Clean Water Program

Tomales Bay is on the 303(d) list for Impaired Water Bodies for sediment/ siltation, nutrients, and mercury, and the Petaluma River is on the 303(d) list for sediment/siltation, nutrients, and pathogens. The Aquatic Science Center has been hired by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (SFBRWQCB) to assist with the scientific basis of Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) projects to resolve these water quality impairments.

In 2009, the State of California adopted Sediment Quality Objectives (SQO), which are narrative objectives established to protect benthic communities from direct exposure to toxic pollutants in sediments. SQOs incorporate multiple lines of evidence to assess the health of the Estuary’s sediment. The Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) developed a sediment quality assessment tool to implement SQOs in a consistent manner.

Since 1993, this element of the RMP focused on monitoring and understanding suspended sediment dynamics in the Estuary through the monitoring of suspended sediments at key locations in the Estuary. This work has yielded many insights into sediment and contaminant dynamics in the Estuary, as summarized in articles by Dr. Schoellhamer in the 2003 Pulse of the Estuary and the 2005 Pulse of the Estuary.