Introduction RMP Objectives Monitoring Design References

Introduction

This report describes the results from the 1997 Regional Monitoring Program for Trace Substances (RMP). It is the fifth annual report from the RMP which began in 1993 and includes data, interpretation, and synthesis from Base Program monitoring, as well as results of pilot and special studies conducted or completed in 1997. Additionally, this report includes several articles contributed by some RMP investigators and other researchers. These articles provide perspective and insight on important contaminant issues identified by the RMP, and they describe results from projects that took advantage of RMP field operations. Background information about the RMP, included in previous Annual Reports, is not repeated in this report. Instead, the reader is referred to those reports where appropriate. A full description of the RMP is also included in the RMP Program Plan available from the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) and through our website at http://www.sfei.org.

In 1997, the list of Program Participants was expanded to seventy-seven federal, state, and local agencies and companies. Together with the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board), they participated in the RMP as funders and service providers. They also assist in directing the Program through input or participation on the Steering and Technical Review Committees. The RMP Participants are listed on the inside of the front cover.

RMP Objectives

Staff at the Regional Board and SFEI along with representatives of RMP participating agencies developed the Program objectives:

Monitoring Design

The RMP sampling design was based on the Bay Protection and Toxic Cleanup Program (BPTCP) Pilot Studies developed by the Regional Board (Flegal et al., 1994). The reasoning behind the original design, with stations located along the †spineÿ of the Estuary, was to include stations that, in a long-term monitoring program, would indicate spatial and temporal trends in toxicity and chemistry, determine background concentrations for different reaches of the Estuary, and assess whether there were high levels of contaminants or toxicity. Several new stations were added in 1994 to fill spatial gaps and to begin monitoring near major tributaries (SFEI, 1995). Additionally, two stations were added in 1994 in the southern-most end of the Estuary in cooperation with the Cities of San Jose (station C-3-0) and Sunnyvale (station C-1-3) and the Regional Board as part of their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) monitoring.

The RMP station design has provided a picture of the range of conditions found in deeper parts of the Estuary, influenced by riverine, seasonal, and daily natural processes. During the re-design process, options for incorporating more near-shore stations, evaluating overall Estuary condition at statistically representative sites, or conducting intensive embayment studies will be explored.

Five types of samples were collected in the 1997 Base Program:

Complete listings of all parameters measured in 1997 are included in Table 1.1. Methods of collection and analysis are detailed in Appendix A. RMP data included in this report can be obtained by contacting SFEI or by accessing SFEIπs website at: http://www.sfei.org.

Locations of the twenty-two RMP and two Southern Slough (C-3-0, C-1-3) sampling stations are shown in the RMP station location map; Table 1.2 lists the station names, codes, locations, and sampling dates for all 1997 stations. Water, sediment, or bioaccumulation sampling sites with the same station name may have different station codes as they are situated at slightly different locations (latitude, longitude) due to practical considerations such as sediment type or ability to deploy bivalves. For example, at the South Bay site BA20 is the water station code and BA21 is the sediment station code.

Sampling occurred during three periods in 1997: during the wet season (JanuaryFebruary), a period of declining Delta outflow (late April), and during the dry season (JulyAugust). The rationale for taking seasonal ¯snapshots” is to relate contaminant data during hydrologically different periods of the year with higher-frequency measurements conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and to evaluate the influence of natural variability on the contaminant signal. As part of the RMP re-design, the use of more intensive data on tides, Delta outflow, salinity gradients, algal blooms, and other parameters will be evaluated in greater detail to minimize the natural noise around any signals of water quality improvement or degradation over time.

Not all parameters were measured at all RMP stations each sampling period. Sampling activities at each station are listed on Table 1.2. Water samples were collected at all stations during all three sampling periods; however, trace organic contaminants in water were only measured at eighteen RMP stations and at San Jose (C-3-0). Aquatic bioassays were conducted at eight RMP stations and at Sunnyvale and San Jose (C-1-3 and C-3-0) during the wet- and dry-season sampling periods.

Sediment sampling was conducted during the wet- and dry-season sampling periods only. Sediment samples were collected from all RMP stations, except the Golden Gate station (BC20, this site is very deep). Sediment toxicity was measured at fourteen RMP stations and at San Jose (C-3-0) during the wet- and dry-season sampling periods. Measurements of ammonia and sulfides in sediment were also conducted in 1997 to support interpretation of sediment toxicity data.

Bivalve trace metal bioaccumulation was measured at eleven RMP stations, bivalve trace organic bioaccumulation was measured at fourteen RMP stations, and bivalve survival and condition was measured at thirteen RMP stations during the wet- and dry-season sampling periods.

Water and sediment samples were collected from the R/V David Johnston chartered through the University of California, Santa Cruz. Each sampling cruise starts with water sampling at all RMP stations. Sediment sampling is then conducted with a separate run though the Estuary. Each complete sampling run requires three to five days. Bivalve monitoring consisted of three parts: deployment of transplants from reference sites, maintenance, and retrieval. Most of this work was conducted aboard the R/V Questuary, owned by San Francisco State University. The California Department of Water Resources provided back-up services for bivalve cruises.

As in past years, field sampling and laboratory analysis were coordinated by the RMP prime contractor, Applied Marine Sciences in Livermore, California. In addition, a group of Principal Investigators also participated in the RMP (Table 1.3).

References