With funding from the state, PWA collaborated with the California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to prepare design plans and specifications for the restoration of a 100-acre agricultural parcel adjacent to the remaining Lagoon. The design includes an expansion of the Lagoon to provide a summer rearing habitat and winter refuge for steelhead. Removing the levee and lowering an existing roadway reconnects the natural floodplain to the Lagoon and promotes the geomorphic evolution of the site. Earlier planning work included the development of conceptual alternatives that were evaluated using geomorphic assessment and two-dimensional hydraulic modeling.

PWA developed a companion restoration plan for the 90-acre upstream site. This design involves levee removal and site grading that will reconnect the channel with the floodplain and promote the regeneration of riparian habitat. Combined with the 100-acre downstream restoration project, this design will restore habitats and improve flood conveyance along two miles of the lower Carmel River and Lagoon.

PWA worked with the California Department of State Parks and Recreation (DPR), the California Coastal Conservancy and other project stakeholders to reach consensus on the final implementation strategy for the site. PWA further assisted DPR in contractor bidding and construction observation.