Lester McKee's picture

Lester McKee, PhD

Senior Environmental Scientist
Clean Water Program
Bay Regional Monitoring Program
Sediment
Sources, Pathways, & Loadings
415-847-5095

Dr. McKee graduated with a BSc. in Geology from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand in 1993. He conducted his Ph.D. research at Southern Cross University, northern New South Wales, Australia, in the fields of hydrology and nutrient biogeochemistry. In 1997, Dr. McKee began work as a consultant in the Center for Coastal Management in Australia where he carried out management related field, laboratory, and desktop research for clients including local councils, Environment Protection Authority, Department of Land and Water Conservation, and the Brisbane River Management Group. In 2000, he joined the staff of SFEI as Director of the Watershed Program. In that role he manages a diverse group of highly motivated staff that conduct applied science projects and develop scientific information relevant to policy development and environmental management of the Bay and its local watersheds. Topics of study include hydrology, water quality, geomorphic processes, the distribution and quality of endangered species habitat, macroinvertebrate studies, resource mapping using geographic information systems (GIS), and historic stream, floodplain, and landscape form and function and change through time. Although Dr. McKee and his team get to look at watershed processes through a variety of scientific methodologies, he himself specializes in the design and implementation of scientific studies on the sources, transport, transformation, and loadings of sediments, nutrients and trace contaminants in Bay Area watersheds. For further information, interested parties should view Dr. McKee’s C.V. available on SFEI’s Web site or contact him directly for discussion.

Related Projects, News, and Events

Special Issue of Marine Geology Published on Sediment Transport in San Francisco Bay (News)

The first ever compilation of research focused on sediment transport in the San Francisco Bay coastal system was published in November as a special issue of the journal Marine Geology, edited by USGS scientists. The volume’s 21 papers investigate this complex and ever-changing system through the lenses of hydrology, chemistry, ecology and many other disciplines.

Journal Publication on PCBs in the Exterior Caulk of Bay Area Buildings (News)

An article coauthored by SFEI staff on polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in caulking was recently published in Environment International. The study analyzed PCB concentrations in 25 caulk samples from the exterior of ten buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area. PCBs were detected in 88% of the caulk samples collected from the buildings and relatively high concentrations of PCBs were observed in concrete and masonry buildings built between 1950 and 1980.

New Reports Show Sources of Pollution in SF Bay (News)

A KTVU story by Tom Vacar features Tom Mumley and Lester McKee

"Any component of our urban landscape that allows our water to run off very very quickly also allows the contaminants to run off very very quickly as well," said Lester McKee.