San Luis Obispo County Watershed Management Planning Project Phase I
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San Luis Obispo County Watershed Management Planning Project Phase I January 2014 Prepared by Coastal San Luis RCD The Coastal San Luis RCD developed all materials related to the South County sub‐region and the San Luis Obispo County Instream Flow Assessment. Nicole Smith – Conservation Programs Manager Lorraine Clark – Project Coordinator James Tomac – Intern Upper Salinas‐Las Tablas RCD The Upper Salinas Las Tablas RCD developed all materials related to the North Coast and North County sub‐regions and the SLOWatershedProject.org website. Laura Edwards – Executive Director Kelly Gleason – Ag and Natural Resources Planner Jillian Cole – Engineer, Mapping Jacob Hernandez – Intern, Research Amy Smart – Conservation Technician Erin White – Administrative Coordinator Overseeing Boards US‐LT RCD CSLRCD Michael Broadhurst – President Neil Havlik – President Susan Cochrane – VP Jean‐Pierre Wolff – Vice‐President Tom Mora – Secretary Linda Chipping Robert Hartzell – Treasurer Robert Rutherford John De Rosier Cheryl Lenhardt Randy Heinzen Kathie Matsuyama Mike Bonnheim David Alford Chuck Pritchard Committees Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Watershed Working Group (WWG) Daniel Bohlman, Land Conservancy of San Daniel Bohlman Luis Obispo Dorothy Jennings Ethan Bell, Stillwater Sciences Ethan Bell Freddy Otte, City of San Luis Obispo Freddy Otte George Kendall, retired geologist and George Kendall farmer Greg O'Sullivan Mark Hutchinson, County of San Luis Gwen Pelfrey Obispo Jacqueline Tilligkeit Stephanie Wald, Central Coast Salmon Lisa McCann Enhancement Marc Lea Mark Hutchinson Michael Conger Stephanie Wald Table of Contents i. Foreword ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………i 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1‐1 2. Development of SLO County Watersheds Project ........................................................................... 2‐1 2.1 Determining Watershed Scale ................................................................................................... 2‐2 2.2 Community Committees / Peer Review ..................................................................................... 2‐3 2.3 Public Participation .................................................................................................................... 2‐4 2.4 Interactive GIS Website and Information Repository ................................................................ 2‐4 2.5 Data Limitations and Disclaimers ............................................................................................... 2‐6 3. Watershed Snapshots……………………………………………………………………………………….………………………..……3‐1 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 3‐1 3.2 Data Collection Methodology .................................................................................................... 3‐2 3.2.1 Data Limitations and Disclaimers ....................................................................................... 3‐3 3.2.2 North Coast Sub‐Region ..................................................................................................... 3‐4 3.2.2.1 Morro Bay Watershed……………………………………………………………………………………….3‐6 3.2.2.2 Big Creek‐San Carpoforo Area Watershed………………………………………………….……3‐27 3.2.2.3 Cayucos Creek‐Whale Rock Area Watershed………………………………………………….3‐38 3.2.2.4 San Simeon‐Arroyo de la Cruz Area Watershed……………………………………………...3‐54 3.2.2.5 Santa Rosa Creek Area Watershed………………………………………………………………….3‐76 3.2.3 North County Sub‐Region……………………………………………………………………………………………..3‐92 3.2.3.1 Mid Salinas‐Atascadero Area Watershed……………………………………………………….3‐94 3.2.3.2 Black Sulphur Spring Watershed……………………………………………….………………….3‐113 3.2.3.3 Cholame Creek Watershed…………………………………………………………………………..3‐125 3.2.3.4 Estrella River Watershed………………………………………….………………………………….3‐139 3.2.3.5 Huer Huero Creek Watershed…………………………………….……………………………….3‐153 3.2.3.6 Lower San Juan Creek Watershed……………………………..………………………………..3‐167 3.2.3.7 Nacimiento River Watershed………………………………………….…………………………..3‐179 3.2.3.8 Lower Salinas‐Paso Robles Creek Area Watershed…………………………..…………3‐198 3.2.3.9 Upper Salinas‐Santa Margarita Area Watershed………………………..……….……….3‐219 3.2.3.10 Soda Lake Watershed…………………………………………………………..…………......……3‐237 3.2.3.11 Upper San Juan Creek Watershed…………………………………………..……….....…….3‐251 3.2.4 South County Sub‐Region…………………………………………………………………….…………..……….…….3‐264 3.2.4.1 Alamo Creek Watershed……………………………………………………………………………..3‐266 3.2.4.2 Arroyo Grande Creek Watershed………………………………………………….……......….3‐277 3.2.4.3 Cuyama River Watershed………………………………………………………………….....…….3‐293 3.2.4.4 Huasna River Watershed……………………………………………………………………......…..3‐306 3.2.4.5 Irish Hills Coastal Watershed………………………………..……………….………….......…...3‐316 3.2.4.6 Nipomo‐Suey Creeks Watershed…………………………………………….…………........….3‐327 3.2.4.7 Pismo Creek Watershed……………………………………………………………………….......…3‐338 3.2.4.8 Santa Maria River Watershed…………………………………………………….………….………3‐353 3.2.4.9 San Luis Obispo Creek Watershed………………………………………………………..……..…3‐369 4. Data Gap Assessment ........................................................................................................................ 4‐1 4.1 Data Gap Methodology .................................................................................................................... 4‐1 4.2 Data Gap Summary of Findings ........................................................................................................ 4‐1 4.2.1 Watershed Management Plans ................................................................................................ 4‐2 4.2.2 Overview of Available Data ....................................................................................................... 4‐4 4.3 Links to Primary Resource Issues ..................................................................................................... 4‐5 4.3.2 Prioritization Summary ............................................................................................................. 4‐6 4.4 Climate Change Assessment ........................................................................................................... 4‐9 4.5 Findings ............................................................................................................................................ 4‐9 4.6 Instream Flow Assessment: Filling a Data Gap………………………………………………………………………4‐10 4.6.1 Approach ................................................................................................................................. 4‐11 4.6.2Results ...................................................................................................................................... 4‐14 4.6.3 Discussion and Recommendations .......................................................................................... 4‐16 5. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………………….5‐1 5.1 Next Steps – Building Resilient Watersheds .............................................................................. 5‐1 5.1.1 Project Methodology ......................................................................................................... 5‐3 5.1.2 Goals................................................................................................................................... 5‐4 5.1.3 Focus Watersheds .............................................................................................................. 5‐6 5.1.4 Future Funding ................................................................................................................... 5‐7 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................... 5‐8 Figures Figure 1. Typical Watershed Planning Process………………………………………………………………………………………2‐2 Figure 2. Map of Watersheds with Management Plans. ........................................................................... 4‐2 Figure 3. Map of Instream Flow Field Assessment Sites ......................................................................... 4‐13 Figure 4. Map of Instream FlowAnalysis Points and Stream Flow Gages ................................................ 4‐15 Figure 5. Iterative Plan Process .................................................................................................................. 5‐2 Figure 6. Phase 2 Public Participation ........................................................................................................ 5‐3 Figure 7.Watershed Toolbox ...................................................................................................................... 5‐4 Figure 8. Watershed Assessment Framework. .......................................................................................... 5‐6 Appendices Appendix A. Watershed Products, Goods and Services Appendix B. Phase 2 Approach Survey Results Appendix C. Instream Flow Study Appendix D. Map of San Luis Obispo Watersheds Appendix E. Standards for Watershed Management Plans Appendix F. Data Gap Chart: North Coast region Appendix G. Data Gap Chart: North County region Appendix H. Data Gap Chart: South County region i. Foreword By LynneDee Althouse, Principal, Althouse and Meade, Inc. The Watershed Management Planning Project led by our local Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) contains a timely and important