SWAMP Team Members Contact Information

Karen Taberski: Ktaberski@waterboards.ca.gov, 510-622-2424, Nelia White: NWhite@waterboards.ca.gov, 510-622-2480 Leslie Perry: Lperry@waterboards.ca.gov, Kim Harrison: Kmharrison@waterboards.ca.gov, Arnie Thompson:

Athompson@ waterboards.ca.gov, and Matthew Cover: Mcover@waterboards.ca.gov

Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP)San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board

Program Overview and Goals

SWAMP is a statewide surface water quality monitoring program implemented in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. The state established SWAMP in 2000 at the urging of a public advisory group representing citizens, land managers, environmentalists, industries, cities, and farmers. SWAMP facilitates science-based regulatory decision-making.

Both the Federal Clean Water Act and the State Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act require the state to identify "beneficial uses" of water and to establish water quality objectives to protect those uses. The goal for SWAMP in the San Francisco Bay Region is to monitor and assess water quality to determine whether beneficial uses are protected. The beneficial uses we evaluate relate to human health and aquatic life. Thus, we measure physical, chemical, and biological water quality indicators in creeks, lakes, reservoirs, and bays with beneficial uses in mind. Water, sediment, and biological samples are collected to understand baseline conditions (how things are now), natural variability, and effects of land use on water quality.

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Beneficial Use Evaluation through measurement of Particular Water Quality Indicators

Water Contact and Noncontact Recreation

• Total coliform bacteria, fecal coliform bacteria, E. coli

Ocean, Commercial, and Sport Fishing

• Fish chemistry, fish lipid concentration

Warm and Cold Freshwater Habitat, Preservation of Rare and Endangered Species, and Fish Spawning

• Continuous monitoring of temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and specific conductivity

• Water chemistry (nutrients, metals, organics)

• Sediment chemistry (metals, organics)

• Water Toxicity (algae, crustacean, and fathead minnow)

• Sediment Toxicity (freshwater amphipod)

• Pyrethoids in water using ELISA method

• Water hardness

• Total suspended solids and total dissolved solids in water

• Total organic carbon and dissolved organic carbon in water

• Water turbidity and flow

• Chlorophyll levels in water

Year 5 sampling stations are illustrated in the map above. With SWAMP funding for fiscal year 2004-2005, we are monitoring nine creeks from Bolinas to San Francisco and we have selected 16 monitoring stations. We will also perform water quality monitoring at four stations in Rodeo Lake and Lagoon.

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The SWAMP funded program in the Bay Area Region is designed to answer questions such as:

• Is it safe to swim in the water body?

• Is it safe to eat the fish from the water body?

• Is the water or sediment toxic to organisms?

• Does the water body support a reasonable level of biodiversity?

• Does the water, sediment, or fish tissue contain pollutants at levels that violate water quality standards?

• Are water quality objectives for dissolved oxygen, pH, ammonia, bacteria, and other parameters met?

Poster prepared by Terri Fashing, SWAMP Alumni

The map above illustrates SWAMP monitoring watersheds from past years (years 1-4) and from the current year (year 5). It also displays Toxic Substance Monitoring Program (Reservoir Fish) and Coastal Fish Contamination Program monitoring locations. Both programs are part of SWAMP. Finally, the map shows where monitoring occurs under the San Francisco Estuary Regional Monitoring Program (RMP), which is a collaborative program made up of dischargers, regulators, scientists, and citizens.

SWAMP Monitoring 2000-2005

Study Design

• A rotating watershed approach is used to cover the region.

• Sampling stations may be established above and below particular land uses such as agriculture, industry, and golf courses to evaluate the impact of these land uses on water quality. Reference stations are established and data is compared to data from more impacted stations.

• Spatial trends are evaluated by distributing sampling stations throughout watersheds. Sediment is sampled at the bottom of watersheds (at integrator stations) to determine whether contaminants are being contributed to receiving waters.

• Rapid bioassessments with concurrent measurement of basic water quality parameters and visual physical habitat assessments are conducted in the spring at a maximum number of stations.

• Intra-annual temporal variability is evaluated by taking water samples at a subset of stations during the wet, spring (declining hydrograph), and dry seasons.

• Trash assessments have been conducted three to four times a year to determine where trash is coming from and how much accumulates over a particular time period.

• Collaboration with local agencies and citizens groups is pursued in order to conduct follow up monitoring.

Monitoring in Region 2

Partners

Monitoring in Region 2

Partners