Collecting water quality data is critical for seeing how the health of local waterways has improved or been impacted over the years. SCVURPPP has been a regional, statewide and national leader in monitoring water quality. The Program and its partner agencies regularly monitor Santa Clara Valley creeks, rivers and the San Francisco Bay. Findings from these monitoring efforts have helped municipalities manage stormwater pollution more effectively.
Bay-Area Wide Monitoring Efforts
As part of regional efforts to assess Bay Area water quality, SCVURPPP combines Santa Clara Valley creek monitoring data with data from other Bay Area counties. The Program has been involved in the following regional efforts:
- BASMAA Regional Monitoring Coalition (opens in new window) – a collaboration among stormwater programs that focuses on collecting high-quality information on the chemical, physical and biological condition of local creeks.
- San Francisco Bay Regional Monitoring Program (opens in new window) – a 25-year old program that evaluates the condition of and sources of pollution to the San Francisco Bay.
Local Creek Health
People, fish and aquatic life all benefit from healthy surface waters. What is the condition of aquatic life in creeks in the San Francisco Bay Area? What are long-term trends in water quality in local creeks?
For nearly two decades, SCVURPPP has carried out an award-winning stream water quality monitoring program in the Santa Clara Valley to answer these questions.
Program and member agency staff track various creek health indicators:
- Aquatic insects (Benthic macroinvertebrates) Communities of bugs living in the streambed can tell you a lot about overall creek health.
- Algae (Phytoplankton, Diatoms) In balanced amounts, these simple aquatic plants can provide food and oxygen for creek life.
- Physical habitat Fish & aquatic life thrive in complex streams with different types of flows, plant cover, woody debris, rocks & sediment.
- Nutrients Levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients affect aquatic plant & algae growth.
- General chemistry Fish need waters with livable ranges of pH, specific conductivity, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature.
- Bacteria (E. coli, fecal coliform, Enterococci) These single-celled organisms impact the health of water for supply & recreational uses.
- Toxicity and pesticides (such as atrazine herbicides and insecticides) Unmanaged toxic chemicals in urban watersheds can enter creeks via stormwater runoff.
You can read more about creek health indicators on the US EPA website (opens in new window). In addition, the California Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP) provides bioassessment protocols (opens in new window) and resources (opens in new window) online.
SCVURPPP uses the latest statewide tools to report on creek health throughout the Santa Clara Valley. The Program has managed and actively collaborated on local and regional monitoring activities. These include studies to assess water quality, beneficial uses in local creeks and the San Francisco Bay, and pollution (e.g. pesticides, toxic chemicals, sediment, pathogens) entering the Bay from local streams.
Sources of Impacts to Creeks
What are the major stressors to aquatic life? Fish and aquatic life need healthy waters and complex, natural habitats to thrive. Natural stream areas in the Santa Clara Valley have fair to good health, and over half of these healthier streams are in protected areas with open space. However, many areas have reduced stream health conditions. SCVURPPP has found several possible sources of “stress” in these creeks, including:
- High amounts of impervious area upstream
- Creek habitat alteration or destruction
- Activities that change water temperature, salinity & chemistry
Monitoring data helps uncover likely causes of stress in waterways. Results inform local management decisions to improve the watershed long-term. The Program will continue assessing stressors that seem to affect the health of many creeks/rivers and recommend management actions as needed.