Bay Area Green Infrastructure Water Quality Synthesis

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

San Francisco Bay is impacted by the numerous urban pollutants that flow from the surrounding landscape during storm events. In San Francisco Bay, total maximum daily lo

San Francisco Bay is impacted by the numerous urban pollutants that flow from the surrounding landscape during storm events. In San Francisco Bay, total maximum daily load (TMDL) clean-up plans are in place for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and mercury (Hg) (Davis et al., 2007; Davis et al., 2012). As municipalities strive to reach regulatory targets, green infrastructure (GI) presents a promising solution for managing stormwater pollutants while achieving additional environmental and social benefits. However, remaining data gaps including the best design layout, media composition, and vegetation and submerged zone effects on performance can prevent local managers from accurately assessing water quality benefits provided by green infrastructure as well as the maintenance needs to sustain adequate performance.

Bay Area Water Supply Resilience and the Bay-Delta Plan

Publisher not available | March 15th, 2024

Bed-Material Characteristics of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, 2010–13

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | January 9th, 2017

The characteristics of bed material at selected sites within the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, during 2010–13 are described in a study conducted by the U.

The characteristics of bed material at selected sites within the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, during 2010–13 are described in a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation. During 2010-13, six complete sets of samples were collected. Samples were initially collected at 30 sites; however, starting in 2012, samples were collected at 7 additional sites. These sites are generally collocated with an active streamgage. At all but one site, a separate bed-material sample was collected at three locations within the channel (left, right, and center). Bed-material samples were collected using either a US BMH–60 or a US BM–54 (for sites with higher stream velocity) cable-suspended, scoop sampler. Samples from each location were oven-dried and sieved. Bed material finer than 2 millimeters was subsampled using a sieving riffler and processed using a Beckman Coulter LS 13–320 laser diffraction particle-size analyzer. To determine the organic content of the bed material, the loss on ignition method was used for one subsample from each location. Particle-size distributions are presented as cumulative percent finer than a given size. Median and 90th-percentile particle size, and the percentage of subsample mass lost using the loss on ignition method for each sample are also presented in this report.

Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Delta Conveyance Project

Berkeley Research Group (BRG) | May 16th, 2024

This report presents the results of a benefit-cost analysis for the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP), a plan to modernize the State Water Project (SWP)’s conveyance infra

This report presents the results of a benefit-cost analysis for the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP), a plan to modernize the State Water Project (SWP)’s conveyance infrastructure in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta). The SWP plays a crucial role in supplying water resources to 27 million Californians. Businesses in the area served by the SWP produce $2.3 trillion in goods and services annually, making it the world’s eighth-largest economy. The SWP delivers an average of 2.56 million acre-feet of water annually to urban and agricultural customers in the Bay Area, Central Valley, Central Coast, and Southern California. However, by 2070, climate change and sea-level rise are expected to reduce SWP deliveries by approximately 22%, or 546 thousand acre-feet per year (TAF/yr). In addition, the SWP faces an ongoing risk of service disruptions following seismic events near the Delta; these events could cause outages and reduce the quality of water exports from the SWP south of the Delta.

Bifenthrin, a ubiquitous contaminant, impairs the development and behavior of the threatened Longfin Smelt during early life stages

American Chemical Society (ACS) | June 23rd, 2023

The Longfin Smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys) population in the San Franscisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Bay-Delta) has declined to ∼1% of its pre-1980s abundance

The Longfin Smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys) population in the San Franscisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Bay-Delta) has declined to ∼1% of its pre-1980s abundance and, as a result, is listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act. The reasons for this decline are multiple and complex, including the impacts of contaminants. Because the spawning and rearing seasons of Longfin Smelt coincide with the rainy season, during which concentrations of contaminants increase due to runoff, we hypothesized that early life stages may be particularly affected by those contaminants. Bifenthrin, a pyrethroid insecticide commonly used in agricultural and urban sectors, is of concern. Concentrations measured in the Bay-Delta have been shown to disrupt the behavior, development, and endocrine system of other fish species. The objective of the present work was to assess the impact of bifenthrin on the early developmental stages of Longfin Smelt. For this, embryos were exposed to 2, 10, 100, and 500 ng/L bifenthrin from fertilization to hatch, and larvae were exposed to 2, 10, and 100 ng/L bifenthrin from one day before to 3 days post-hatch. We assessed effects on size at hatch, yolk sac volume, locomotory behavior, and upper thermal susceptibility (via cardiac endpoints). Exposure to these environmentally relevant concentrations of bifenthrin did not significantly affect the cardiac function of larval Longfin Smelt; however, exposures altered their behavior and resulted in smaller hatchlings with reduced yolk sac volumes. This study shows that bifenthrin affects the fitness-determinant traits of Longfin Smelt early life stages and could contribute to the observed population decline.

Biological opinion and conference opinion on the long-term operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | June 4th, 2009

Biological Opinion for the Reinitiation of Consultation on the Long-Term Operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | December 6th, 2024

Biological Opinion on Long-term Operation of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | October 21st, 2019

Biological opinion on the coordinated operations of the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) | December 15th, 2008

On May 16, 2008, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the California Department of Water Resources asked the Service to initiate consultation on the Long-Term Operational C

On May 16, 2008, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the California Department of Water Resources asked the Service to initiate consultation on the Long-Term Operational Criteria and Plan (OCAP) for coordination of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project, specifically concerning the delta smelt and its critical habitat. (See OCAP Legal Archives.) On December 15, 2008, the Fish & Wildlife Service issued a biological opinion (BO) on the Long-Term Operational Criteria and Plan (OCAP) for coordination of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project. The Service determined that the continued operation of these two water projects, as described in the plan, was likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the delta smelt and adversely modify its critical habitat. The inclusion by the Service of reasonable and prudent alternatives, and their acceptance by the water agencies, avoided jeopardy and adverse modification.

Bisphenols in San Francisco Bay: Wastewater, Stormwater, and Margin Sediment Monitoring

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | October 28th, 2022

Bisphenols are a class of synthetic, mobile, endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Bisphenol A (BPA), the most well-studied bisphenol, is produced and used in vast quantities w

Bisphenols are a class of synthetic, mobile, endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Bisphenol A (BPA), the most well-studied bisphenol, is produced and used in vast quantities worldwide—especially in polycarbonate plastics and as a polymer additive. Recently, some manufacturers have begun using alternative bisphenol compounds, such as bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol S (BPS). These uses of bisphenols have led to widespread bisphenol detections in the environment and wildlife. The present study examined wastewater effluent in the San Francisco Bay Area and San Francisco Bay sediment samples for 17 bisphenols. The effluent samples were compared to available stormwater runoff data to better understand bisphenol transport, fate, and potential risks to wildlife.