The Pulse of the Bay: The 25th Anniversary of the RMP

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

San Francisco Bay is the defining feature of our region and a world-class ecosystem. The Bay Area is also known world-wide as a cradle of innovation, excellence, and succ

San Francisco Bay is the defining feature of our region and a world-class ecosystem. The Bay Area is also known world-wide as a cradle of innovation, excellence, and success, especially in the technology sector. Less well known is the fact that over the past 25 years the Bay Area has been a world leader in water quality monitoring, supporting a pioneering program for the Bay that demonstrates how regional collaboration can provide the science needed to protect and improve water quality in a treasured ecosystem. The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) was established in 1993 and, with sustained local funding and continuous improvement, is going stronger than ever a quarter century later.

The Rebirth of California Fish & Game Code Section 5937: Water for Fish

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | July 1st, 2012

Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so wh

Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. In an average year, California receives inflows and imports of water totaling around 200 million acre-feet,2 enough water to cover the entire state twenty-three inches deep. But California is a state of spatial and temporal water extremes. Spatially, precipitation varies wildly: Death Valley in the Southeast averages less than three inches per year, yet the northwestern corner of the state averages over 140 inches per year. More than 70% of California’s stream flow originates north of Sacramento, but more than 80% of the water is used south of Sacramento. Temporally, precipitation varies both seasonally and annually. California’s wet season typically runs from October or November to April or May, with little or no precipitation during the growing season, from May to September.7 Annual rainfalls of 40% or more below average and 36% or more above average each typically occur once every six to seven years.  To balance these extremes, over 1,300 dams store water across the state, supplying water for urban, industrial, and agricultural uses. While these uses sustain a tremendous part of California’s economy, they also come at high, often unappreciated costs. Fish also need water, so dams that alter water flows for human benefits may also have marked negative impacts on fish.

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay, California, USA: Science in support of managing water quality

Regional Studies in Marine Science (Elsevier) | October 22nd, 2015

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is a novel partnership between regulatory agencies and the regulated community to provide the

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is a novel partnership between regulatory agencies and the regulated community to provide the scientific foundation to manage water quality in the largest Pacific estuary in the Americas. The RMP monitors water quality, sediment quality and bioaccumulation of priority pollutants in fish, bivalves and birds. To improve monitoring measurements or the interpretation of data, the RMP also regularly funds special studies. The success of the RMP stems from collaborative governance, clear objectives, and long-term institutional and monetary commitments. Over the past 22 years, high quality data and special studies from the RMP have guided dozens of important decisions about Bay water quality management. Moreover, the governing structure and the collaborative nature of the RMP have created an environment that allowed it to stay relevant as new issues emerged. With diverse participation, a foundation in scientific principles and a continual commitment to adaptation, the RMP is a model water qualitymonitoring program. This paper describes the characteristics of the RMP that have allowed it to grow and adapt over two decades and some of the ways in which it has influenced water quality management decisions for this important ecosystem.

The RMP Emerging Contaminants Program - Fact Sheet

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

 RMP stakeholders believe that preventing a pollution problem is safer and more cost-effective than cleaning one up. For this reason, the RMP focuses on monitoring emerg

 RMP stakeholders believe that preventing a pollution problem is safer and more cost-effective than cleaning one up. For this reason, the RMP focuses on monitoring emerging contaminants, or CECs. Early identification of problem CECs and quick action to prevent their spread is the best way to protect water quality in San Francisco Bay. 

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: The Evolution and Implementation of Water Policy: An Historical Perspective

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | June 1st, 1977

This report is a history of the attempts to control the encroachment of salinity from San Francisco Bay into the Delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from 1920

This report is a history of the attempts to control the encroachment of salinity from San Francisco Bay into the Delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from 1920 to the present. Two basic solutions to the problem present themselves: the physical separation of salt water from fresh water by means of a barrier at some point downstream from the Delta, or the release of sufficient water from upstream storage reservoirs to drive back tidal salinity.

The Salinity of Rivers

Scientific American | July 1st, 1981

Many ancient civilizations rose by diverting rivers and irrigating arid lands to grow crops. For such projects to succeed human beings had to learn to work cooperativ

Many ancient civilizations rose by diverting rivers and irrigating arid lands to grow crops. For such projects to succeed human beings had to learn to work cooperatively toward a common objective. The most fruitful of the ancient systems was created at the southeastern end of the Fertile Crescent, the broad valley formed by the Tigris and the Euphrates in what is now Iraq. From there civ il ization spread eastward through present-day Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and thence into China, wherever rivers disgorged through valleys of recently deposited alluvial soil. At its peak of productivity each irrigated region probably supported well over a million people. All these civilizations ultimately collapsed, and for the same reason: the land became so salty that crops could no longer be grown on it. The salts that were washed out of the soil at higher elevations became concentrated in the irrigated fields as the water evaporated from the surface and transpired through the leaves of the growing crops. Although floods, plagues and wars took their toll, in the end the civilizations based on irrigation faded away because of salination.

The San Francisco Bay-Delta Agreement: Principles for Agreement on Bay-Delta Standards Between the State of California and the Federal Government

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | December 15th, 1994

The Status of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Stanislaus River Summary report of 2015 snorkel surveys

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | August 1st, 2016

The tradeoff between water savings and salinization prevention in dryland irrigation

Advances in Water Resources (Elsevier) | December 7th, 2023

Soil salinization is a global phenomenon that affects large tracts of arid farmland worldwide. It contributes to the loss of soil fertility, declining yields, and – in

Soil salinization is a global phenomenon that affects large tracts of arid farmland worldwide. It contributes to the loss of soil fertility, declining yields, and – in the most severe cases – land unsuitability for cultivation. Irrigation water applications are both the main cause of and the solution to, anthropogenic (or ‘secondary’) salinization because salt typically enters the soil column as dissolved in irrigation water and leaves it through excess water applications (e.g., leaching). Excess leaching, which places additional water costs in areas affected by water scarcity, can be achieved with different irrigation techniques and practices. Here, by complementing a process-based crop water model with a salt balance of the shallow soil, we investigate the tradeoff between root zone salinization and water conservation to limit withdrawals from the water source. We evaluate how such a tradeoff is achieved under different irrigation technology and excess leaching practices. Considering as a case study the cultivation of tomatoes in Egypt, we find that drip and furrow irrigation allows for better control of salt accumulation, thus preventing crop exposure to salt stress. Drip irrigation achieves this goal with minimal water applications because it maintains the soil wetter. Thus, the (rare) rainfall events find more suitable conditions to drain the excess moisture. Conversely, by using more irrigation water (and ‘less efficiently’), furrow irrigation allows for higher rates of soil drainage and salt leaching. The irrigation schedule typically adopted with sprinkler irrigation allows for soil drying, thus limiting the ability of rainfall events to drain the soil and leach its salts. Collectively, these results highlight the key role of irrigation technology and practices in the management of secondary salinity in dryland agriculture. Specifically, there is a tradeoff between minimizing water use and preventing salt accumulation in the root zone. Drip irrigation exhibits the co-benefit of achieving both goals, while furrow irrigation limits soil salinity at the cost of requiring greater volumes of applied irrigation water.

The Use of Smolt Survival Estimates to Quantify the Effects of Habitat Changes on Salmonid Stocks in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers, California

Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) | July 1st, 1989