passage at the Tuolumne River Weir in relation to instantaneous dissolved oxygen recorded at the weir, and daily average dissolved oxygen recorded in the San Joaquin River at Mossdale (MSD) and Rough & Ready (RRI) in 2013.
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2013 Mokelumne River Fish Ladder Monitoring
Fall-run Chinook salmon returning to the Mokelumne are counted annually by East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) as they ascend the fish ladder at Woodbridge Dam. Video monitoring continued during the reporting period and 1,964 Chinook salmon were observed passing upstream of the dam between October 14 and October 27, increasing the season total to 2,546 (Figure 11). Daily passages ranged between 6 and 1,178 Chinook salmon. During the reporting period, daily average flow in the Mokelumne River fluctuated between 265 cfs and 433 cfs at Camanche Reservoir (CMN).
Figure 11. Daily upstream Chinook passage recorded at the Woodbridge Dam fish ladder in relation to daily average flows (cfs) recorded in the Mokelumne River at Camanche Reservoir (CMN) in 2013.
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San Joaquin Basin Escapement Surveys
Annual carcass surveys conducted by CDFG continued through the week of October 21. The largest number of live fish observed on the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers was during the week of October 21, with a peak live count of 368, 19 and 113 Chinook salmon, respectively.
A total of 174 redds were observed on the Stanislaus River, 29 on the Tuolumne River, and 19 were recorded on the Merced River. A peak in the number of redds observed for the fall-run season typically occurs in mid- to late-November.
A total of 40 females have been spawned at the Merced River Fish Facility (MRFF) as of October 27, compared to 28 this time last year.
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San Joaquin River Conditions
During the reporting period, flow in the San Joaquin River at Vernalis increased from 963 cfs to 2,642 cfs (Figure 12). Water temperature in the San Joaquin River ranged from 58.2�F to 62.5�F at Vernalis, from 59.0�F to 63.5�F at Mossdale, and from 63.6�F to 65.5�F at Rough 'n Ready Island (Figure 13). Average daily dissolved oxygen (DO) in the San Joaquin River fluctuated from 8.3 mg/L to 8.9 mg/L in the deep-water ship channel (measured at Rough 'n Ready Island), and from 8.9 mg/L to 9.7 mg/L at Mossdale (Figure 14).
Figure 12. San Joaquin River flow at Vernalis from October 1, 2012, and October 27, 2013.
Figure 13. San Joaquin River daily average water temperature at Vernalis, Mossdale, and Rough 'n Ready from October 1, 2012, and October 27, 2013.
Figure 14. San Joaquin River daily average dissolved oxygen at Mossdale and Rough 'n Ready, from October 1, 2012, and October 27, 2013.
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Delta Exports
Mean daily pumping at the C.W. Jones Pumping Plant (federal pumps previously known as Tracy Pumping Plant) ranged from 1,612 cfs to 2,624 cfs (Figure 15). Mean daily pumping at the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant (state pumps) ranged from 362 cfs to 1,018 cfs. Combined total exports (state and federal pumps) during this period ranged from 1,985 cfs to 3,614 cfs.
Figure 15. Daily exports at the state and federal pumping stations from October 1, 2012, and October 27, 2013.
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