Pollutants of concern (POC) loads monitoring progress report, water years (WYs) 2012, 2013, and 2014

The San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board (Water Board) has determined that San Francisco Bay is impaired by mercury and PCBs due to threats to wildlife and human consumers of fish from the Bay. These contaminants persist in the environment and accumulate in aquatic food webs (SFRWRCB 2006; SFRWRCB, 2008). The Water Board has identified urban runoff from local watersheds as a pathway for pollutants of concern into the Bay, including mercury and PCBs. The Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit (MRP; SFRWRCB, 2009) contains several provisions requiring studies to measure local watershed loads of suspended sediment (SS), total organic carbon (TOC), polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), total mercury (HgT), total methylmercury (MeHgT), nitrate-N (NO3), phosphate-P (PO4), and total phosphorus (TP) (provision C.8.e), as well as other pollutants covered under provision C.14. (e.g. legacy pesticides, PBDEs, and selenium).