San Francisco Bay Delta Action Plan: Advance Regional Monitoring

Water quality monitoring is essential for knowing whether or not our waters are safe enough to swim in, fish from, and use for drinking. EPA supports regional water quality monitoring programs to produce high quality monitoring data for the lowest cost.

EPA assisted the San Francisco Bay Water Quality Control Board and local partners in the development of the San Francisco Bay Regional Monitoring Program (RMP). The RMP has shared financial support, direction, and participation by regulatory agencies and the regulated community in a model of collective responsibility. The RMP produces a world-class dataset on estuarine contaminants in the San Francisco Bay and publishes an annual Pulse of the Estuary report.

EPA is actively engaged in the development of the Delta Regional Monitoring Program, which is based on the successful San Francisco Bay RMP model. The goal of Delta RMP is to coordinate monitoring and assessment efforts in and around the Delta to minimize monitoring costs, improve the quality of monitoring data, and knowledge about water quality problems. This information will be used to identify optimal solutions to water quality problems. Delta RMP has produced two Pulse of the Delta reports, the Central Valley Watershed Monitoring Directory, and has an active steering committee that is committed to launching the RMP by first adjusting monitoring requirements in permits.

EPA is also supporting the development of the San Joaquin River Regional Monitoring Program. A Proposed Strategy for San Joaquin River Basin Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment was published in 2010, and a Strawman Proposal was developed in 2012 by the Coalition for Urban/Rural Environmental Stewardship, EPA and the California Water Resources Board. Finally, EPA supported the construction of The San Joaquin Regional Water Quality Monitoring website that provides access to water monitoring data, studies, reports, and articles on the San Joaquin River watershed.