Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay

2023 RMP Annual Meeting

Many thanks to those of you who participated in our Annual Meeting on Thursday. We greatly enjoyed the opportunity to share some of the latest findings and plans for the RMP, to learn from the informative presentations of our guest speakers, and to think about the questions and comments from the discussion sessions. 

The 30th RMP Annual Meeting was held on Thursday October 12 at the David Brower Center in Berkeley, CA. The meeting featured reflections from RMP Steering Committee Chair Tom Mumley on his three decades of involvement in the Program, as well as updates on the science and management of emerging contaminants, nutrients, and sediment. The meeting agenda is posted here. A fantastic collection of photos of the festivities taken by our excellent photographer, Shira Bezalel (shirabezalelphotography.com), is also available at this link.

For those of you who were at the meeting, we would greatly appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to complete a brief survey about the meeting. We had some technical difficulties with the links and audio for the remote attendees and will work to correct those next year. 

We welcome any other comments on the meeting and meeting materials. Please email Jay Davis ([email protected]).

2023 RMP Update Now Available!

The 2023 RMP Update is now available for download from the RMP Update webpage!  This report provides a concise overview of recent RMP activities and findings, and a look ahead to significant products anticipated in the next two years.  This edition features an article by Dr. Rebecca Sutton that provides an overview of the RMP's groundbreaking work on contaminants of emerging concern in urban runoff.  

If you are interested in obtaining a hard copy of the report please contact Jay Davis: [email protected]

Welcome & Session 1: Regional Monitoring Program Highlights

Welcoming Statement; Tom Mumley, San Francisco Bay Water Board
Reflections on 30+ Years of Regional Monitoring; Tom Mumley, San Francisco Bay Water Board
RMP 2023 Highlights; Amy Kleckner, San Francisco Estuary Institute
Discussion - Moderated by Karin North, City of Palo Alto

Session 2: Sediment and Nutrients

San Francisco Bay August 2022 Harmful Algal Bloom; Dave Senn, San Francisco Estuary Institute
Determining Protective Dissolved Oxygen Levels in SF Bay Sloughs; Ariella Chelsky, San Francisco Estuary Institute
Sediment Loads at the Climate Extremes; Alicia Gilbreath, San Francisco Estuary Institute
Discussion - Moderated by Ian Wren, Baykeeper

Session 3: PFAS

PFAS in Bay Fish: Driver of Concern; Jay Davis, San Francisco Estuary Institute
Investigation of PFAS Sources to Municipal Wastewater; Diana Lin, San Francisco Estuary Institute & Lorien Fono, Bay Area Clean Water Agencies
Cosmetics Contribute to the PFAS Load at Wastewater Treatment Plants in California; Simona Balan, California Department of Toxic Substances Control
Discussion - Moderated by Maggie Monahan, San Francisco Bay Water Board

Session 4: Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Stormwater Water

Screening Stormwater for Contaminants of Emerging Concern; Rebecca Sutton, San Francisco Estuary Institute
Tire Derived Contaminants in San Francisco Bay; Ezra Miller, San Francisco Estuary Institute
Current and Upcoming Activities of the Safer Consumer Products Program; Jen Jackson California Department of Toxic Substances Control
Discussion - Moderated by Chris Sommers, EOA Inc.

Previous Meetings:

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 2023 RMP Update.

If you have comments or questions please contact Jay Davis ([email protected]).You can request a physical copy of the Update by filling out this form.

Previous RMP Updates:

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

The RMP regularly issues updates to those interested in its important publications, activities, findings, meetings, and more.

To add yourself to the list, please subscribe.

Otherwise, help yourself to the list of updates issued over the years.