Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay

Status and Trends Monitoring Elements

The RMP has a long-term Status and Trends Monitoring Program that began in 1993. The monitoring design has evolved over time, including a major design evaluation and revision in 2022.  The elements currently (2023) include the following, as described in the report on the 2002 design revision process (coming soon):

• Water
  • Dry season (every 2 years)
  • Wet season (annually as a pilot study from 2022-2024)
• Sediment
  • Deep Bay (every 5 years)
  • Margins (every 5 years)
  • Near-field (every 5 years)
• Sport fish (every 5 years)
• Bird eggs (every 3 years)
• Prey fish (every 5 years)
• Marine mammals (pilot study in 2023-2024)
• Long-term hydrographic and suspended sediment studies by the U.S. Geological Survey (annually)

The Sources, Pathways, and Loading Workgroup (SPLWG) was formed in 1999 to produce recommendations for collection, interpretation, and synthesis of data on sources and loads of trace contaminants. This information is needed to support efforts to identify and eliminate pollution in the landscape, and prevent it from impacting the beneficial uses of San Francisco Bay. The first decade of work was focused on using a field-intensive monitoring program to estimate loads of PCBs, mercury, and other legacy trace contaminants entering the Bay. Pathways included the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, urban and nonurban stormwater in the nine counties that fringe the Bay, municipal and industrial wastewater, and atmospheric deposition. With the PCB and mercury TMDLs in place and impairment assessments completed for organochlorine pesticides, PAHs, PBDEs, and dioxins/furans, the second decade focused on refining loads for PCBs and Hg, searching for PCB and mercury sources in municipal stormwater, and building modeling tools to estimate regional loads and temporal trends, and identify high-leverage subcatchments and source areas. 

Now in its third decade, the SPLWG is increasing its work on characterizing contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in stormwater, and continuing to develop an integrated modeling and monitoring approach for both legacy contaminants and CECs to address RMP management questions more efficiently. CECs of interest include PFAS, organophosphate esters, bisphenols, and tire-related chemicals, but priorities are continuing to evolve as information is generated about sources, pathways, and the impacts of CECs on Bay beneficial uses. In concert with other workgroups and the RMP more generally, the goal is to continue to use the latest integrated modeling and monitoring tools to support improved linkages between spatial and temporal watershed loading trends and Bay beneficial use impairment and recovery.

The group is supported by scientific advisors with international reputations:

• Tom Jobes 
• Dr. Jon Butcher
• Dr. Steven Corsi
• Dr. Robert Budd

Lead Scientists: Alicia Gilbreath and Tan Zi

For further information, please contact Alicia at 510-746-7308 or [email protected] or Tan at 510-746-7338 or [email protected] 

The Bay RMP fills critical science needs to assist managers in their goal of reducing harmful emerging contaminants in San Francisco Bay. Emerging contaminants are unregulated or under-regulated and not commonly monitored, yet may pose significant ecological and/or human health risks.

A global leader in this field, the Bay RMP has developed an emerging contaminants strategy that guides decisions on monitoring and management. Early identification of problem pollutants and quick action to prevent their spread is an optimal and cost-effective approach for protecting water quality. This is especially true in an ecosystem like the Bay, which can act as a long-term trap for persistent contaminants, with recovery taking decades or centuries when contamination is extensive.

Diligent surveillance using state-of-the-art analytical techniques has identified emerging contaminants of moderate concern for the Bay:

• PFAS, stain and water repelling chemicals widely used in industrial and consumer products
• Fipronil and imidacloprid, insecticides with significant urban uses
• Alkylphenols and alkylphenol ethoxylates, ingredients in detergents and many other products
• Bisphenols, plastic ingredients
• Organophosphate esters, flame retardants and plasticizers

 A scientific advisory panel of internationally renowned experts advises the Bay RMP Emerging Contaminants Workgroup (ECWG):

• Dr. Bill Arnold, University of Minnesota
• Dr. Miriam Diamond, University of Toronto
• Dr. Lee Ferguson, Duke University
• Dr. Derek Muir, Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Dr. Heather Stapleton, Duke University
• Dr. Dan Villenueve, US EPA

Lead Scientist: Rebecca Sutton, Ph.D.

The Bay was included on the 1998 303(d) List of impaired water bodies for PCB contamination, which led to the development of a TMDL control plan that was ultimately approved in 2010. The TMDL established PCB concentrations in sport fish as the key indicator of impairment. More than forty years after the ban, PCBs are still far higher than the fish tissue target of 10 ppb established by the TMDL and have not shown clear signs of decline since 1997. Shiner surfperch is the main indicator species, and had a Bay-wide average concentration of 220 ppb in the most recent sampling in 2019. PCB concentrations in shiner surfperch across five long-term monitoring locations were generally higher in 2019 than in the prior round of sampling, but there are some possible signs of long-term decline. Overall, the rate of PCB decline in the Bay is slow at best, and continued monitoring is needed for a more definitive assessment. Detailed studies of PCBs have been conducted at selected locations and provide some indication that concentrations in Bay fish on a local scale could decline in response to reductions in loads from nearby watersheds. More rigorous modeling and monitoring are needed to better evaluate this forecast.

The scientific advisory panel for the RMP PCB Workgroup consists of:

• Dr. Frank Gobas, Simon Fraser University
• Dr. Earl Hayter, US Army Engineer Research and Development Center

Lead Scientist: Jay Davis

For more information, please contact Jay Davis at: 510-746-7368 or [email protected].​

Sediment is a building block of Bay geography and is the physical foundation for tidal marshes, which must vertically accrete to keep pace with sea-level rise and continue functioning as natural filters for nutrients and pollutants from urban, agricultural, and industrial runoff sources. Sediment on the Bay floor can store contaminants within interstitial waters and suspended sediment can transport contaminants throughout the Bay. In addition, suspended sediment is a key factor limiting algal blooms and eutrophication. There is a growing focus on sediment processes in the Bay, driven by the need for better information on water and sediment quality, as well as the impacts of climate change and sea-level rise to the Bay’s tidal wetlands.

In 2018, the RMP formed the Sediment Workgroup to provide technical oversight and stakeholder guidance on RMP studies addressing management and policy needs related to sediment delivery, sediment transport, dredging, and beneficial reuse of sediment within the Bay. The Sediment Workgroup includes representatives from federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (SFBRWQCB), and San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), as well as representatives from ports, the dredging community, local water agencies, universities, and private consulting firms.

The scientific advisory panel for the Bay RMP Sediment Workgroup consists of two internationally renowned estuarine sediment experts:

• Dr. David Schoellhamer, USGS (retired)
• Dr. Patricia Wiberg, University of Virginia

Lead Scientist: Scott Dusterhoff

For more information, please contact Scott Dusterhoff at [email protected].

Microplastics are tiny bits of plastic smaller than five millimeters. Their small size exempts them from most current regulations, but makes them difficult to filter out or remove once they are in aquatic ecosystems. Microplastics enter the environment through human use of plastic products. Plastic doesn’t decay – it just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. Synthetic clothing and textiles, disposable plastic items like plastic bags and polystyrene foam packaging, tires wearing down as they are driven over roads, and littered cigarette butts can all contribute to microplastic pollution. These tiny bits of plastic may be harmful to aquatic life. Animals may breathe microplastics in via their gills or mistake microplastics for food, and these tiny plastic bits can have toxic effects. Exposure to microplastics also means exposure to the chemical pollutants within the plastics, most of which are emerging contaminants. Because microplastics can be made of many different types of plastics with many different chemistries, scientists are still working to understand the many ways they may affect aquatic organisms and human health.

Our research in the San Francisco Bay has generated a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive regional study of microplastic pollution of a major urban estuary and adjacent ocean environment, making SFEI a world leader in the science of understanding microplastic pollution. As policymakers and water quality managers become more interested in microplastics and their risks to aquatic ecosystems, SFEI science data and conceptual modeling is providing insights that inform local, state, and national decisions to protect the environment.

Lead Scientist: Diana Lin, Ph.D

For further information, visit www.sfei.org/projects/microplastics or please contact Diana Lin at: 510-746-7385 or [email protected].

Additional Materials

• Microplastic Strategy Update
• Microplastic Contamination in San Francisco Bay
• Microplastic Contamination in San Francisco Bay - Fact Sheet
• Microplastic pollution is widely detected in US municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent

THE RMP DOCUMENT ARCHIVES

This archive contains important documents relating to the establishment and development of the RMP.   

Laying the Foundations: Establishing the RMP

Carlin and Mumley. 1990. San Francisco Estuary Monitoring Program: Working Paper #1.	San Francisco Bay Water Board Resolution No. 92-043 (April 1992): Implementation of the Regional Monitoring Plan within the San Francisco Bay Region	13267 Letter (June 1992) from Water Board to Dischargers: Implementation of a Regional Monitoring Program for the San Francisco Estuary	Memorandum of Understanding Between the Water Board and AHI Concerning Implementation of the RMP (1992)
Early RMP Reports Flegal et al. 1991. Trace Element Cycles in the San Francisco Bay Estuary: Results from a Preliminary Study in 1989-1990 Taberski et al. 1992. San Francisco Bay Pilot Regional Monitoring Program 1991-1992: Summary Progress Report. SFEI. 1994. 1993 Annual Report: San Francisco Estuary Regional Monitoring Program for Trace Substances. The first RMP Annual Report SFBRWQCB. 1995. Contaminant Levels in Fish Tissue from San Francisco Bay. First report on contaminants in fish tissue, conducted in 1994 under the Bay Protection and Toxic Cleanup Program   Retrospectives Johnston. 1995. Regional Monitoring Program Update. An account of the formation and status of the RMP included in the first edition of the RMP newsletter Regional Monitoring News Regional Monitoring News Article. 2004. Founder Steve Ritchie Looks Back at Ten Years of the Regional Monitoring Program. Excerpts from Steve Ritchie's presentation at the 2003 Annual Meeting celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Program   Meadows. 2013. Celebrating 20 Years of Monitoring San Francisco Bay.  An insert to Estuary News written by Robin Meadows on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Program  Davis. 2017.  The 25th Anniversary of the RMP A review of some of the major milestones in the formation and development of the RMP

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay is an innovative collaboration of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, the regulated discharger community, and the San Francisco Estuary Institute. It provides water quality regulators with the information they need to manage the Bay effectively. The RMP produces two types of summary reports: The Pulse of the Bay and the RMP Update. The Pulse focuses on Bay water quality and summarizes information from all sources. The RMP Update has a narrower and specific focus on highlights of RMP activities.

The purpose of the RMP Update is to provide a concise overview of recent RMP activities and findings, and a look ahead to significant products anticipated in the next two years.

The report includes:

• a brief summary of some of the most noteworthy findings of this multifaceted Program;
• a description of the management context that guides the Program; and
• a summary of progress in, and plans for, addressing priority water quality topics.

Click Here for a PDF of the 2021 RMP Update.

To request hard copies of the Update, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/cNxBSN88GrPp1mQF9

If you have comments or questions please contact Jay Davis ([email protected])

Previous RMP Updates:

Find an interactive, eBook version of the 2014 RMP Update here