San Francisco Bay California Toxics Rule Priority Pollutant Ambient Water Monitoring Report

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

In 2000, the USEPA published Water Quality Standards; Establishment of Numeric Objectives for Priority Toxic Pollutants for the State of California, commonly known as t

In 2000, the USEPA published Water Quality Standards; Establishment of Numeric Objectives for Priority Toxic Pollutants for the State of California, commonly known as the California Toxics Rule (CTR), which established numeric water quality standards for 126 priority pollutants. Under the Policy for Implementation of Toxics Standards for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California (also known as the State Implementation Policy, SIP) the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (SFBRWQCB) is required to establish water quality-based effluent limitations in order to achieve priority pollutant standards. For the purposes of this document “water quality criteria” (WQCs) will be used to refer both to the CTR established numeric criteria for 126 priority pollutants as well as to numeric objectives for 12 of these priority pollutants and tributyltin previously established in the San Francisco Bay Water Quality Control Plan (Basin Plan) and/or the National Toxics Rule. A number of these pollutants previously were or continue to be regularly monitored as part of the Regional Monitoring Program Status and Trends (RMP S&T). The priority pollutants not routinely included in RMP S&T were previously monitored in wet and dry season ambient water sampling in 2002 and 2003. Results of that effort are detailed in a previously issued : Most of the priority pollutants were not detected in that study, or detected at concentrations below their WQC. Among the pollutants that were detected, a number of them were also found at similar concentrations in lab blanks, suggesting they might not have been present (or at least were at lower concentrations) in the ambient environment. Since over a decade had passed since that previous monitoring effort, the RMP embarked on an effort to repeat measurement of these seldom analyzed (non- S&T) contaminants, to ensure conditions have not changed appreciably to present greater risk for any of them.

San Francisco Bay Interim Model Validation Report

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

As part of the Nutrient Management Strategy, a coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model of San Francisco Bay is being developed. The process-based, numerical model will

As part of the Nutrient Management Strategy, a coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model of San Francisco Bay is being developed. The process-based, numerical model will be used to inform nutrient management decisions, by: • improving quantitative understanding of processes that shape current conditions, • forecasting ecosystem response under future scenarios, and • evaluating potential effectiveness of management actions. This report describes the model in its present configuration and the status of its validation. Model development is necessarily an iterative process, with early stages focused on refining the model’s representation of hydrodynamics and transport, and later stages of the effort including increasingly complex representations of biogeochemistry. Present validation efforts focus on assessing model skill with respect to hydrodynamics, salinity and transport. The final report will additionally consider model validation of water quality and biogeochemical processes.

San Francisco Bay Microplastics Project: Science-Supported Solutions and Policy Recommendations

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

Plastics in our waterways and in the ocean, and more specifically microplastics (plastic particles less than 5 mm in size), have gained global attention as a pervasive an

Plastics in our waterways and in the ocean, and more specifically microplastics (plastic particles less than 5 mm in size), have gained global attention as a pervasive and preventable threat to marine ecosystem health. The San Francisco Bay Microplastics Project was designed to provide critical data on microplastics in the Bay Area. The project also engaged multiple stakeholders in both science and policy discussions. Finally, the project was designed to generate scientifically supported regional and statewide policy recommendations for solutions to plastic pollution. 

San Francisco Bay Nutrient Management Strategy Observation Program

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | July 1st, 2020

This document presents a planning-level description of the draft Nutrient Management Strategy Observation Program (NMSOP), including estimated budget and approach for ph

This document presents a planning-level description of the draft Nutrient Management Strategy Observation Program (NMSOP), including estimated budget and approach for phased growth. The NMSOP represents the design that is needed to address NMS†data needs¨ not an existing program. The proposed design represents a balance between two key goals: ● Target high priority NMS data collection needs ● Where feasible, align field work and data collection efforts with other programs’ established infrastructure, to enhance cost-effectiveness and sustainability. While an inter-program collaborative approach is important for securing NMSOP’s long-term sustainability, building a reliable consortium will require up-front effort to establish inter-program science, management, and financial agreements. This document focuses on the NMSOP scientific program design and growth, with institutional program development described in a companion work plan (SFEI 2016b).

San Francisco Bay Shore Inventory: Mapping for Sea Level Rise Planning

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

With rising sea levels and the increased likelihood of extreme weather events, it is important for regional agencies and local municipalities in the San Francisco Bay Are

With rising sea levels and the increased likelihood of extreme weather events, it is important for regional agencies and local municipalities in the San Francisco Bay Area to have a clear understanding of the status, composition, condition, and elevation of our current Bay shore, including both natural features and built infrastructure. The purpose of this Bay shore inventory is to create a comprehensive and consistent picture of today’s Bay shore features to inform regional planning. This dataset includes both structures engineered expressly for flood risk management (such as accredited levees) and features that affect flooding at the shore but are not designed or maintained for this purpose (such as berms, road embankments, and marshes). This mapping covers as much of the ‘real world’ influence on flooding and flood routing as possible, including the large number of non-accredited structures. This information is needed to: identify areas vulnerable to flooding. identify adaptation constraints due to present Bay shore alignments; and suggest opportunities where beaches, wetlands, and floodplains can be maintained or restored and integrated into flood risk management strategies. The primary focus of the project is therefore to inform regional planners and managers of Bay shore characteristics and vulnerabilities. The mapping presented here is neither to inform FEMA flood designation nor is it a replacement for site-specific analysis and design. The mapping consists of two main elements: Mapping of Bay shore features (levees, berms, roads, railroads, embankments, etc.) which could affect flooding and flood routing. Attributing Bay shore features with additional information including elevations, armoring, ownership (when known), among others. SFEI delineated and characterized the Bay shore inland to 3 meters (10ft) above mean higher high water (MHHW) to accommodate observed extreme water levels and the commonly used range of future sea level rise (SLR) scenarios. Elevated Bay shore features were mapped and classified as engineered levees, berms, embankments, transportation structures, wetlands, natural shoreline, channel openings, or water control structures. Mapped features were also attributed with elevation (vertical accuracy of <5cm reported in 30 meter (100ft) segments from LiDAR derived digital elevation models (DEMs), FEMA accreditation status, fortification (e.g., riprap, buttressing), frontage (e.g., whether a feature was fronted by a wetland or beach), ownership, and entity responsible for maintenance. Water control structures, ownership, and maintenance attributes were captured where data was available (not complete for entire dataset). The dataset was extensively reviewed and corrected by city, county, and natural resource agency staff in each county around the Bay. This report provides further description of the Bay shore inventory and methods used for developing the dataset. The result is a publicly accessible GIS spatial database.

San Francisco Bay Triennial Bird Egg Monitoring Program for Contaminants, California—2018

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | May 23rd, 2019

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP), administered by the San Francisco Estuary Institute, is a large-scale effort to monitor cont

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP), administered by the San Francisco Estuary Institute, is a large-scale effort to monitor contaminant trends in water, sediment, fish, and birds throughout San Francisco Bay (San Francisco Estuary Institute, 2016). As part of the RMP and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) long-term Wildlife Contaminants Program, the USGS samples double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) and Forster’s tern (Sterna forsteri) eggs throughout the San Francisco Bay approximately every 3 years to assess temporal trends in contaminant concentrations. This sampling has previously been carried out by USGS in 2009, 2012, and 2016. This document summarizes egg collections for 2018, as well as mercury concentrations in Forster’s tern eggs on an individual egg basis. These data are available in a USGS data release (Ackerman and others, 2019).

San Francisco Estuary Blueprint 2022

San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP) | September 8th, 2022

In the past few years, the San Francisco Estuary region has confronted epic wildfires, historic rainfall intensity and flooding, and chronic drought. The whiplash of thes

In the past few years, the San Francisco Estuary region has confronted epic wildfires, historic rainfall intensity and flooding, and chronic drought. The whiplash of these events has confirmed that climate change has already begun to impact human and wildlife communities from Sacramento to San Francisco, and beyond. Furthermore, a global COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted regional planning and project implementation everywhere, presenting new challenges to traditional processes and creating an unfamiliar working landscape for resource managers. Finally, the pervasive, horrific violence against Black, Brown, and Asian and Asian-American people has amplified long-term calls for racial justice, galvanizing new commitments to address historic and present inequity through every thread of our social fabric. These events have set the context for the multi-stakeholder process that updates the San Francisco Estuary Blueprint.

San Francisco Estuary Blueprint 2022 (Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for the San Francisco Estuary)

San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP) | March 16th, 2022

Click here for the definition of a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan)

Click here for the definition of a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan)

San Joaquin River Flow and Southern Delta Salinity Technical Report

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | October 10th, 2011

The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) is in the process of reviewing the San Joaquin River (SJR) flow objectives for the protection of fish and wild

The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) is in the process of reviewing the San Joaquin River (SJR) flow objectives for the protection of fish and wildlife beneficial uses, water quality objectives for the protection of southern delta agricultural beneficial uses, and the program of implementation for those objectives contained in the 2006 Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (2006 Bay-Delta Plan). The information and analytical tools described in this report (referred to hereafter as Draft Technical Report or Technical Report) are intended to provide the State Water Board with the scientific information and tools needed to consider potential changes to these objectives and the program of implementation. In this quasi-legislative process, State Water Board staff will propose amendments to the SJR flow and southern Delta salinity objectives and program of implementation contained in the 2006 Bay-Delta Plan, and will comply with the California Environmental Quality Act including preparation of a Substitute Environmental Document (SED). The proposed amendments will include revisions to these objectives for the reasonable protection of fish and wildlife, agriculture, and municipal and industrial beneficial uses, and a program of implementation. Any changes to water rights consistent with the revised program of implementation will be considered in a subsequent adjudicative proceeding.

San Joaquin River Restoration Program

San Joaquin River Restoration Program | December 13th, 2007