Skip to main content
Title Description Type of Content
20 Years of Investigating Underregulated Chemicals The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay has grown into a world… News
How Stormwater Studies Can Make the Bay Cleaner As stormwater sampling across the San Francisco Bay Area reveals more poorly regulated chemicals,… News
Meet The Robots When rainstorms wash contaminants into the Bay, scientists can only sample stormwater in a few… News
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… News
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… News
“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… News
RMP Communications Effective communication of information on Bay water quality is a priority for the RMP. The Pulse of… Focus Area
San Francisco Bay Microplastics Project This multi-year study summarizes levels of microplastics measured in Bay surface water, sediment,… Project

Publications

Title Abstract Year of Publication
Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay Communication Strategy Communicating information in support of management decisions is a key element of the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay. Although the Program has always prioritized… 2026
Scanning Bay Sediment for Unexpected Contaminants In 2018, the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) launched an innovative investigation to detect contaminants that were either new to Bay sediment or had… 2026
2025 RMP Update The overarching goal of the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is to answer the highest priority scientific questions faced by managers of Bay water quality. The… 2025
2021 RMP Status and Trends Data Quality Assurance Report 2025
2022 RMP Status and Trends Data Quality Assurance Report 2025
The Pulse of the Bay 2024: Contaminants of Emerging Concern The theme of the 2024 Pulse is "Contaminants of Emerging Concern." The 2013 edition of the Pulse was the first to focus on contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), with the goal of… 2024
2024 Quality Assurance Program Plan for The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay 2024
Selenium Concentrations in Water and Clams in North San Francisco Bay, 2019-2020 The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) started implementing a new design for North Bay selenium (Se) sampling in 2019 after a long-term USGS program was… 2024
Development of Semi-Empirical Light Extinction Estimates for Biogeochemical Modeling Applications in San Francisco Bay 2024
2023 RMP Update The overarching goal of the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is to answer the highest priority scientific questions faced by managers of Bay water quality. The… 2023
San Francisco Bay Watershed Dynamic Model (WDM) Progress Report, Phase 2 The San Francisco Bay total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) call for a 50% reduction in mercury (Hg) loads by 2028 and a 90% reduction in PCBs loads by 2030. In support of these TMDLs, the Municipal… 2022
The Pulse of the Bay 2022: 50 Years After the Clean Water Act The theme of the 2022 Pulse is "50 Years After the Clean Water Act." Nine different individuals or groups have contributed perspectives on progress to date and challenges ahead. This Pulse… 2022
Microplastics from Tire Particles in San Francisco Bay Fact Sheet As we drive our cars, our tires shed tiny particles When it rains, stormwater runoff carries tire particles—and the toxic chemicals they contain—from city streets and highways to storm drains and… 2022
RMP Update 2021 The overarching goal of the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is to answer the highest priority scientific questions faced by managers of Bay water quality. The… 2021
Contaminant Concentrations in Sport Fish from San Francisco Bay: 2019 2021
RMP Update 2020 The overarching goal of the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is to answer the highest priority scientific questions faced by managers of Bay water quality. The… 2020
Sampling and Quality Assurance and Quality Control: A Guide for Scientists Investigating the Occurrence of Microplastics Across Matrices Plastic pollution is a defining environmental contaminant and is considered to be one of the greatest environmental threats of the Anthropocene, with its presence documented across aquatic and… 2020
Contaminants of Emerging Concern in San Francisco Bay: A Strategy for Future Investigations 2020 Update This 2020 CEC Strategy Update is a brief summary document that describes the addition of recently monitored CECs to the tiered risk-based framework. Reviews of findings relevant to San Francisco Bay… 2020
New San Francisco Bay Contaminants Emerge In 2016, the RMP launched a novel investigation to detect new or unexpected contaminants in Bay waters, as well as treated sewage (or wastewater) discharged to the Bay. This study used non-targeted… 2020
The Pulse of the Bay 2019: Pollutant Pathways 2019
2018 Regional Monitoring Program Update 2018
Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in San Francisco Bay: Synthesis and Strategy 2018
Pilot Study of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) in the Russian River Watershed: Lessons Learned 2017
The Pulse of the Bay 2017: The 25th Anniversary of the RMP 2017
2016 Regional Monitoring Program Update 2016
Contaminant Concentrations in Eggs of Double-crested Cormorants and Forster's Terns from San Francisco Bay: 2002-2012 2016
Microplastic Contamination in San Francisco Bay - Fact Sheet This factsheet compiles the findings for microplastics, as they are found in San Francisco Bay. The factsheet defines the different forms of contamination, the studies that have been performed as of… 2016
Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances in wastewater: Significance of unknown precursors, manufacturing shifts, and likely AFFF impacts In late 2014, wastewater effluent samples were collected from eight treatment plants that discharge to San Francisco (SF) Bay in order to assess poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) currently… 2016
The RMP Emerging Contaminants Program - Fact Sheet RMP stakeholders are pursuing cost-effective solutions to contamination of the SF Bay through measures that prevent, rather than clean up contamination. Early identification of problem CECs and quick… 2016
Fact Sheet: Innovative Visualization Tool for Accessing Water Quality Data The Contaminant Data Display and Download Tool (CD3) is a multifaceted data distribution and visualization system, available to all site visitors at no cost. It displays data from SFEI/ASC’s Regional… 2015
2015 Pulse of the Bay: The State of Bay Water Quality - 2015 and 2065 2015
2014 Regional Monitoring Program Update 2014
2013 Pulse of the Bay: Contaminants of Emerging Concern 2013
2011 Pulse of the Estuary: Pollutant Effects on Aquatic Life 2012
Perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) in wildlife from an urban estuary 2012
2009 Pulse of the Estuary: Bay Sediments - Past a Tipping Point 2009
2008 Pulse of the Estuary: Monitoring and Managing Water Quality in the San Francisco Estuary 2008
2007 Pulse of the Estuary: Monitoring and Managing Water Quality in the San Francisco Estuary 2007
2006 Pulse of the Estuary: Monitoring and Managing Water Quality in the San Francisco Estuary 2006
2005 Pulse of the Estuary: Monitoring and Managing Water Quality in the San Francisco Estuary 2005
2004 Pulse of the Estuary: Monitoring & Managing Contamination in the San Francisco Estuary 2004
2003 Pulse of the Estuary: Monitoring & Managing Contamination in the San Francisco Estuary 2003
2000 Pulse of the Estuary: Monitoring and Managing Contamination in the San Francisco Estuary 2002
1993 - 1999 Pulse of the Estuary: Monitoring and Managing Contamination in the San Francisco Estuary 2001
Subscribe to RMP Annual Reports and Fact Sheets