Document Details

2015 Annual Monitoring Report

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | July 1st, 2016


The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is the primary source for long-term contaminant monitoring information for the San Francisco Bay. The RMP is an innovative and collaborative effort among the scientific community, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (Water Board), and the regulated discharger community. The Program was initiated by the Water Board as a pilot study in 1989 and has been collecting water, sediment, and bivalve tissue data since its official inception in 1993. Regular monitoring of sport fish tissue and bird eggs for toxic contaminants was incorporated into the Program in 1997 and 2006, respectively.

The Program monitors the different matrices included in “status and trends” monitoring on varying schedules. Additional monitoring occurs as part of short-term “special studies” or pilot studies focused on new regions, matrices, or contaminants of immediate or increasing regulatory interest. In 2015, the RMP collected only water data as part of “status and trends” monitoring. A pilot study was also conducted to collect sediment data from the Bay margins. Bird egg monitoring was originally scheduled to be conducted in 2015, but was delayed until 2016.

The purpose of this report is to document RMP monitoring activities in 2015. The report is organized into chapters on water and sediment. Each chapter contains information on:

• The locations where these samples were collected,

• The field sampling methods,

• The target analytes, laboratories, and analytical methods for each matrix, and

• Any problems encountered or non-conformances to planned procedures.

Keywords

fisheries, monitoring, pollutants, Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, water quality