NEW - Pathogen Maps for Napa River
The Napa River Pathogens Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Implementation plan includes water quality monitoring every five years to assess progress made toward attaining TMDL targets. Watershed Stewards Program Corps members and Scientists from the SF Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board created this map to show results from monitoring in 2022. This map will be updated in the future to show additional monitoring results. More information on this TMDL can be found on the Napa River Pathogen TMDL webpage.
NEW - Community Outreach and Water Quality in Historically Underserved Communities
SF Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board staff and community partners monitored summer levels of illness-causing bacteria at publicly accessible creeks in historically underserved communities throughout the East Bay. The data were assessed using the U.S. EPA objective for water recreation and published in online data maps. Staff coordinated with local land managers to alert the public of potentially unsafe conditions. Multilingual advisory signs with QR codes linking to the online maps were posted at creeks of concern.
NEW - TMDL/Pathogen Maps for Richardson Bay and Tomales Bay
The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board has created maps of long-term bacteria monitoring in and around Tomales Bay and Richardson Bay. Watershed Stewards Program Corpsmembers and Scientists from the SF Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board created this map to represent bacteria loads from pre-TMDL sampling, post-TMDL sampling, and the present. More information on each of these TMDLs can be found on the Region 2 TMDL webpage.
NEW -An assessment of the biological condition of streams in the San Francisco Bay Area
The authors of this report assessed over 20 years of bioassessment data relative to stressor gradients in the San Francisco Bay Area and concluded alternative thresholds may be more appropriate to assess intermittent streams and modified channel types.
North Bay Fires in 2017
In October 2017, three large wildfires burned over 100,000 acres in the North Bay. Fires can cause significant increases in contaminants including nutrients (e.g. nitrates and phosphorus), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), copper, zinc, mercury, lead, and other metals, so we monitored for those pollutants in Napa River and Sonoma Creek watersheds. Results indicate water quality was not impacted by fires in either watershed.
For more information, please contact Rebecca Nordenholt at RNordenholt@waterboards.ca.gov or (510) 622-1013.
Assessment of Select Estuaries of Marin County
The authors of this report prepared report cards on bar-built estuaries (BBE) at: Horseshoe Pond, Drakes Beach, Redwood Creek, Rodeo Valley, and Tennessee Valley. Marin County BBE Report Cards are available for download from the Central Coast Wetlands Group Document Library.
Mussel Watch Program/Toxic Substances Monitoring
For 27 years (1976-2003) fish, mussels and clams, and other aquatic life forms were collected from California's fresh, estuarine, and marine waters. Samples were analyzed for trace elements, pesticides, and PCBs. This provided the State Water Resources Control Board with a uniform statewide approach to the detection and evaluation of the occurrence of toxic substances. This monitoring primarily targeted areas with known or suspected impaired water quality. Information collected through these efforts are still used by the State and Regional Water Boards, and other agencies to identify waters impacted by toxic pollutants.
Bay Protection and Toxic Cleanup Program (BPTCP)
The BPTCP began in 1990 and ended in 1999. The program had four major goals: (1) protect existing and future beneficial uses of bay and estuarine waters; (2) identify and characterize toxic hot spots; (3) plan for the prevention and control of further pollution at toxic hot spots; and (4) develop plans for remedial actions of existing toxic hot spots and prevent the creation of new toxic hot spots.
