To minimize risk of flooding to landowners along the Salinas River and improve riparian habitat for wildlife, the Salinas River Stream Maintenance Program (SMP) was developed as a collaboration between Monterey County Water Resources Agency, the Salinas River Channel Coalition (growers and landowners), the Grower Shipper Association of Central California, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation Collaborative, the RCDMC, and other local entities and contractors. The SMP employs a multi-benefit approach for stream maintenance that enhances conveyance capacity of the river corridor by mimicking the sandy-bottomed river’s natural, braided form in a manner that protects fish and wildlife habitat.
The SMP involves clearing vegetation (often invasive weeds like Arundo donax) through mowing and discing and smoothing or removing sediment to open and maintain secondary channels on the river floodplain. These channels are designed to convey high flows during and after storm events, reducing the risk of flooding onto adjacent farmlands and decreasing pressure on levees, particularly during 5-10 year flow events. Secondary channels connect with the main stem of the river at their upstream and downstream ends, but are at higher elevation than the low flow river channel.
Mitigation for impacts to native riparian vegetation is through Arundo donax removal. Participants must also plant trees to mitigate for large tree removal.
In 2014, a Demonstration Project of the SMP was initiated on two stretches of river near Chualar and Gonzales (south of the City of Salinas) comprising a total of 11.5 river miles. In 2016, the SMP expanded to include most of the river's length (92 miles) in Monterey County, and has since been operating annually. Participation in the program is voluntary, and the work is primarily funded by the participants (typically landowners, growers, and municipalities) with some supplemental grant funding.
SMP activities are conducted in accordance with environmental permits, which include a California Department of Fish and Wildlife Routine Maintenance Agreement, a California Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board 401 Water Quality Certification, a US Army Corps of Engineers 404 Regional General Permit, a US Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion, and a NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service concurrence letter. The RCDMC holds all SMP permits and administers the SMP in collaboration with the Salinas River Management Unit Association and Monterey County Farm Bureau.
More information about the Salinas River Stream Maintenance Program history can be found on the Monterey County Water Resources Agency SMP project webpage.
Landowners interested in participating in the SMP can contact RCDMC Stream Maintenance Program Manager Jaime Gonzalez-Canon at .
Stream Maintenance Program Public Map - Click on the map below to find your secondary channel
If a Maintenance Area lies on your property and you are interested in participating then please submit a request by contacting the RMU Association and scheduling an in-person appointment. Maintenance Area locations are approximate and will need to be field-verified during pre-maintenance surveys
Page last updated: March 2019
Program Partners
