San Francisco Bay

"Should the Peripheral Canal be Built?"

Commonwealth Club of California | July 1st, 1975

"Water, Water, Everywhere"

Scientific American | April 1st, 1942

FROM sky-scraping Shasta Dam on the north to Bakersfield on the south, beneficiary of water to be carried by canals stretching like tentacles up and down California'

FROM sky-scraping Shasta Dam on the north to Bakersfield on the south, beneficiary of water to be carried by canals stretching like tentacles up and down California's great Central Valley a total distance of 898 miles, it's a case of "Water, water, everywhere." The United States Bureau of Reclamation looks upon the Central Valley Project as holding greater potential benefit, both locally and nationally, than any conservation project attempted in its 88-year history . This undertaking is a multiple-purpose project, involving construction of two huge dams, Shasta and Friant, and five canals, which jointly will: Improve navigation on inland waterways, reduce floods in the Sacramento and San Joaquin River valleys, furnish water to irrigate 2 ,000,000 acres of highly productive agricultural lands, control saltwater encroachment in the delta region of the two rivers mentioned, improve domestic and industrial water supplies in central California, and develop hydro-electric power for municipal, agricultural, industrial, and project uses.

“Where Have All The Fish Gone? Interactive Factors Producing Fish Declines in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) | June 19th, 1994

100 years of California's water rights system: patterns, trends and uncertainty

Environmental Research Letters (IOP) | August 19th, 2014

For 100 years, California’s State Water Resources Control Board and its predecessors have been responsible for allocating available water supplies to beneficial uses,

For 100 years, California’s State Water Resources Control Board and its predecessors have been responsible for allocating available water supplies to beneficial uses, but inaccurate and incomplete accounting of water rights has made the state ill-equipped to satisfy growing societal demands for water supply reliability and healthy ecosystems. Here, we present the first comprehensive evaluation of appropriative water rights to identify where, and to what extent, water has been dedicated to human uses relative to natural supplies. The results show that water right allocations total 400 billion cubic meters, approximately five times the state’s mean annual runoff. In the state’s major river basins, water rights account for up to 1000% of natural surface water supplies, with the greatest degree of appropriation observed in tributaries to the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and in coastal streams in southern California. Comparisons with water supplies and estimates of actual use indicate substantial uncertainty in how water rights are exercised. In arid regions such as California, over-allocation of surface water coupled with trends of decreasing supply suggest that new water demands will be met by re-allocation from existing uses. Without improvements to the water rights system, growing human and environmental demands portend an intensification of regional water scarcity and social conflict. California’s legal framework for managing its water resources is largely compatible with needed reforms, but additional public investment is required to enhance the capacity of the state’s water management institutions to effectively track and regulate water rights.

2-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) | July 16th, 2009

The 2-Gates Project proposes an alternative management strategy to achieve protection of the delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus). The Central Valley Project (CVP) and

The 2-Gates Project proposes an alternative management strategy to achieve protection of the delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus). The Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) operate under the OCAP and other water rights and water quality requirements (project background provided in Appendix A). These operations comply with the RPAs in the recent BOs for the OCAP from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS 2008) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS 2009). The RPAs include actions to limit reverse flows in Old and Middle Rivers to reduce entrainment of fish at the CVP and SWP export facilities. The Project seeks to provide equal or improved protection to delta smelt (reduced entrainment at the export pumps) with higher than the minimum allowed water exports described in the OCAP BORPAs while operating within the other water management requirement (D-1641). In particular, the Project is intended to demonstrate that operable barriers, strategically placed in the central Delta and managed in conjunction with some restrictions on OMR negative flows, can provide equal or greater protection for delta smelt than restrictions on OMR negative flows alone. The proposed 2-Gates Project is designed as a demonstration project to test this premise and to improve understanding of the key physical and biological processes needed to restore a sustainable ecosystem. The 2-Gates Project proposes to install and operate temporary, removable gates in two channels in the central Delta at Old River and Connection Slough (Figure 1). The gates will be used to manipulate flows and key water quality components of delta smelt habitat in order to reduce entrainment of delta smelt at the export facilities.

2015 Annual Monitoring Report

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | July 1st, 2016

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is the primary source for long-term contaminant monitoring information for the San Francisco

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is the primary source for long-term contaminant monitoring information for the San Francisco Bay. The RMP is an innovative and collaborative effort among the scientific community, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (Water Board), and the regulated discharger community. The Program was initiated by the Water Board as a pilot study in 1989 and has been collecting water, sediment, and bivalve tissue data since its official inception in 1993. Regular monitoring of sport fish tissue and bird eggs for toxic contaminants was incorporated into the Program in 1997 and 2006, respectively. The Program monitors the different matrices included in “status and trends” monitoring on varying schedules. Additional monitoring occurs as part of short-term “special studies” or pilot studies focused on new regions, matrices, or contaminants of immediate or increasing regulatory interest. In 2015, the RMP collected only water data as part of “status and trends” monitoring. A pilot study was also conducted to collect sediment data from the Bay margins. Bird egg monitoring was originally scheduled to be conducted in 2015, but was delayed until 2016. The purpose of this report is to document RMP monitoring activities in 2015. The report is organized into chapters on water and sediment. Each chapter contains information on: • The locations where these samples were collected, • The field sampling methods, • The target analytes, laboratories, and analytical methods for each matrix, and • Any problems encountered or non-conformances to planned procedures.

2015 Urban Water Management Plan

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) | June 1st, 2016

Metropolitan’s 2015 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) has been prepared in compliance with Water Code Section 10608.36 of SB X7-7, which was enacted in 2009, a

Metropolitan’s 2015 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) has been prepared in compliance with Water Code Section 10608.36 of SB X7-7, which was enacted in 2009, and Sections 10610 through 10656 of the Urban Water Management Planning Act (Act), which were added by Statute 1983, Chapter 1009, and became effective on January 1, 1984. This Act requires that every urban water supplier providing water for municipal purposes to more than 3,000 customers or supplying more than 3,000 acre-feet of water annually prepare and adopt, in accordance with prescribed requirements, an urban water management plan. The Act requires urban water suppliers to describe and evaluate sources of water supply, efficient uses of water, demand management measures, implementation strategy and schedule, and other relevant information and programs. Urban water suppliers are required by the Act to update their UWMP and submit a complete plan to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) every five years. An UWMP is required in order for a water supplier to be eligible for DWR administered state grants and loans and drought assistance. As with Metropolitan’s previous plans, the 2015 UWMP does not explicitly discuss specific activities undertaken by its member agencies unless they relate to one of Metropolitan’s water demand or supply management programs. Presumably, each member agency will discuss these activities in its UWMP. The information included in the 2015 UWMP represents the most current and available planning projections of supply capability and demand developed through a collaborative process with the member agencies. Metropolitan’s Board recently adopted the 2015 Integrated Water Resources Plan, Water Tomorrow (2015 IRP Update), which represents Metropolitan’s comprehensive planning process and will serve as Metropolitan’s blueprint for long-term water reliability, including key supply development and water use efficiency goals.

2016 Quality Assurance Program Plan for the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | September 14th, 2016

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in the San Francisco Estuary (RMP) was created to provide longterm monitoring information on ecosystem health in the E

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in the San Francisco Estuary (RMP) was created to provide longterm monitoring information on ecosystem health in the Estuary. The impetus for the program development was a resolution by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board to require dischargers in the Bay Area regulated under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program to participate in regional monitoring. Contribution to the program constitutes compliance with the requirement to participate. Elimination of certain permit requirements for individual permits offset the requirement for continued participation.

2016 Regional Monitoring Plan (RMP) Multi-Year Plan

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | January 1st, 2016

In 1992 the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board passed Resolution No. 92-043 directing the Executive Officer to send a letter to regulated dischargers requiring them t

In 1992 the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board passed Resolution No. 92-043 directing the Executive Officer to send a letter to regulated dischargers requiring them to implement a regional multi-media pollutant monitoring program for water quality (RMP) in San Francisco Bay. The Water Board’s regulatory authority to require such a program comes from California Water Code Sections 13267, 13383, 13268 and 13385. The Water Board offered to suspend some effluent and local receiving water monitoring requirements for individual discharges to provide cost savings to implement baseline portions of the RMP, although they recognized that additional resources would be necessary. The Resolution also included a provision that the requirement for a RMP be included in discharger permits. The RMP began in 1993, and over ensuing years has been a successful and effective partnership of regulatory agencies and the regulated community.  The goal of the RMP is to collect data and communicate information about water quality in San Francisco Bay in support of management decisions. 

2016 Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) Bird Egg Samples Quality Assurance Report.

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | December 13th, 2017

 In 2016, bird egg samples were collected from 4 areas for terns with 84 individual samples analyzed for Hg and 12 composites analyzed for Se. Samples for cormorants wer

 In 2016, bird egg samples were collected from 4 areas for terns with 84 individual samples analyzed for Hg and 12 composites analyzed for Se. Samples for cormorants were collected from 3 areas, with 9 composites analyzed for Hg, Se, PFCs, PCBs, and PBDEs. The sampling and analysis was conducted by the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay. The details of the cruise and sample collection methods are described in the RMP Quality Assurance Program Plan, cruise plans, cruise reports, and field sampling reports. These documents are available from the SFEI website (http://www.sfei.org/programs/sf-bay-regional-monitoring-program).