San Francisco Bay

Conceptual Model to Support PCB Management and Monitoring in the Emeryville Crescent Priority Margin Unit

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | April 3rd, 2017

The 2014 update of the RMP PCB Strategy called for a multi-year effort to implement the recommendations of the PCB Synthesis Report (Davis et al. 2014) pertaining to: 

The 2014 update of the RMP PCB Strategy called for a multi-year effort to implement the recommendations of the PCB Synthesis Report (Davis et al. 2014) pertaining to:  1. identifying margin units that are high priorities for management and monitoring,  2. development of conceptual models and mass budgets for margin units downstream of watersheds where management actions will occur, and  3. monitoring in these units as a performance measure.  The goal of the effort is to inform the review and possible revision of the PCB TMDL and the reissuance of the Municipal Regional Permit for Stormwater (MRP), both of which are tentatively scheduled to occur in 2020. Conceptual model development for four priority margin units (PMUs) that are high priorities for management and monitoring will provide a foundation for establishing effective and efficient monitoring plans to track responses to load reductions and will also help guide planning of management actions. The Emeryville Crescent (the Crescent) is the subject of this report and the first PMU to be studied. 

Conceptual Model to Support PCB Management and Monitoring in the San Leandro Bay Priority Margin Unit Final Report

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | November 2nd, 2019

The goal of this report is to answer three questions related to management and monitoring of PCBs in priority margin units. To this end, a conceptual model was develope

The goal of this report is to answer three questions related to management and monitoring of PCBs in priority margin units. To this end, a conceptual model was developed that includes four major elements: 1. loading from the watersheds; 2. initial deposition and retention; 3. processes determining the long-term fate of PCBs in sediment and water; and 4. bioaccumulation in the food web

Conceptual Model to Support PCB Management and Monitoring in the San Leandro Bay Priority Margin Unit, Phase One

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | June 1st, 2018

The goal of RMP PCB special studies over the next few years is to inform the review and possible revision of the PCB TMDL and the reissuance of the Municipal Regional P

The goal of RMP PCB special studies over the next few years is to inform the review and possible revision of the PCB TMDL and the reissuance of the Municipal Regional Permit for Stormwater, both of which are tentatively scheduled to occur in 2020. Conceptual model development for a set of four representative priority margin units will provide a foundation for establishing an effective and efficient monitoring plan to track responses to load reductions, and will also help guide planning of management actions. The Emeryville Crescent was the first PMU to be studied in 2015-2016. The San Leandro Bay PMU is second (2016-2017), Steinberger Slough in San Carlos is third (2017), and Richmond Harbor will be fourth (2018). The conceptual model reports for these four PMUs will be developed and presented using a consistent framework, and will build on each other to form an integrated assessment of these four areas. The lessons learned from these analyses will also be more generally applicable to similar contaminated sites on the margins of the Bay.

Confirmation of Initial Incidental Take for Adult Delta Smelt for the 2018 Water Year

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) | January 4th, 2018

Conjunctive Water Management Resource Management Strategy

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | April 29th, 2024

Conjunctive water management, also referred to as conjunctive use, is broadly defined as the coordinated and planned use and management of the different sources of water

Conjunctive water management, also referred to as conjunctive use, is broadly defined as the coordinated and planned use and management of the different sources of water in time and space. It is usually focused on surface water and groundwater resources to maximize the availability and reliability of water supplies in a region to meet various management objectives. It is a holistic approach to water resource management that can increase available water for beneficial uses, allow water agencies greater flexibility in scheduling deliveries, and improve drought resiliency (California Department of Water Resources 2003).

Conserving California’s Coastal Habitats: A Legacy and a Future with Sea Level Rise

Nature Conservancy | May 15th, 2018

The California coast that we know today will not be the coast of the future. Sea level rise and other climate change impacts will have profound effects on o

The California coast that we know today will not be the coast of the future. Sea level rise and other climate change impacts will have profound effects on our coastline and its natural resources. California harbors high numbers of native, rare, and imperiled species in an array of unique coastal habitats. A majority of California’s coastline exists as natural habitat, over one-third of which has been preserved by a legacy of conservation efforts. Yet, this conservation legacy is at risk and we must act now to conserve the unique values of California’s coast—for both people and nature—into the future. To inform current and future adaptation decisions and conservation actions we conducted the first statewide, comprehensive assessment of the vulnerability of California’s coastal habitats, imperiled species, and conservation lands to sea level rise. Coastal habitats exist in narrow bands at the land-sea interface and are therefore extremely susceptible to inundation by sea level rise. However, some habitats may be able to adapt vertically and possibly move inland, assuming local topography and the built environment do not constrain this movement. We assessed the vulnerability of 40 habitats to sea level rise by quantifying the sensitivity and spatial extent of projected exposure of each habitat patch to intertidal and subtidal waters, relative to its ability to move inland in response to rising sea levels.

Conserving for the common good: Preferences for water conservation policies during a severe drought in Northern California

Water Resources and Economics | December 3rd, 2021

During the 2011–2017 drought in California, water providers used a variety of demand-side management (DSM) policies to successfully reduce water consumption by over 20

During the 2011–2017 drought in California, water providers used a variety of demand-side management (DSM) policies to successfully reduce water consumption by over 20%. Unfortunately, because utilities used numerous conservation policies simultaneously, little is known about support for specific policies—specifically, an untested water budgeting policy wherein utilities gave households an allotment of water and charged higher prices for water used in excess of the budget. California recently legislated mandatory long-term reductions in water usage. It is therefore critical to obtain a better understanding of which policies, including water budgeting, have strongest public support, and to understand how the drought experience changed residents’ water use behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, habits, and personal capabilities surrounding conservation. This work surveyed individuals residing in northern California, the “North State,” during a period of severe drought. We used best-worst scaling to determine households’ preferences for DSM policies; asked households how their water use behaviors changed; and evaluated psychological attitudes toward drought and water conservation. Results show the vast majority of households changed their water use behaviors during the drought. Over two-thirds of respondents never exceeded their water budgets and said they would continue to conserve after the state lifted conservation requirements. Respondents preferred water budgets relative to more familiar DSM policies, a result with implications for forecasting future water demand. Last, our survey finds only minor differences in policy preferences for respondents with different demographics and attitudes toward water use, even for variables (e.g., income) that previous literature has found to have disparate welfare effects across users.

Contaminant Concentrations in Eggs of Double-crested Cormorants and Forster's Terns from San Francisco Bay: 2002-2012

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | May 2nd, 2016

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) conducted an Exposure and Effects Pilot Study (EEPS) to monitor contaminant exposure and ef

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) conducted an Exposure and Effects Pilot Study (EEPS) to monitor contaminant exposure and effects in Bay wildlife. Avian egg monitoring is one tool that was piloted in the EEPS and retained as an element of RMP Status and Trends monitoring. Avian eggs from two species have been monitored: Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), a sentinel species for the open waters of the Bay, and Forster’s Terns (Sterna forsteri), a sentinel species for shallow-water habitats on the Bay margins, including managed ponds.

Contaminant Concentrations in San Francisco Bay Sportfish, Cruise Report Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) 2019

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | July 1st, 2019

This report contains information on the spring and summer field sampling efforts conducted by the Marine Pollution Studies Laboratory at Moss Landing Marine Labs (MPSL-ML

This report contains information on the spring and summer field sampling efforts conducted by the Marine Pollution Studies Laboratory at Moss Landing Marine Labs (MPSL-MLML). The purpose of this field effort was to collect sportfish for an eighth season of data (in support of 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2014 surveys) in the ongoing study of Contamination in San Francisco Bay Sportfish. The work was contracted through the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) for the Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) for Water Quality.  The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) monitors concentrations of contaminants in fish tissue as indicators of bioaccumulation of contaminants in the Bay. In 2019, the RMP will conduct its eighth round of sport fish monitoring by collecting sport fish samples from various locations in the Bay as a part of routine Status and Trends Monitoring. Add-ons to the routine Status and Trends sport fish monitoring design will include archiving for microplastics and fipronil, as well as additional collections of shiner surfperch in Priority Margin Unit areas (PMUs).

Contaminant Concentrations in Sport Fish from San Francisco Bay, 2014

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | June 1st, 2017

This summary report presents results from a 2014 survey of contaminants in San Francisco Bay sport fish, as well as an additional 2015 sampling of sport fish in Artesian

This summary report presents results from a 2014 survey of contaminants in San Francisco Bay sport fish, as well as an additional 2015 sampling of sport fish in Artesian Slough in Lower South Bay. This monitoring effort represents the seventh round of sport fish contaminant monitoring conducted by the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP). This technical report is intended for agency staff charged with managing water quality issues related to bioaccumulation of contaminants in San Francisco Bay.  The RMP began sport fish monitoring in 1997, following a pilot study conducted by the Bay Protection and Toxic Cleanup Program in 1994. Data collected through this monitoring program provides updates on the status and long-term trends of contaminants in Bay sport fish, and are used to update human health consumption advisories and evaluate the effectiveness of regulatory and management efforts to reduce the impacts of contaminants of concern in the Bay. Key analyses in this report include comparisons of concentrations to human health and regulatory thresholds, spatial trend evaluation, and temporal trend evaluation.  Mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, selenium, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and perfluoroalkylated substances (PFASs) were analyzed across sixteen fish species collected at eight locations in San Francisco Bay and Artesian Slough. Fish species were selected based on a number of criteria, including species that are popular for consumption, are sensitive indicators of problems (accumulating relatively high concentrations of contaminants), are widely distributed, represent different exposure pathways (benthic vs. pelagic), and have been monitored in the past. Concentrations were compared to numeric human health thresholds established by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) for mercury, PCBs, selenium, and PBDEs. Results were also compared to regulatory thresholds for mercury, PCBs, and selenium, as well as non-regulatory screening value for dioxins, which have been established in Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) regulations by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (Water Board).