1.2 Background on Selenium

The Grasslands soils are derived largely from the erosion of the marine rocks that form the California Coast Ranges. They contain abundant salt and other trace elements such as arsenic, boron, selenium and molybdenum. Depth to water can be quite shallow, often inundating the root zone of agricultural fields.

1.1 Description of the Project Area

The project is located in the Grasslands Subarea as defined by the San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program (SJVDP, 1990). The area is a valley floor sub-basin of the San Joaquin River Basin. The Grasslands Subarea is an area of approximately 370,000 acres and is generally bounded on the north by the alluvial fan of Orestimba Creek and by the Westlands Subarea to the south. The San Joaquin River forms the eastern boundary and Interstate Highway 5 forms the approximate western boundary. The San Joaquin River forms a wide flood plain in the region.

QAPP Status

QAPP development SFEI is providing resources to help project teams develop QAPPs. SFEI has reviewed EPA guidance, develop an appropriate QAPP format, and helped project teams respond to EPA comments. To date SFEI has facilitated the approval of nine project QAPPs.

SWAMP/SFEI report on contaminants in fish from California lakes

The State Water Resources Control Board's Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP) has released findings from California’s largest-ever survey of contaminants in sport fish from lakes and reservoirs. This report represents the end of a two-year survey and presents new data on 122 lakes sampled in 2008, adding to the database covering 150 lakes sampled in 2007 and reported last year. Mercury accumulation in fish is a persistent problem throughout much of the state.

2010 NorCal SETAC Annual Meeting

Rachel Allen, Ben Greenfield, and Michelle Lent presented at the 20th Annual Meeting of the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, held at the UC Berkeley Clark Kerr Campus. The meeting focused on Contaminants of Emerging Concern, and as a member of the Board of Directors, Susan Klosterhaus helped facilitate the meeting.

NorCal SETAC Annual Meeting

Rachel Allen, Ben Greenfield, and Michelle Lent presented at the 20th Annual Meeting of the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, held at the UC Berkeley Clark Kerr Campus. The meeting focused on Contaminants of Emerging Concern, and as a member of the Board of Directors, Susan Klosterhaus helped facilitate the meeting.

Nicole David presents results from the Green Infill Clean Stormwater Project in Cupertino

Nicole will be giving her presentation titled, How are Stormwater Treatment Measures Working at Serramonte Library? Preliminary Water Quality Monitoring Results at the Santa Clara County, Water Pollution Prevention Program Workshop in Cupertino regarding preliminary results from the Green Infill Clean Stormwater Project.

Delta RMP stakeholder meeting

A stakeholder meeting is scheduled for 12 May 2010 to inform stakeholders of progress on planning a regional monitoring program (RMP) for the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta. Agenda and meeting materials will be made available on the website.

Program Structure

Program Structure

Many scientists at SFEI participate in the RMP to create a successful and scientifically sound program. The work at SFEI is overseen by the Technical Review Committee (TRC), the Steering Committee (SC) and five workgroups which consist of local scientists, regulators, and stakeholders and invited scientists recognized as leaders in their field. The five workgroups are:

Benthic Workgroup

The Benthic Workgroup (BWG) first convened in 2009 as a joint RMP and SQO funded workgroup to provide guidance, advice, and opinion on benthic community assessments in support of Sediment Quality Objectives methods for San Francisco Bay and Delta regions. The current focus of the workgroup is to investigate the distribution of benthic assemblages around the Estuary and Delta and to work towards developing and improving current benthic assessment indices for San Francisco Bay.

Agendas and Summaries of Past Meetings

Subscribe to RSS - Clean Water Program