USGS Water-Year Summary 2024

11152500 Salinas River near Spreckels, CA

LOCATION - Lat 36°37'52", long 121°40'17" referenced to North American Datum of 1927, Monterey County, CA, Hydrologic Unit 18060005, in Nacional Grant, on right bank, on downstream side of bridge on Salinas-Monterey Highway (68), 0.8 mi upstream from El Toro Creek, 1.6 mi northwest of Spreckels, and 2 mi south of Salinas.

DRAINAGE AREA - 4,156 mi².

REVISIONS HISTORY - WSP 1565: 1930, 1935, 1945. WSP 1715: 1959. WSP 1929: Drainage area. WDR CA-85-2: 1983.

SURFACE-WATER RECORDS

PERIOD OF RECORD - January 1900 to August 1901, October 1929 to current year. Records for water year 1930 incomplete; yearly estimate published in WSP 1315-B. Published as "near Salinas" 1900-1901. CHEMICAL DATA: Water years 1952-54, 1958-70, 1972-79. Published incorrectly as station 11152300 "near Chualar" in 1967. BIOLOGICAL DATA: Water years 1975-77. SPECIFIC CONDUCTANCE: Water years 1975-77, daily. WATER TEMPERATURE: Water years 1967-79, daily. Published incorrectly as station 11152300 "near Chualar" in 1967-69. SEDIMENT DATA: Water years 1950-51; 1967-79, daily; 1986, monthly; August 1990. Published incorrectly as station 11152300 "near Chualar" in 1967-69. TURBIDITY: Water year 1973.

GAGE - Water-stage recorder and crest-stage gage. Datum of gage is 21.98 ft above NAVD of 1988. 1900-1901, May 10 to July 29, 1940, nonrecording gages at site 0.3 mi downstream at different datum. July 29, 1940, to May 22, 1969, water-stage recorder at site 0.3 mi downstream at datum 0.69 ft lower. May 23, 1969, to Jan. 13, 1970, nonrecording gage at same site and datum. Mar. 17, 1941, to June 30, 1961, supplementary nonrecording gages. April 25, 2016, gage moved to temporary location .7 mi downstream of highway 68 bridge at water treatment plant, on left bank with same datum, during Cal Trans bridge reconstruction. February 04, 2020, gage moved back to original location with same datum located on Highway 68 bridge.

REMARKS - Flow regulated by Santa Margarita Lake (formerly Salinas Reservoir) beginning in 1941, usable capacity, 23,000 acre-ft; Lake Nacimiento (formerly Nacimiento Reservoir) beginning in February 1957, usable capacity, 340,000 acre-ft; and by Lake San Antonio beginning in December 1965, usable capacity, 330,000 acre-ft. Large withdrawals from ground water and small surface-water diversions for municipal use and for irrigation upstream from station. See schematic diagram of Salinas River Basin available from the California Water Science Center.

EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF RECORD - Maximum discharge, 95,000 ft³/s, Mar. 12, 1995, gage height, 30.29 ft, from rating extended above 30,000 ft³/s, peak includes estimate of 9,800 ft³/s bypassing gage; no flow at times in 1929-40 and many days each year 1990-2010, 2014 to current.