Drought Monitoring on South-Central California Coastal Watersheds - 2022-2023

Watersheds included within 2022-2023 South-Central California coast drought monitoring efforts are Chorro, San Luis Obispo, San Simeon, and Santa Rosa Creeks, as well as the Big Sur River. Continuous water temperature data were collected from multiple stream reaches per watershed using Hobo Tidbit loggers. Discharge (cfs) and instantaneous water temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration were collected weekly at most montiored wateresheds using a Hach 950 flow meter and YSI handheld meter. At San Simeon Creek, water quality (dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity) profiles were taken in the estuary. Ocean connectivity was assessd visually at most watersheds on a weekly basis. The longitudinal extent of wetted channel (wet-dry mapping) was assessed using Survey123 at each stream at several points throughout 2022 and the results were imported into ArcGIS. Steelhead stranding events ansd mortalities were assessed and the number of individuals impacted were recorded. This data and metadata were submitted by California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Staff though the Data Management Plan (DMP) framework with the id: DMP000541. For more information, please visit https://wildlife.ca.gov/Data/Sci-Data.