Difference between revisions of "TMDL for Fecal Coliform for the Lower Salinas River Watershed, Monterey County, California"
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An summary of the [http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/rwqcb3/ Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Coast Region] report on Total Maximum Daily Load for Fecal Coliform for the Lower Salinas River Watershed, Monterey County, California <ref name="RWQCB_report">[http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/board_info/agendas/2010/mar/item_12/att_2.pdf Total Maximum Daily Load for Fecal Coliform for the Lower Salinas River Watershed, Monterey County, California]</ref> by the [http://sep.csumb.edu/wiki/index.php/ENVS_560/L_Watershed_Systems ENVS 560/L Watershed Systems] class at [http://csumb.edu CSUMB]. | An summary of the [http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/rwqcb3/ Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Coast Region] report on Total Maximum Daily Load for Fecal Coliform for the Lower Salinas River Watershed, Monterey County, California <ref name="RWQCB_report">[http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/board_info/agendas/2010/mar/item_12/att_2.pdf Total Maximum Daily Load for Fecal Coliform for the Lower Salinas River Watershed, Monterey County, California]</ref> by the [http://sep.csumb.edu/wiki/index.php/ENVS_560/L_Watershed_Systems ENVS 560/L Watershed Systems] class at [http://csumb.edu CSUMB]. | ||
| − | == | + | == Project Definition == |
| − | + | ||
This report investigates the impairment of the Lower Salinas River and several of its tributaries as a result of increased fecal coliform concentrations in accordance with Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. The biological impairment of a river can result from microbial pathogens (viruses, protozoa's, and bacteria) that can be readily correlated with fecal coliforms. As a result, fecal coliforms are used as indicator species for water body contamination. The Lower Salinas watershed is used for a variety of purposes including, but not limited to: groundwater recharge, wildlife habitat, industrial and agricultural supplies, commercial and recreational fishing and recreational activities. As a result, understanding water body impairment due to microbial pathogens is important for human health and safety as well as environmental sustainability and improvement. | This report investigates the impairment of the Lower Salinas River and several of its tributaries as a result of increased fecal coliform concentrations in accordance with Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. The biological impairment of a river can result from microbial pathogens (viruses, protozoa's, and bacteria) that can be readily correlated with fecal coliforms. As a result, fecal coliforms are used as indicator species for water body contamination. The Lower Salinas watershed is used for a variety of purposes including, but not limited to: groundwater recharge, wildlife habitat, industrial and agricultural supplies, commercial and recreational fishing and recreational activities. As a result, understanding water body impairment due to microbial pathogens is important for human health and safety as well as environmental sustainability and improvement. | ||
| − | == | + | == Watershed Description == |
| − | + | ||
The area of concern for this TMDL is the lower 400 square miles of the Salinas Watershed, including the watershed draining to the Salinas Lagoon and the river between the Old Salinas River and the Salinas River crossing at Gonzales Road. The project area boundaries are the Gabilan Range to the east, the Sierra de Salinas range to the west, and the Monterey Bay to the north east. | The area of concern for this TMDL is the lower 400 square miles of the Salinas Watershed, including the watershed draining to the Salinas Lagoon and the river between the Old Salinas River and the Salinas River crossing at Gonzales Road. The project area boundaries are the Gabilan Range to the east, the Sierra de Salinas range to the west, and the Monterey Bay to the north east. | ||
| − | == | + | ==Problem Statement== |
| + | |||
| + | ==Data Analysis== | ||
| + | '''Water Samples''' | ||
| + | Use of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) tests have placed the Salinas Watershed on the Impaired list. FIB tests identify indicator bacteria for pathogens resulting from fecal coliform. Data used in this study was from as far back as February 1999. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Data sources for the TMDL came from: | ||
| + | |||
| + | *TMDL Project data set | ||
| + | **From TMDL Project and USDA | ||
| + | *Central Coast Ambient Monitoring Program (CCAMP) | ||
| + | *Entities regulated by the Central Coast Water Board (City of Salinas Stormwater Program) | ||
| + | *Central Coast Watershed Studies (CCoWS) Team (affiliated with the Watershed Institute at California State University-Monterey Bay) | ||
| + | *Snap Shot Day monitoring program (Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Citizen Watershed Monitoring Network) | ||
| + | |||
| + | '''Problems with water sample tests''' | ||
| + | These tests have many problems because not all fecal coliform is a pathogen. A separate test can identify presence of E. Coli in the water sample, however these tests have the same problem of only sampling an indicator, not a pathogen. | ||
| + | ...What are the indicators? How did they come up with the numbers?... | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Source Analysis== | ||
Sources of fecal coliform in the Lower Salinas Watershed were identified to arise from various sources. These included: | Sources of fecal coliform in the Lower Salinas Watershed were identified to arise from various sources. These included: | ||
*Point Sources | *Point Sources | ||
| Line 25: | Line 42: | ||
**Irrigated Agriculture | **Irrigated Agriculture | ||
**Non-controllable natural sources | **Non-controllable natural sources | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Numeric Target== | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Linkage Analysis== | ||
== TMDL Development == | == TMDL Development == | ||
| − | + | ==Margin of Safety== | |
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ==Critical and Conditions and seasonal variation== | |
| − | + | ==TMDL Allocations== | |
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ==Public Participation== | |
| + | here are many stakeholders in the Lower Salinas Watershed that are affected by the implementation of the fecal coliform TMDL. These would include: | ||
| − | + | *Agricultural | |
| − | + | *Industry | |
| − | + | *Sewer discharge facilities | |
| + | *Wildlife | ||
| + | *Fisheries | ||
| + | *Sporting recreational activities | ||
| + | *Municipal and domestic water supply | ||
| + | *Homeless Persons | ||
== Implementation and Monitoring == | == Implementation and Monitoring == | ||
| − | |||
The goal of implementation and monitoring is to reduce pathogen loads and achieve the stated TMDLs for the Salinas River Watershed. Potential pathgoen sources include: municipal storm drain discharges, domestic animal/livestock discharges, illegal dumping, discharges from homeless persons/encampments, sanitary sewer collection system spills and leaks, wildlife, and sediment bedoad resuspension. Because of the complexity involved with coordinating all these various sources for patholgoical pollutants the report lays out an implementation and monitoring road map to identify key aspects, and make sure progress is recorded and results obtained. | The goal of implementation and monitoring is to reduce pathogen loads and achieve the stated TMDLs for the Salinas River Watershed. Potential pathgoen sources include: municipal storm drain discharges, domestic animal/livestock discharges, illegal dumping, discharges from homeless persons/encampments, sanitary sewer collection system spills and leaks, wildlife, and sediment bedoad resuspension. Because of the complexity involved with coordinating all these various sources for patholgoical pollutants the report lays out an implementation and monitoring road map to identify key aspects, and make sure progress is recorded and results obtained. | ||
| Line 61: | Line 81: | ||
**Responsible Parties | **Responsible Parties | ||
| − | == | + | ==Monitoring Plan== |
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== Laws and Policies == | == Laws and Policies == | ||
| − | |||
The law which creates the TMDL process is the [http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/cwa/ Clean Water Act](CWA). The CWA defines a TMDL as "a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards, and an allocation of that amount to the pollutant's sources." | The law which creates the TMDL process is the [http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/cwa/ Clean Water Act](CWA). The CWA defines a TMDL as "a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards, and an allocation of that amount to the pollutant's sources." | ||
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== Future research == | == Future research == | ||
| − | |||
While fecal coliforms are useful indicators of pathogenic biological organisms they do not prove their presence/absence. As a result, future research needs to be focused on developing quick, cheap and efficient tests for a wide range of pathogenic organisms. This could be accomplished with the use of DNA chip technology, and or microarrays. | While fecal coliforms are useful indicators of pathogenic biological organisms they do not prove their presence/absence. As a result, future research needs to be focused on developing quick, cheap and efficient tests for a wide range of pathogenic organisms. This could be accomplished with the use of DNA chip technology, and or microarrays. | ||
| + | **Possibly covered in the data analysis section. | ||
== References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 19:28, 18 March 2010
An summary of the Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Coast Region report on Total Maximum Daily Load for Fecal Coliform for the Lower Salinas River Watershed, Monterey County, California [1] by the ENVS 560/L Watershed Systems class at CSUMB.
Contents
- 1 Project Definition
- 2 Watershed Description
- 3 Problem Statement
- 4 Data Analysis
- 5 Source Analysis
- 6 Numeric Target
- 7 Linkage Analysis
- 8 TMDL Development
- 9 Margin of Safety
- 10 Critical and Conditions and seasonal variation
- 11 TMDL Allocations
- 12 Public Participation
- 13 Implementation and Monitoring
- 14 Monitoring Plan
- 15 Laws and Policies
- 16 Future research
- 17 References
- 18 Links
- 19 Disclaimer
Project Definition
This report investigates the impairment of the Lower Salinas River and several of its tributaries as a result of increased fecal coliform concentrations in accordance with Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. The biological impairment of a river can result from microbial pathogens (viruses, protozoa's, and bacteria) that can be readily correlated with fecal coliforms. As a result, fecal coliforms are used as indicator species for water body contamination. The Lower Salinas watershed is used for a variety of purposes including, but not limited to: groundwater recharge, wildlife habitat, industrial and agricultural supplies, commercial and recreational fishing and recreational activities. As a result, understanding water body impairment due to microbial pathogens is important for human health and safety as well as environmental sustainability and improvement.
Watershed Description
The area of concern for this TMDL is the lower 400 square miles of the Salinas Watershed, including the watershed draining to the Salinas Lagoon and the river between the Old Salinas River and the Salinas River crossing at Gonzales Road. The project area boundaries are the Gabilan Range to the east, the Sierra de Salinas range to the west, and the Monterey Bay to the north east.
Problem Statement
Data Analysis
Water Samples Use of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) tests have placed the Salinas Watershed on the Impaired list. FIB tests identify indicator bacteria for pathogens resulting from fecal coliform. Data used in this study was from as far back as February 1999.
Data sources for the TMDL came from:
- TMDL Project data set
- From TMDL Project and USDA
- Central Coast Ambient Monitoring Program (CCAMP)
- Entities regulated by the Central Coast Water Board (City of Salinas Stormwater Program)
- Central Coast Watershed Studies (CCoWS) Team (affiliated with the Watershed Institute at California State University-Monterey Bay)
- Snap Shot Day monitoring program (Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Citizen Watershed Monitoring Network)
Problems with water sample tests These tests have many problems because not all fecal coliform is a pathogen. A separate test can identify presence of E. Coli in the water sample, however these tests have the same problem of only sampling an indicator, not a pathogen.
...What are the indicators? How did they come up with the numbers?...
Source Analysis
Sources of fecal coliform in the Lower Salinas Watershed were identified to arise from various sources. These included:
- Point Sources
- Storm drain discharges to storm sewer systems
- Spills and leaks from sanitary sewer collection and treatment systems
- concentrated animal feeding operations and dairies
- NonPoint Sources
- Domestic animal discharges in areas that do not drain to a storm water sewer system
- Onsite waste disposal systems
- Illegal Dumping
- Homeless Encampments
- Sediment Sources
- Irrigated Agriculture
- Non-controllable natural sources
Numeric Target
Linkage Analysis
TMDL Development
Margin of Safety
Critical and Conditions and seasonal variation
TMDL Allocations
Public Participation
here are many stakeholders in the Lower Salinas Watershed that are affected by the implementation of the fecal coliform TMDL. These would include:
- Agricultural
- Industry
- Sewer discharge facilities
- Wildlife
- Fisheries
- Sporting recreational activities
- Municipal and domestic water supply
- Homeless Persons
Implementation and Monitoring
The goal of implementation and monitoring is to reduce pathogen loads and achieve the stated TMDLs for the Salinas River Watershed. Potential pathgoen sources include: municipal storm drain discharges, domestic animal/livestock discharges, illegal dumping, discharges from homeless persons/encampments, sanitary sewer collection system spills and leaks, wildlife, and sediment bedoad resuspension. Because of the complexity involved with coordinating all these various sources for patholgoical pollutants the report lays out an implementation and monitoring road map to identify key aspects, and make sure progress is recorded and results obtained.
Implementation
- Implementation Actions
- Evaluation of Implementation Progress
- Timeline and Milestones
- Economic Considerations
Monitoring
- Monitoring Sites
- Frequency
- Responsible Parties
Monitoring Plan
Laws and Policies
The law which creates the TMDL process is the Clean Water Act(CWA). The CWA defines a TMDL as "a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards, and an allocation of that amount to the pollutant's sources."
Future research
While fecal coliforms are useful indicators of pathogenic biological organisms they do not prove their presence/absence. As a result, future research needs to be focused on developing quick, cheap and efficient tests for a wide range of pathogenic organisms. This could be accomplished with the use of DNA chip technology, and or microarrays.
- Possibly covered in the data analysis section.
References
- ↑ Total Maximum Daily Load for Fecal Coliform for the Lower Salinas River Watershed, Monterey County, California
Links
Disclaimer
This page may contain student work completed as part of assigned coursework. It may not be accurate. It does not necessary reflect the opinion or policy of CSUMB, its staff, or students.
