Developing Water Quality Solutions for SF Bay Dyan Whyte [email protected] California Regional...
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Developing Water Quality Solutions for SF Bay Dyan Whyte Dyan Whyte [email protected] [email protected] California Regional Water California Regional Water Quality Control Board Quality Control Board San Francisco Bay Region San Francisco Bay Region
Transcript of Developing Water Quality Solutions for SF Bay Dyan Whyte [email protected] California Regional...
Developing Water Quality Solutions for SF Bay
Dyan WhyteDyan [email protected]@rb2.swrcb.ca.gov
California Regional Water Quality California Regional Water Quality Control BoardControl Board
San Francisco Bay RegionSan Francisco Bay Region
Dyan Whyte RMP annual meeting 5/13/2003
Total Maximum Daily Load
Clean Water Act §303(d) requires States to:– Identify impaired waters– Adopt plans to restore and maintain water
quality standards
California:– TMDLs are adopted by incorporation into
Basin Plans– Basin Planning process requires
implementation plans
Dyan Whyte RMP annual meeting 5/13/2003
1998 303(d) Impaired Waters List
1472 listings statewide
(400 – 800 projects)
160+ listings in SF Bay Region
(33 projects?)
Dyan Whyte RMP annual meeting 5/13/2003
San Francisco Bay listed as impaired by:
Pesticide toxicity
Legacy pesticides
Selenium
Exotic species
Dioxins/furans
Copper
Nickel
Mercury
PCBs
PAHs & PBDEs watch listed
Project Definition
Project Definition
Data CollectionData Collection
Project Analyses
Project Analyses
Regulatory Action/ProcessRegulatory Action/Process
WQSSupport
WQSSupport
303(d) List303(d) List
Project Planning
Project Planning
Adaptive ImplementationAdaptive Implementation
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2 3
4
5-7
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TMDL Phases & Products
Impairment assessment, conceptual model development
Project Reports
Basin Plan amendment
Dyan Whyte RMP annual meeting 5/13/2003
How to deal with uncertainty & complexity ???
STOP! Do not proceed until all the facts are in and we understand the system perfectly and can take actions that we know will be 100% effective.
Dyan Whyte RMP annual meeting 5/13/2003
Coping with Complexity & Uncertainties
Proceed but employ:
the scientific method
A cautious approach
Flexibility
Adaptive implementation
Dyan Whyte RMP annual meeting 5/13/2003
TMDL Projects Updates
Dyan Whyte RMP annual meeting 5/13/2003
Cu/Ni in SF BayOutcomes of the TMDL project
SSOs for South Bay calculated to fully protect beneficial usesAssessment suggested no impairment by ambient levels of copper Water quality protection plan that contains pollution prevention actions and ongoing monitoring to assess statusRecommended de-listing
Dyan Whyte RMP annual meeting 5/13/2003
Keys to Cu/Ni project success
Adequate Funding and dataRMP baseline monitoring provided core data set to
evaluate ambient conditionsSan Jose and other cities contributed > $2 million to
improve scientific understanding and stakeholder involvement.
Stakeholder involvementConsensus reached on complex technical issues.Technical Peer ReviewEnsured that the science component was sound.Paved the way for consensus on the policy issues.
Mercury transformations in the environment:
From cinnabar to the sushi bar
Dyan Whyte RMP annual meeting 5/13/2003
Bed Erosion 460Central Valley Watershed 440Urban Storm Water Runoff 160Guadalupe River Watershed 92Direct Atmospheric Deposition 27Non-Urban Storm Water Runoff 25
Wastewater 19
Total 1,220
SF Bay mercury sources
Mercury Load
(kg/yr)
MercurySources
MercurySources
WQStandards(beneficial
uses)
Used to Evaluate Success
Used to Allocate Loads
Beneficial Uses
BirdEgg
Target
Sediment Target
FishTissueTarget
Dyan Whyte RMP annual meeting 5/13/2003
SF Bay Mercury TMDLImplementation Plan
Reduce mercury loads to SF Bay.Reduce production of methyl mercury.Perform monitoring and focused studies to:– Assess progress toward targets– Refine load estimates – Evaluate appropriateness of targets– Evaluate controllability of loads.
Encourage actions that address multiple contaminantsRe-visit decisions on targets, allocations, and implementation actions every 5 - 10 years
Atmospheric Deposition
PointSources
UrbanRunoff
Spills &On-Land
ContaminatedSites
DeltaInflow
Non-UrbanRunoff &
Non-PointSources
SurfaceWaters
BiologicallyActive
SedimentLayer
BuriedSediment
Layer
Fish
Benthic Invertebrates
& Plants
Fish eatingWildlife
Benthic &Plant eating
Wildlife
Humans
Bioturbation, Scouring, Deposition & Resuspension,
Transport, Dredging
Degradation,Sorption & Desorption,
Diffusion
GoldenGate
Outflow
PCBs TMDLConceptual Model
Dyan Whyte RMP annual meeting 5/13/2003
• SF Bay Hg final TMDL report • SF Bay PCBs preliminary and final TMDL reports• Guadalupe River source assessment & conceptual
model report• Urban Creeks pesticide toxicity final TMDL report• Napa River sediments and nutrients preliminary
project report• San Francisquito sediments preliminary project report• Sonoma Creek sediments and nutrients preliminary
project report
Stay tuned for …
Dyan Whyte RMP annual meeting 5/13/2003
Conceptual models and SF Bay impairment assessments for:
– Legacy pesticides – Selenium– Pesticide toxicity– Dioxins/furans– PAHs– PBDEs
Stay tuned for …
Dyan Whyte RMP annual meeting 5/13/2003
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the hard working TMDL staff, especially
Bill Johnson
Fred Hetzel
Richard Looker
Tom Mumley
who let me pillage their slide collections
