Central Coast Ambient Monitoring Central Coast Ambient Monitoring Program Program Central Coast Central Coast Regional Water Quality Regional Water Quality Control Board Control Board Water Quality Issues in the Water Quality Issues in the Ambient Marine Environment of Ambient Marine Environment of Central Coastal California Central Coastal California
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Central Coast Ambient Monitoring Program Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board Water Quality Issues in the Ambient Marine Environment of Central.
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Central Coast Ambient Monitoring ProgramCentral Coast Ambient Monitoring ProgramCentral CoastCentral Coast Regional Water Quality Control BoardRegional Water Quality Control Board
Water Quality Issues in the Ambient Water Quality Issues in the Ambient Marine Environment of Central Coastal Marine Environment of Central Coastal
CaliforniaCalifornia
Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Coast Region
• RWQCB responsible for regulation of discharge to surface and groundwater
• Ocean discharges from point sources such as power plants or wastewater treatment plants, and more recently stormwater, are regulated through NPDES permits
• In our Region, nonpoint source pollutants may be the most significant impact to the marine environment
Typical pollutants found in surface runoff to the ocean
• Nutrients• Pathogens• Sediment• Metals• Pesticides and PCBs• Petroleum hydrocarbons• Other substances, such as phthalates,
polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)
Nutrients
• Nitrate, phosphate, silicate
• Large loads of some nutrients are discharged from agricultural river mouths
• Estuarine environments may show indications of eutrophication
• Influence of nutrients from land sources is not well understood
Nitrate averages (mg/l as N), north to south
Eutrophication is evident in many lagoon systems
• Algal blooms alter habitat, create nuisance, generate large swings in oxygen levels
• Fish kills result from depressed oxygen concentrations
• Nitrate can be present at levels that also cause toxicity to aquatic life
Studies have linked concentrations of some nutrients to toxic phytoplankton blooms.
• In lab culture, domoic acid concentrations in Pseudonitzchia increase in proportion to nitrate concentrations
• Intracellular DA concentrations increase when Silicate and phosphorus are limiting
• Iron availability is also a key factor in determining whether blooms become toxic – iron stress causes cells to discharge DA to environment
It is still unclear to what extent sources from the land play an impact in marine nutrient dynamics,
given the enormous amount of nutrients made available by upwelling off our coast
• Long-term Ecological Research Program• Plumes and Blooms• Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute• U.C. Santa Cruz• Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve• Central Coast Long-term Environmental Assessment
Program (CCLEAN)
Pesticide Application and NO3
Coastal Confluence Sites North to South
DPR 1999Pounds Applied Per Acre
0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
120.00
140.00
160.00
Gaz
os C
reek
Wad
dell
Cre
ek
Sco
tt C
reek
San
Lor
enzo
Riv
er
Soq
uel C
reek
Apt
os C
reek
Paj
aro
Riv
er
Tem
blad
ero
Slo
ugh
Old
Sal
inas
Riv
er
Sal
inas
Riv
er
Car
mel
Riv
er
Big
Sur
Riv
er
Big
Cre
ek
Will
ow C
reek
Arr
oyo
de la
Cru
z C
reek
San
Sim
eon
Cre
ek
San
ta R
osa
Cre
ek
Cho
rro
Cre
ek
San
Lui
s O
bisp
o C
reek
Pis
mo
Cre
ek
Arr
oyo
Gra
nde
Cre
ek
San
ta M
aria
Riv
er
San
Ant
onio
Cre
ek
San
ta Y
nez
Riv
er
Can
ada
de la
Gav
iota
Ata
scad
ero
Cre
ek
Arr
oyo
Bur
ro C
reek
Mis
sion
Cre
ek
Fra
nklin
Cre
ek
Car
pint
eria
Cre
ek
Rin
con
Cre
ek
Ave
rag
e N
O3
(mg
/l)
0
5
10
15
20
25
Ap
pli
ed
pe
stic
ide
s (l
bs/
acr
e)avg NO3
lbs/acre
Legacy Pesticides
• Bioaccumulate in higher trophic level species like marine mammals
• Pesticides may disrupt endocrine systems or cause immune system compromise
• Recent nesting failure in the Caspian tern has been attributed to DDT transported by a heavy rain event
• Funding currently being provided through Proposition 13 to study these chemicals in archived sea otter tissues
Mussel Watch Monitoring Data(Sandholdt Bridge, Moss Landing, for DDT and Dieldrin)
TOTAL DDTs
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Sco
tt C
r. B
each
Ave
rage
San
ta C
ruz
Mai
n B
each
Ave
rage
Elk
hor
n S
l. M
outh
Ave
rage
Sal
inas
R.
Mou
th A
vera
ge
Car
mel
Bea
ch A
vera
ge
Por
t of
SL
O H
arb
orA
vera
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Avi
la B
each
Ave
rage
Sh
ell
Bea
ch A
vera
ge
Pis
mo
Bea
ch A
vera
ge
Gu
adal
up
e B
each
Ave
rage
San
ta M
aria
R.
Bea
chA
vera
ge
San
An
ton
io C
r. B
each
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rage
San
ds
Bea
ch A
vera
ge
Jala
ma
Ave
rage
Gav
iota
Bea
ch A
vera
ge
Su
rf B
each
Ave
rage
Arr
oyo
Bu
rro
Bea
chA
vera
ge
San
ta B
arb
ara
Mai
nB
each
Ave
rage
DDT (ug/kg) in sand crabs, northern Santa Cruz County south to Santa Barbara County
Currently applied pesticides
• Moving target• Expensive or difficult to conduct analytical tests• Many do not bioaccumulate• Most effective testing includes multiple indicators
(toxicity, chemistry, benthic communities)• Multiple indicator testing has been conducted in
the Salinas watershed, the Santa Maria watershed and several other locations and has shown toxic effects
• Unknown impacts to the nearshore marine environment
Metals
• Some elevated levels of metals in coastal lagoons appear to be geologic in origin
• Mercury is elevated in some watersheds, particularly Santa Rosa Creek
• Recent marine fish contamination sampling has not shown mercury levels of concern, but did not target long-lived benthic species
Nickel concentrations in sediment from coastal confluence sites , north to south
(ERM is 51.6 mg/kg)
Mercury in sediment from coastal confluence sites, north to south
(ERM is 0.7 mg/kg)
Sediment
• Important pollutant of coastal steelhead streams, but also a natural part of a functioning watershed
• Important in transport of other pollutants• Sedimentation of harbors is a continuing
problem, particularly where elevated chemicals make disposal expensive
• Quantifying impacts in the marine environment challenging
Petroleum Hydrocarbons
• Several large cleanup sites from past oil activities
• Natural Sources• Urban runoff
Sand crab data from 2000 shows somewhat elevated levels in the vicinity of Guadalupe and Avila
Pathogens may enter the ocean through surface runoff or sewage discharges, and serve as a source of infection for humans and marine mammals
Beach Closures• Based on county testing for traditional indicators
including fecal coliform and Enterococcus• Sampling mandated on beaches with greater than
50,000 visitations per year during dry season months
• Stormwater runoff, river and urban discharges, and failing sewer lines are common sources of problems
• San Luis Obispo County Environmental Health Department monitors 12 sites on a weekly basis year-round
San Luis Obispo County Beaches
For 2002:• 92% of monitored sites received “A”s for dry
season scores• Pismo Pier had a few dry season hits and scored a
“B”• Two wet season failing scores at Avila Beach
Check www.healthebay.org for a state-wide report card of beach health