CARMEL LAGOON SANDBAR MANAGEMENT 2003
Monterey County Public Works Department (MCPWD) open the mouth of the Carmel River on December 30,2003 to prevent flooding at nearby residences and other Public Works structures. The following chronicles the events of the decision making process and actions under the guidelines set forth in Carmel Lagoon Emergency Operational Procedures (EOP) .
DATE	LAGOON DATA		NATURAL CONDITIONS	MCPWD ACTIONS
	TIME	LEVEL
18-Nov-03	11:00 AM	5.1'	NORMAL WINTER CONDITIONS. NO HEAVY RAINS NOR HIGH TIDAL SWELLS HAVE ABRUPTLY INFLUENCED LAGOON CONDITIONS. LAGOON LEVELS FLUCTUATE FROM 4.3'  TO 4.7'  (NOVEMBER 3 TO DATE). VISUAL INSPECTIONS ON CARMEL RIVER BY MCPWD FORCES SHOWS NO SUSTAINED FLOW FROM ROBLES DEL RIO TO LAGOON. RIVER BED IS STILL PARTLY DRY. VOLUME OF WATER IN THE LAGOON AT 5.1' IS ESTIMATED TO BE 1.5 MILLION CUBIC FEET.	MCPWD CONTINUES TO MONITOR NWS / USGS GAGES AND CONDUCT VISUAL INSPECTIONS ON LAGOON CONDITIONS. A TOPO SURVEY OF THE SANDBAR, AS PART OF MONITORING ACTIVITIES, WAS COMPLETED THIS DAY. SANDBAR SURVEY DATA IS USE IN PLANNING AND TIMING CHANNEL CONSTRUCTION IN CONJUNCTION WITH CURRENT AND FORECASTED NATURAL CONDITIONS.
10-Dec-03	12:00 PM	8.5'	LIGHT OCCASIONAL RAIN FROM NOVEMBER 18 TO PRESENT HAVE NOT AFFECTED LAGOON LEVELS SIGNIFICANTLY. HOWEVER,  HIGH SWELLS OF 18' TO 22' GOING OVER THE SANDBAR DEPOSITED APPROXIMATELY 6.3 MILLION CUBIC FEET OF OCEAN WATER INTO LAGOON, RAISING LAGOON ELEVATION FROM 5.6' TO 8.5'. LAGOON CONTENT IS APPROXIMATELY 75% OCEAN WATER. CARMEL RIVER BED STILL PARTLY DRY.	MCPWD HEIGHTENED VISUAL INSPECTIONS OF LAGOON AND RIVER. EQUIPMENT PREPARED AND ALERTED PERSONNEL.
29-Dec-03	3:00 PM	7.8'	LAGOON LEVEL RECEDED AFTER HIGH SWELL EVENT OF DEC. 10, HOWEVER MAJOR STORM EVENT CURRENTLY ON GOING WITH HEAVY RAINS SINCE PREVIOUS DAY. CARMEL RIVER CHANNEL SATURATED WITH A LIGHT SUSTAINED FLOW OBSERVED FROM ROBLES DEL RIO TO LAGOON. LAGOON VOID OF TIDAL INFLUENCE.	MCPWD HEIGHTENED VISUAL INSPECTIONS OF LAGOON AND RIVER. EQUIPMENT PREPARED AND ALERTED PERSONNEL.
30-Dec-03	9:00 AM	9.0'	LAGOON LEVEL QUICKLY RISING DUE TO HEAVY SUSTAINED RAIN IN THE LAST TWO DAYS. NWS GAGES RECORDED THE FOLLOWING PRECIPITATION IN THE LAST 24 HOURS: CHEW'S RIDGE = 2.32", VENTANA CONE = 4.17", AND PONCIANO RIDGE = 4.22". LOS PADRES RESERVOIR REACHED CAPACITY AND STARTED SPILLING. USGS GAGE AT ROBLES DEL RIO PEAKED AT 1,770 CFS ( @4:45 am). RIVER OBSERVATIONS CONFIRMED THAT CHANNEL WAS FULLY SATURATED WITH A HIGH  DISCHARGE FLOWING STEADILY TO THE LAGOON AT HIGH VELOCITY. LAGOON VOID OF TIDAL INFLUENCE. FORECAST OF ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WITH EQUAL INTENSITY TO HIT THE AREA ON JAN.1, 2004.	LATE NIGHT FIELD MONITORING BY RON LUNDQUIST (ASSISTANT PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR), VIC LEWIS (MAINTENANCE SUPERINTENDENT), JIM McNULTY (MONTEREY ROAD DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT) FROM PREVIOUS NIGHT INDICATED THAT FLOODING AROUND THE LAGOON AREA IS IMMINENT. AT 9:00 AM THE NEXT MORNING (DEC 30, 2003) MCPWD STARTED LOWERING SANDBAR WITH DOZERS IN ACCORDANCE WITH MONTEREY COUNTY SANDBAR MANAGEMENT EOP . NOTIFICATION TO MONTEREY COUNTY OES, SHERIFF'S OFFICE, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, and WATER RESOURCES ACCOMPLISHED BY RON LUNDQUIST PRIOR TO INITIATING WORK. INITIAL PLAN  WAS TO GRADE APPROXIMATELY 200'  WIDE OF SANDBAR SLOPING DUE WEST TOWARDS THE OCEAN IN ORDER TO ALLOW LAGOON WATER TO SHEET SLOWLY AT 10' NGVD29 ELEVATION. MCPWD ESTIMATED THIS EFFORT TO TAKE SEVERAL HOURS.
30-Dec-03	10:30 AM	9.6'	LAGOON INFLOW IN THE LAST 1.5 HOURS WAS APPROXIMATELY 1.2 MILLION CUBIC FEET PER HOUR. AT THIS RATE, IT WAS ESTIMATED THAT IT WILL TAKE 1 HOUR TO FILL LAGOON TO 10' NGVD29. USGS GAGE AT ROBLES DEL RIO STILL SHOWING HIGH SUSTAINED FLOWS (1,150 CFS @ 10:00 AM).	CURRENT CONDITIONS DICTATE THAT LAGOON NEEDS TO START DRAINING WITHIN AN HOUR  IN ORDER TO PREVENT FLOODING. MCPWD REDIRECTED EFFORTS IN CONSTRUCTING A 20-FOOT CHANNEL IN LIEU OF INITIAL PLAN. CDF AND FIRE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL ON SITE AS PART OF EMERGENCY CONTINGENT.
	11:30 AM	9.8'	LAGOON LEVEL STILL RISING. DISCHARGE AT USGS GAGE AT ROBLES DEL RIO AT 11:00 AM SHOWS 1,050 CFS.	LAGOON OUTFLOW STARTED. MCPWD PERSONNEL CONTINUE MONITORING EFFORTS. CDF FORCES STILL ON SITE.
	1:30 PM	10.6'	LAGOON LEVEL STILL RISING. DISCHARGE AT USGS GAGE AT ROBLES DEL RIO AT 1:00 PM SHOWS 870 CFS.	MCPWD PERSONNEL CONTINUE MONITORING EFFORTS. CDF FORCES INSTALLED SAND BAGS AT 26351 CAMINO REAL AS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE AND FILLED 4,000 BAGS FOR FURTHER USE.
	2:00 PM	10.7'	LAGOON LEVEL CONTINUES TO RISE.	MCPWD PERSONNEL CONTINUE MONITORING.
	3:30 PM	10.7'	LAGOON LEVEL STABILIZES.	MCPWD PERSONNEL CONTINUE MONITORING.
	3:55 PM	10.5'	LAGOON LEVEL RECEEDS.