Fri, Jun 26 2026

20 Years of Investigating Underregulated Chemicals

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay has grown into a world leader in studying under-regulated and poorly understood contaminants. The efforts have led to groundbreaking studies about forever chemicals, flame retardants, microplastics, pesticides, tire chemicals, and more—and inspired policy changes.

Fri, Mar 13 2026

How Stormwater Studies Can Make the Bay Cleaner

As stormwater sampling across the San Francisco Bay Area reveals more poorly regulated chemicals, those who want clean water in the Bay face a tricky question: what can be done about it? The final part of a special feature series on stormwater monitoring.

Tue, Feb 17 2026

Meet The Robots

When rainstorms wash contaminants into the Bay, scientists can only sample stormwater in a few places at once. Three years of inventing and testing have led to a solution in the form of 15 briefcase-sized robots, with names like “Captain Capture” and “Missus Sippy,” to slurp up samples without human supervision onsite.

Thu, Feb 5 2026

Why The Fate of Antimicrobial Chemicals Matters for San Francisco Bay

Antimicrobial chemicals called QACs have soared in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic, and are a possible threat to Bay water quality. A new study finds that sewage treatment plants remove 98% of QACs on average from wastewater—but that's not necessarily a success for human and environmental health.

Fri, Jan 9 2026

The Storm Chasers: What Stormwater Reveals About Pollution In San Francisco Bay

SFEI’s stormwater monitoring team has grown and is innovating techniques to further expand its influential studies. Part one of a special feature series on stormwater.

Wed, Oct 15 2025

“More Science, and Better” for RMP with Historic Grant

“For a lot of years we were very budget constrained, so we were making really small steps in our progress,” says Bridgette DeShields, the Chair of the RMP’s Technical Review Committee. “By having that extra funding it'll allow us to advance at a faster rate—we can make strides in our management actions and trying to meet our long-term goals.”