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Watershed Specific and Regional Scale Suspended Sediment Load Estimates for Bay Area Small Tributaries. SFEI Contribution No. 566. Oakland, Ca.
2009. (983.2 KB)Concentrations and Loads of Mercury Species in the Guadalupe River, San Jose, California: Water Year 2010. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Oakland.
2010. (3.34 MB)Concentrations of PCBs and Hg in soils, sediments and water in the urbanized Bay Area: Implications for best management. SFEI Contribution No. 608.
2010. (1.23 MB)Exploratory categorization of watersheds for potential stormwater monitoring in San Francisco Bay. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Oakland, CA.
2010. (4.14 MB)Monitoring Plan Petaluma River Watershed Nutrient and Bacteria Impairment Study: Employing the Reachwide Benthos Method for Stream Algae Sampling and Additional Water Column Nutrient and Fecal Indicator Bacteria Measures. Aquatic Science Center: Oakland, CA.
2010. (2.13 MB)Optimizing sampling methods for pollutant loads and trends in San Francsico Bay urban stormwater monitoring. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Oakland, CA.
2010. (1.6 MB)Petaluma River Impairment Assessment for Nutrients, Sediment/Siltation, and Pathogens Part 1: Existing Information and TMDL Comparison. Aquatic Science Center: Oakland.
2010. (1.89 MB)A Regional Mass Balance of Methylmercury in San Francisco Bay, California, USA. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry . SFEI Contribution No. 619.
2010. (306.73 KB) (275.24 KB)Bioretention Monitoring at the Daly City Library (Case Study Technical Report). San Francisco Estuary Institute: Oakland, CA.
2011. (14.26 MB)Development of Regional Suspended Sediment and Pollutant Load Estimates for San Francisco Bay Area Tributaries using the Regional Watershed Spreadsheet Model (RWSM): Year 1 Progress Report. SFEI Contribution No. 666. SFEI: Richmond, CA. p 126.
2011. (11.37 MB)Estimated Stock in Currently Standing Buildings in a San Francisco Bay Study Area and Releases to Stormwater during Renovation and Demolition. SFEI Contribution No. 651. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Oakland, CA.
2011. (1.49 MB)Guadalupe River Watershed Loading HSPF Model: Year 3 final progress report. SFEI: Richmond, CA.
2011. (1.29 MB)Concentrations and Loads of Trace Contaminants in a Small Urban Tributary, San Francisco Bay, California. SFEI Contribution No. 650. SFEI: Richmond, CA. p 40.
2012. (1.25 MB)Conceptual Model of Contaminant Fate on the Margins of San Francisco Bay. SFEI Contribution No. 663. SFEI: Richmond, CA. p 67.
2012. (3.42 MB) (5.85 MB)Development of Regional Suspended Sediment and Pollutant Load Estimates for San Francisco Bay Area Tributaries using the Regional Watershed Spreadsheet Model (RWSM): Year 2 Progress Report. SFEI Contribution No. 667. SFEI: Richmond, CA. p 17.
2012. (3.9 MB)Estimation of Loads of Mercury, Selenium, PCBs, PAHs, PBDEs, Dioxins, and Organochlorine Pesticides from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to San Francisco Bay. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2012. (1.26 MB)Monitoring and Results for El Cerrito Rain Gardens. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2012. (2.79 MB)Pollutant Monitoring in the North Richmond Pump Station: A Pilot Study for Potential Dry Flow and Seasonal First Flush Diversion for Wastewater Treatment. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2012. (1.4 MB)Pollutants of Concern (POC) Loads Monitoring Data, Water Year (WY) 2011. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2012. (1.03 MB)Reducing methylmercury accumulation in the food webs of San Francisco Bay and its local watersheds. Environmental Research 119, 3-26.
2012. (1.32 MB)Comparison of sediment supply to San Francisco Bay from watersheds draining the Bay Area and the Central Valley of California. Marine Geology Special Issue: A multi-discipline approach for understanding sediment transport and geomorphic evolution in an estuarine-coastal system.
2013. Pollutants of concern (POC) loads monitoring data progress report, water year (WY) 2012. SFEI: Richmond, CA.
2013. (2.33 MB)Sediment transport in the San Francisco Bay Coastal System: An overview. Marine Geology Special Issue: A multi-discipline approach for understanding sediment transport and geomorphic evolution in an estuarine-coastal system.
2013. Estimating Regional Pollutant Loads for San Francisco Bay Area Tributaries using the Regional Watershed Spreadsheet Model( RWSM): Year’s 3 and 4 Progress Report. San Francisco Estuary Institute - Aquatic Science Center: Richmond, CA.
2014. (9.5 MB)Newcomb Avenue Green Street (Case Study Site and Technical Reports). SFEI Contribution No. 793.
2014. (778.81 KB) (1.17 MB)PCBs in San Francisco Bay: Assessment of the Current State of Knowledge and Priority Information Gaps. SFEI Contribution No. 727. SFEI: Richmond, CA.
2014. (11.99 MB)Pollutants of Concern (POC) Loads Monitoring Data Progress Report: Water Years (WYs) 2012 and 2013. SFEI Contribution No. 708. SFEI: Richmond, CA. pp 1-84.
2014. (1.91 MB)Polychlorinated biphenyls in the exterior caulk of San Francisco Bay Area buildings, California, USA. Environment International 66, 38-43.
2014. (267.06 KB)Reducing Methylmercury Accumulation in the Food Webs of San Francisco Bay and Its Local Watersheds. SFEI Contribution No. 707. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2014. (1.87 MB)Removal efficiencies of a bioretention system for trace metals, PCBs, PAHs, and dioxins in a semiarid environment. Journal of Environmental Engineering.
2014. San Francisco State University Site 1 Vegetated Infiltration Basin (Case Study Site and Technical Reports). SFEI Contribution No. 794.
2014. (770.95 KB) (882.14 KB)San Francisco State University Site 3 Basin and Swale System (Case Study Site and Technical Reports). SFEI Contribution No. 795.
2014. (718.98 KB) (1.02 MB)Sunset Circle Vegetated Swale and Infiltration System (Case Study Site and Technical Reports). SFEI Contribution No. 796.
2014. (38.4 MB) (22.9 MB)Cesar Chavez Streetscape Improvement Project (Case Study Site and Technical Reports). SFEI Contribution No. 797.
2015. (651.3 KB) (1.59 MB)Concentrations and loads of PCBs, dioxins, PAHs, PBDEs, OC pesticides and pyrethroids during storm and low flow conditions in a small urban semi-arid watershed. Science of the Total Environment 526, 251-261 . SFEI Contribution No. 650.
2015. Urban runoff has been identified in water quality policy documents for San Francisco Bay as a large and potentially controllable source of pollutants. In response, concentrations of suspended sediments and a range of trace organic pollutants were intensively measured in dry weather and storm flow runoff from a 100% urban watershed. Flow in this highly urban watershed responded very quickly to rainfall and varied widely resulting in rapid changes of turbidity, suspended sediments and pollutant concentrations. Concentrations of each organic pollutant class were within similar ranges reported in other studies of urban runoff, however comparison was limited for several of the pollutants given information scarcity. Consistently among PCBs, PBDEs, and PAHs, the more hydrophobic congeners were transported in larger proportions during storm flows relative to low flows. Loads for Water Years 2007-2010 were estimated using regression with turbidity during the monitored months and a flow weighted mean concentration for unmonitored dry season months. More than 91% of the loads for every pollutant measured were transported during storm events, along with 87% of the total discharge. While this dataset fills an important local data gap for highly urban watersheds of San Francisco Bay, the methods, the uniqueness of the analyte list, and the resulting interpretations have applicability for managing pollutant loads in urban watersheds in other parts of the world.
Estimation of Contaminant Loads from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to San Francisco Bay. Water Environment Research 87 (4), 334-346.
2015. Contaminant concentrations from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River watershed were determined in water samples mainly during flood flows in an ongoing effort to describe contaminant loads entering San Francisco Bay, CA, USA. Calculated PCB and total mercury loads during the 6-year observation period ranged between 3.9 and 19 kg/yr and 61 and 410 kg/yr, respectively. Long-term average PCB loads were estimated at 7.7 kg/yr and total mercury loads were estimated at 200 kg/yr. Also monitored were PAHs, PBDEs (two years of data), and dioxins/furans (one year of data) with average loads of 392, 11, and 0.15/0.014 (OCDD/OCDF) kg/yr, respectively. Organochlorine pesticide loads were estimated at 9.9 kg/yr (DDT), 1.6 kg/yr (chlordane), and 2.2 kg/yr (dieldrin). Selenium loads were estimated at 16 300 kg/yr. With the exception of selenium, all average contaminant loads described in the present study were close to or below regulatory load allocations established for North San Francisco Bay.
Fremont Tree Well Filters: LID Performance on a Redeveloped Urban Roadway (Case Study Site and Technical Reports). SFEI Contribution No. 772.
2015. (31.54 MB) (4.68 MB) (62.4 KB)Sediment Supply, deposition, and transport in the Flood Control Facilities of Arroyo Mocho and Arroyo Las Positas from 2006-2014. . SFEI Contribution No. 771. San Francisco Estuary Institue: Richmond, CA.
2015. (61.71 MB)Hacienda Avenue Bio-Infiltration Basins (Case Study - Fact Sheet). San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2016. (4.27 MB)Pollutants of concern (POC) loads monitoring progress report, water years (WYs) 2012, 2013, and 2014. SFEI Contribution No. 741.
2016. (2.58 MB)Pollutants of concern (POC) reconnaissance monitoring final progress report, water year (WY) 2015. SFEI Contribution No. 787.
2016. (2.71 MB)The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay, California, USA: Science in support of managing water quality. Regional Studies in Marine Science 4.
2016. The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is a novel partnership between regulatory agencies and the regulated community to provide the scientific foundation to manage water quality in the largest Pacific estuary in the Americas. The RMP monitors water quality, sediment quality and bioaccumulation of priority pollutants in fish, bivalves and birds. To improve monitoring measurements or the interpretation of data, the RMP also regularly funds special studies. The success of the RMP stems from collaborative governance, clear objectives, and long-term institutional and monetary commitments. Over the past 22 years, high quality data and special studies from the RMP have guided dozens of important decisions about Bay water quality management. Moreover, the governing structure and the collaborative nature of the RMP have created an environment that allowed it to stay relevant as new issues emerged. With diverse participation, a foundation in scientific principles and a continual commitment to adaptation, the RMP is a model water quality monitoring program. This paper describes the characteristics of the RMP that have allowed it to grow and adapt over two decades and some of the ways in which it has influenced water quality management decisions for this important ecosystem.
Regional Watershed Spreadsheet Model (RWSM) Year 5 Progress Report. SFEI Contribution No. 788.
2016. (1.82 MB)Sources, Pathways and Loadings: Multi-Year Synthesis with a Focus on PCBs and Hg. SFEI Contribution No. 773.
2016. (3.93 MB)Changing Channels: Regional Information for Developing Multi-benefit Flood Control Channels at the Bay Interface. Flood Control 2.0. SFEI Contribution No. 801. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2017. (62.69 MB) (23.02 MB)Over the past 200 years, many of the channels that drain to San Francisco Bay have been modified for land reclamation and flood management. The local agencies that oversee these channels are seeking new management approaches that provide multiple benefits and promote landscape resilience. This includes channel redesign to improve natural sediment transport to downstream bayland habitats and beneficial re-use of dredged sediment for building and sustaining baylands as sea level continues to rise under a changing climate. Flood Control 2.0 is a regional project that was created to help develop innovative approaches for integrating habitat improvement and resilience into flood risk management at the Bay interface. Through a series of technical, economic, and regulatory analyses, the project addresses some of the major elements associated with multi-benefit channel design and management at the Bay interface and provides critical information that can be used by the management and restoration communities to develop long-term solutions that benefit people and wildlife.
This Flood Control 2.0 report provides a regional analysis of morphologic change and sediment dynamics in flood control channels at the Bay interface, and multi-benefit management concepts aimed at bringing habitat restoration into flood risk management. The findings presented here are built on a synthesis of historical and contemporary data that included input from Flood Control 2.0 project scientists, project partners, and science advisors. The results and recommendations, summarized below, will help operationalize many of the recommendations put forth in the Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals Science Update (Goals Project 2015) and support better alignment of management and restoration communities on multi-benefit bayland management approaches.
Conceptual Model to Support PCB Management and Monitoring in the Emeryville Crescent Priority Margin Unit. SFEI Contribution No. 824. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2017. (3.08 MB)Conceptual Model to Support PCB Management and Monitoring in the San Leandro Bay Priority Margin Unit: Phase I. SFEI Contribution No. 830. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2017. (14.6 MB)Long-term variation in concentrations and mass loads in a semi-arid watershed influenced by historic mercury mining and urban pollutant sources. Science of The Total Environment 605-606, 482-497 . SFEI Contribution No. 831.
2017. Pollutants of concern reconnaissance monitoring final progress report, water years 2015 and 2016. SFEI Contribution No. 817.
2017. (4.01 MB)Regional Watershed Spreadsheet Model (RWSM): Year 6 Progress Report. SFEI Contribution No. 811. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2017. (1.79 MB)Bay Area Green Infrastructure Water Quality Synthesis. SFEI Contribution No. 922. San Francisco Estuary Institute : Richmond, CA.
2018. (2.31 MB) (1.95 MB)Conceptual Model to Support PCB Management and Monitoring in the San Leandro Bay Priority Margin Unit: Phase Three - (Coming Soon). SFEI Contribution No. 899. San Francisco Estuary Institute : Richmond, CA.
2018. Green Infrastructure Planning for North Richmond Pump Station Watershed with GreenPlan-IT. SFEI Contribution No. 882. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2018. (1.39 MB)Green Infrastructure Planning for the City of Oakland with GreenPlan-IT. SFEI Contribution No. 884. San Francisco Estuary Institute : Richmond, CA.
2018. (1.98 MB)Green Infrastructure Planning for the City of Richmond with GreenPlan-IT. SFEI Contribution No. 883. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2018. (1.82 MB)Green Infrastructure Planning for the City of Sunnyvale with GreenPlan-IT. SFEI Contribution No. 881. San Francisco Estuary Institute : Richmond, CA.
2018. (2.21 MB)Green Plan-IT Application Report for the East Bay Corridors Initiative. SFEI Contribution No. 887. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2018. (1.26 MB)GreenPlan-IT Tracker.
2018. (1.43 MB)This technical memo describes the purpose, functions, and structure associated with the newest addition to the GreenPlan-IT Toolset, the GreenPlan-IT Tracker. It also shares the opportunities for further enhancement and how the tool can operate in concert with existing resources. Furthermore, this memo describes a licensing plan that would permit municipalities to use the tool in an ongoing way that scales to their needs. The memo concludes with a provisional roadmap for the development of future features and technical details describing the tool’s platform and data structures.
Guadalupe River Mercury Concentrations and Loads During the Large Rare January 2017 Storm. SFEI Contribution No. 837. San Francisco Estuary Institute : Richmond, CA.
2018. (2.53 MB)A Menu of Fire Response Water Quality Monitoring Options and Recommendations for Water Year 2019 and Beyond. SFEI Contribution No. 889. San Francisco Estuary Institute : Richmond, CA.
2018. (1.45 MB)Pollutants of Concern Reconnaissance Monitoring Water Years 2015, 2016, and 2017. SFEI Contribution No. 840. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2018. (5.55 MB)RMP Small Tributaries Loading Strategy: Modeling and Trends Strategy 2018. SFEI Contribution No. 886. San Francisco Estuary Institute : Richmond, CA.
2018. (1.3 MB)Sediment Supply to San Francisco Bay. SFEI Contribution No. 842. San Francisco Estuary Institute : Richmond, CA.
2018. (1.74 MB)Statistical Methods Development and Sampling Design Optimization to Support Trends Analysis for Loads of Polychlorinated Biphenyls from the Guadalupe River in San Jose, California, USA. SFEI Contribution No. 876. Applied Marine Sciences: Livermore, CA.
2018. (1.76 MB)Conceptual Model to Support PCB Management and Monitoring in the San Leandro Bay Priority Margin Unit - Final Report. SFEI Contribution No. 928. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2019. (12.81 MB)The goal of RMP PCB special studies over the next few years is to inform the review and possible revision of the PCB TMDL and the reissuance of the Municipal Regional Permit for Stormwater, both of which are tentatively scheduled to occur in 2020. Conceptual model development for a set of four representative priority margin units will provide a foundation for establishing an effective and efficient monitoring plan to track responses to load reductions, and will also help guide planning of management actions. The Emeryville Crescent was the first PMU to be studied in 2015-2016. The San Leandro Bay PMU is second (2016-2018), Steinberger Slough in San Carlos is third (2018), and Richmond Harbor will be fourth (2018-2019).
This document is Phase Three of a report on the conceptual model for San Leandro Bay. A Phase One report (Yee et al. 2017) presented analyses of watershed loading, initial retention, and long-term fate, including results of sediment sampling in 2016. A Phase Two data report (Davis et al. 2017) documented the methods, quality assurance, and all of the results of the 2016 field study. This Phase Three report is the final report that incorporates all of the results of the 2016 field study, and includes additional discussion of the potential influence of contaminated sites in the
watershed, the results of passive sampling by Stanford researchers and a comparative analysis of long-term fate in San Leandro Bay and the Emeryville Crescent, a section on bioaccumulation, and a concluding section with answers to the management questions that were the impetus for the work.
Multi-year water quality performance and mass accumulation of PCBs, mercury, methylmercury, copper and microplastics in a bioretention rain garden. Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment 5 (4) . SFEI Contribution No. 872.
2019. (627.7 KB) (4.92 MB)A multiyear water quality performance study of a bioretention rain garden located along a major urban transit corridor east of San Francisco Bay was conducted to assess the efficacy of bioretention rain gardens to remove pollutants. Based on data collected in three years between 2012 and 2017, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) were reduced (>90%), whereas total mercury (Hg), methylmercury (MeHg), and copper (Cu) were moderately captured (37%, 49%, and 68% concentration reduction, respectively). Anthropogenic microparticles including microplastics were retained by the bioretention rain garden, decreasing in concentration from 1.6 particles/L to 0.16 particles/L. Based on subsampling at 50- and 150-mm intervals in soil cores from two areas of the unit, PCBs, Hg, and MeHg were all present at the highest concentrations in the upper 100 mm in the surface media layers. Based on residential screening concentrations, the surface media layer near the inlet would need to be removed and replaced annually, whereas the rest of the unit would need replacement every 8 years. The results of this study support the use of bioretention in the San Francisco Bay Area as one management option for meeting load reductions required by San Francisco Bay total maximum daily loads, and provide useful data for supporting decisions about media replacement and overall maintenance schedules.
Optimal Selection and Placement of Green Infrastructure in Urban Watersheds for PCB Control. Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment 5 (2) . SFEI Contribution No. 729.
2019. San Francisco Bay and its watersheds are polluted by legacy polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), resulting in the establishment of a total maximum daily load (TDML) that requires a 90% PCB load reduction from municipal stormwater. Green infrastructure (GI) is a multibenefit solution for stormwater management, potentially addressing the TMDL objectives, but planning and implementing GI cost-effectively to achieve management goals remains a challenge and requires an integrated watershed approach. This study used the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) coupled with the Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) to find near-optimal combinations of GIs that maximize PCB load reduction and minimize total relative cost at a watershed scale. The selection and placement of three locally favored GI types (bioretention, infiltration trench, and permeable pavement) were analyzed based on their cost and effectiveness. The results show that between optimal solutions and nonoptimal solutions, the effectiveness in load reduction could vary as much as 30% and the difference in total relative cost could be well over $100 million. Sensitivity analysis of both GI costs and sizing criteria suggest that the assumptions made regarding these parameters greatly influenced the optimal solutions.
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Regional Watershed Modeling and Trends Implementation Plan. SFEI Contribution No. 943. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2019. (2.25 MB)Small Tributaries Pollutants of Concern Reconnaissance Monitoring: Loads and Yields-based Prioritization Methodology Pilot Study. SFEI Contribution No. 817. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2019. (1.48 MB)Summary of Water Year 2017 precipitation, discharge, and sediment conditions at selected locations in Arroyo de la Laguna watershed, with a focus on Arroyo Mocho. SFEI Contribution No. 912. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2020. (1.36 MB)This report summarizes the precipitation, discharge, and sediment conditions observed from October 1, 2016 to September 30th, 2017 (Water Year (WY) 2017) in the Arroyo de la Laguna watershed, with a focus on the Arroyo Mocho watershed. This information was collected by the Zone 7 Water Agency to support operation and maintenance of their flood control facilities. Additionally, this and similar information collected in WY 2018 and 2019 will be utilized to update the Arroyo Mocho watershed sediment budget (Pearce et al, 2020).
Conceptual Model to Support PCB Management and Monitoring in the Steinberger Slough/Redwood Creek Priority Margin Unit. SFEI Contribution No. 1009. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2021. (17.57 MB)Pollutants of Concern Reconnaissance Monitoring Progress Report, Water Years 2015-2020. SFEI Contribution No. 1061. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2021. (3.22 MB)The San Francisco Bay polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and mercury (Hg) total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) call for implementation of control measures to reduce PCB and Hg loads entering the Bay via stormwater. In 2009, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Water Board) issued the first Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit (MRP). This MRP contained a provision aimed at improving information on stormwater pollutant loads in selected watersheds (Provision C.8.) and piloted a number of management techniques to reduce PCB and Hg loading to the Bay from smaller urbanized tributaries (Provisions C.11. and C.12.). To address C8, a previously developed fixed station loads monitoring technique was refined that incorporated turbidity and stage sensors recording at 5-15 minute intervals with the collection of velocity and water samples using both manual and auto sampling techniques to compute loads. In 2015, the Regional Water Board issued the second iteration of the MRP. “MRP 2.0” placed an increased focus on identifying those watersheds, source areas, and source properties that are potentially the most polluted and are therefore most likely to be cost-effective areas for addressing load-reduction requirements.
Suspect Screening and Chemical Profile Analysis of Storm-Water Runoff Following 2017 Wildfires in Northern California. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry . SFEI Contribution No. 1089.
2022. The combustion of structures and household materials as well as firefighting during wildfires lead to releases of potentially hazardous chemicals directly into the landscape. Subsequent storm-water runoff events can transport wildfire-related contaminants to downstream receiving waters, where they may pose water quality concerns. To evaluate the environmental hazards of northern California fires on the types of contaminants in storm water discharging to San Francisco Bay and the coastal marine environment, we analyzed storm water collected after the northern California wildfires (October 2017) using a nontargeted analytical (NTA) approach. Liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometric analysis was completed on storm-water samples (n = 20) collected from Napa County (impacted by the Atlas and Nuns fires), the city of Santa Rosa, and Sonoma County (Nuns and Tubbs fires) during storm events that occurred in November 2017 and January 2018. The NTA approach enabled us to establish profiles of contaminants based on peak intensities and chemical categories found in the storm-water samples and to prioritize significant chemicals within these profiles possibly attributed to the wildfire. The results demonstrated the presence of a wide range of contaminants in the storm water, including surfactants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and chemicals from consumer and personal care products. Homologs of polyethylene glycol were found to be the major contributor to the contaminants, followed by other widely used surfactants. Nonylphenol ethoxylates, typically used as surfactants, were detected and were much higher in samples collected after Storm Event 1 relative to Storm Event 2. The present study provides a comprehensive approach for examining wildfire-impacted storm-water contamination of related contaminants, of which we found many with potential ecological risk. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;00:1–14. © 2022 SETAC
Conceptual Understanding of Fine Sediment Transport in San Francisco Bay. SFEI Contribution No. 1114. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2023. (46.2 MB)Sediment is a lifeblood of San Francisco Bay (Bay). It serves three key functions: (1) create and maintain tidal marshes and mudflats, (2) transport nutrients and contaminants, and (3) reduce impacts from excessive human-derived nutrients in the Bay. Because of these important roles, we need a detailed understanding of sediment processes in the Bay.
This report offers a conceptual understanding of how fine-grained sediment (i.e. silt and finer, henceforth called fine sediment) moves around at different scales within the Bay, now and into the future, to synthesize current knowledge and identify critical knowledge gaps. This information can be used to support Bay sediment management efforts and help prioritize funding for research and monitoring. In particular, this conceptual understanding is designed to inform future San Francisco Bay Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) work under the guidance of the Sediment Workgroup of the RMP for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay, which brings together experts who have worked on many different components of the landscape, including watersheds and tributaries, marshes and mudflats, beaches, and the open Bay. This report describes sediment at two scales: a conceptual understanding of open-Bay sediment processes at the Bay and subembayment scale (Chapter 2); and a conceptual understanding of sediment processes at the baylands scale (Chapter 3). Chapter 4 summarizes the key knowledge gaps and provides recommendations for future studies.
McCosker Creek Restoration and Public Access Project: Alder Creek Daylighting Additional Monitoring Elements - Final Report. SFEI Contribution No. 1157. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2023. (8.07 MB)San Francisco Bay Sediment Modeling and Monitoring Workplan. SFEI Contribution No. 1100. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.
2023. (478.36 KB)This document was prepared with guidance gained through two RMP Sediment Workgroup workshops held in late 2022 and early 2023. Given the variety of participants involved, this Workplan encompasses interests beyond San Francisco Bay RMP funders. We thank the attendees for their contributions.
In 2020, the Sediment Workgroup (SedWG) of the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) completed a Sediment Monitoring and Modeling Strategy (SMMS) which laid out a conceptual level series of data and information gaps and generally recommended the use of both empirical data collection and modeling tools to answer initial high priority management questions (McKee et al., 2020). At the time, the SMMS promoted the use of surrogates such as time-continuous turbidity measurements for cross-section flux modeling within the Bay without an understanding of existing Bay hydrodynamic models, their strengths, weaknesses, and potential uses for understanding coupled Bay-mudflat-marsh processes. Since then, the Wetland Regional Monitoring Program (WRMP, www.wrmp.org) has generally promoted the use of coupling monitoring and modeling techniques to inform wetlands sediment management decisions. In addition, he completion of the Sediment for Survival report (a RMPEPA funded collaboration) and the further development of sediment conceptual models has also advanced the need for a coupled dynamic modeling and monitoring program that has the capacity to explore more complex management questions (Dusterhoff et al., 2021; SFEI, 2023). Such a program will take time to develop, but will be more cost-efficient and adaptable and allow for more timely answers to pressing questions.