Recommendations for the Development and Maintenance of a Reference Condition Management Program (RCMP) to Support Biological Assessment of California’s Wadeable Streams

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | March 26th, 2009

Direct measures of the ecological condition of waterbodies have received a recent surge in interest within California’s water quality management and regulatory programs

Direct measures of the ecological condition of waterbodies have received a recent surge in interest within California’s water quality management and regulatory programs because biology-based assessments have several advantages over chemistry- or toxicity- based assessments. Biological assessments are more closely linked to the beneficial uses to be protected and chemistry- or toxicity-based criteria usually lack the predictive ability to infer biological condition. Ultimately, California needs to develop biology-based standards, or biocriteria, as a regulatory tool for monitoring and protecting aquatic life use. Biological assessment tools, including biocriteria, attempt to objectively “score” the biological integrity at a given site. A crucial component to the development of assessment tools is understanding biological expectations at reference sites that consist of natural, undisturbed systems. These reference systems set the biological condition benchmarks for comparisons to the site(s) being evaluated. Two recent external reviews of the State Water Board’s Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP) affirmed the importance of a sound statewide reference condition program (i.e., TetraTech 2002, SPARC 2006). In October 2007, the SWAMP bioassessment committee assembled a technical panel of statewide and national experts in bioassessment. The panel met for three days to develop a set of recommendations that the SWAMP program could use to establish and maintain a comprehensive reference condition management program (RCMP). The program accounts for biological variation caused by natural environmental gradients and balances statewide consistency with the flexibility needed to adapt to California’s diverse regional settings. Furthermore, the plan allows for adaptive refinement over time.

Recommendations on Model Criteria for Groundwater Sampling, Testing, and Monitoring of Oil and Gas Development in California

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | June 1st, 2015

In California Senate Bill 4 (Pavley, 2013; hereafter referred to as “SB4”), the California legislature found and declared that protecting the state’s groundwater f

In California Senate Bill 4 (Pavley, 2013; hereafter referred to as “SB4”), the California legislature found and declared that protecting the state’s groundwater for beneficial use, particularly sources and potential sources of drinking water, is of paramount concern. Access to safe drinking water is a major issue for California, especially to its disadvantaged communities. State policy is that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes (Chapter 524, Statutes of 2012 (Assembly Bill 685, Eng)). SB4 further found and declared that strategic, scientifically based groundwater monitoring of the state’s oil and gas fields is critical to allaying the public’s concerns regarding well stimulation treatments of oil and gas wells.

Recommendations to Address the Expansion of Seawater Intrusion in the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin

Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) | October 12th, 2017

This report provides a discussion of the current knowledge and related background information surrounding seawater intrusion pathways and potential impacts ther

This report provides a discussion of the current knowledge and related background information surrounding seawater intrusion pathways and potential impacts thereof on the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin. This document also serves as a body of evidence to catalogue the findings used to support the recommendations presented herein. Staff is making six recommendations, with each focused on a component that influences, or could be impacted by, the advancement of seawater intrusion. The recommendations are being presented in an order that builds upon the foundational knowledge laid out in the background section of this report, rather than in an order of priority. Each recommendation can be implemented on its own or in concert with the others, and the relative importance of each will be discussed individually in this report. However, the recommendations have been conceptualized as a comprehensive solution that, along with continued operation of projects that have been constructed for the same purpose, have the strongest potential to ensure success in slowing or halting further seawater intrusion when implemented simultaneously.

Record-High Specific Conductance and Water Temperature in San Francisco Bay during Water Year 2015

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | February 22nd, 2017

The San Francisco estuary is commonly defined to include San Francisco Bay (bay) and the adjacent Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta (delta). The U.S. Geological Survey

The San Francisco estuary is commonly defined to include San Francisco Bay (bay) and the adjacent Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta (delta). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has operated a high-frequency (15-minute sampling interval) water-quality monitoring network in San Francisco Bay since the late 1980s (Buchanan and others, 2014). This network includes 19 stations at which sustained measurements have been made in the bay; currently, 8 stations are in operation (fig. 1). All eight stations are equipped with specific conductance (which can be related to salinity) and water-temperature sensors. Water quality in the bay constantly changes as ocean tides force seawater in and out of the bay, and river inflows—the most significant coming from the delta—vary on time scales ranging from those associated with storms to multiyear droughts. This monitoring network was designed to observe and characterize some of these changes in the bay across space and over time. The data demonstrate a high degree of variability in both specific conductance and temperature at time scales from tidal to annual and also reveal longer-term changes that are likely to influence overall environmental health in the bay. In water year (WY) 2015 (October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2015), as in the preceding water year (Downing-Kunz and others, 2015), the high-frequency measurements revealed record-high values of specific conductance and water temperature at several stations during a period of reduced freshwater inflow from the delta and other tributaries because of persistent, severe drought conditions in California. This report briefly summarizes observations for WY 2015 and compares them to previous years that had different levels of freshwater inflow.

Reduced resilience as an early warning signal of forest mortality

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | October 7th, 2019

Climate-induced forest mortality is being widely observed across the globe. Predicting forest mortality remains challenging because the physiological mechanisms c

Climate-induced forest mortality is being widely observed across the globe. Predicting forest mortality remains challenging because the physiological mechanisms causing mortality are not fully understood and empirical relations between climatology and mortality are subject to change. Here, we show that the temporal loss of resilience, a phenomenon often detected as a system approaches a tipping point, can be used as an early warning signal (EWS) to predict the likelihood of forest mortality directly from remotely sensed vegetation dynamics. We tested the proposed approach on data from Californian forests and found that the EWS can often be detected before reduced greenness, between 6 to 19 months before mortality. The EWS shows a species-specific relation with mortality, and is able to capture its spatio-temporal variations. These findings highlight the potential for such an EWS to predict forest mortality in the near-term.

Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) Field Sampling Report 2016

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

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is the primary source for long-term contaminant monitoring information for the Bay. The RMP

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is the primary source for long-term contaminant monitoring information for the 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.

Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay 2017 Detailed Workplan and Budget

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

In 2017 the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is entering its 25th year of collecting data and communicating information to suppor

In 2017 the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is entering its 25th year of collecting data and communicating information to support water quality management decisions. This Detailed Workplan and Budget describes the activities that will be completed in 2017 and their proposed funding levels.

Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay Multi-Year Plan 2019 Annual Update

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

Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay, 2020 Detailed Workplan and Budget

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

Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) for Water Quality in the San Francisco Bay, Multi-Year Plan 2020 Annual Update

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | January 6th, 2020

In 1992 the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board passed Resolution No. 92-043 directing the Executive Officer to send a letter to regulated dischargers requiring the

In 1992 the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board passed Resolution No. 92-043 directing the Executive Officer to send a letter to regulated dischargers requiring them to implement a regional multi-media pollutant monitoring program for water quality (RMP) in San Francisco Bay. The Water Board’s regulatory authority to require such a program comes from California Water Code Sections 13267, 13383, 13268 and 13385. The Water Board offered to suspend some effluent and local receiving water monitoring requirements for individual discharges to provide cost savings to implement baseline portions of the RMP, although they recognized additional resources would be necessary. The Resolution also included a provision that the requirement for a RMP be included in discharger permits. The RMP began in 1993, and over ensuing years has been a successful and effective partnership of regulatory agencies and the regulated community.