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Sediment
Sediment sampling

There are three components to monitoring of spatial patterns and long-term trends in contaminants in sediment:

  • Monitoring of deep Bay sediment occurs on a five-year cycle (2023, 2028, etc.) and samples PFAS, bisphenols, and ancillary parameters at 17 stations. Once every ten years (2028, etc.) samples are also analyzed for PCBs, PAHs, and trace elements. 
  • Monitoring of Bay margin sediment occurs on the same cycle with the same analytes, at 12 random stations every five years and at 24 random stations every 10 years (2028, etc.).  
  • Monitoring of near-field sediment also occurs on a five-year cycle at 12 stations, analyzing for PFAS, bisphenols, and ancillary parameters.
     

Dredged Material Testing Thresholds

There are sediment chemistry thresholds for seven different contaminant classes, used by the Dredged Material Management Office (DMMO) for determining when bioaccumulation testing will typically be required for dredged material proposed to be discharged at unconfined open water disposal sites in San Francisco Bay. These same thresholds are also used by DMMO to determine when additional analysis of the post-dredge sediment surface (“residual” or “z-layer” sediments) may be warranted. Please see our Dredged Material Testing Thresholds page for more information. 

Reports