Draft 2008 California 303(d)/305(b) Integrated Report

Supporting Information

Regional Board 3 - Central Coast Region

Water Body Name: Cassery Creek
Water Body ID: CAR3051001220080620141428
Water Body Type: River & Stream
 
DECISION ID
11965
 
Pollutant: Nitrate
Final Listing Decision: Do Not List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision: New Decision
Revision Status Revised
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Weight of Evidence: This pollutant is being considered for placement on the section 303(d) list under section 3.1 of the Listing Policy. Under section 3.1 a single line of evidence is necessary to assess listing status.

One line of evidence is available in the administrative record to assess this pollutant. The single sample does not exceed the water quality objective for Municipal and Domestic Supply.

Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is insufficient justification for placing this water segment-pollutant combination on the section 303(d) list in the Water Quality Limited Segments category. Using the binomial distribution, waters shall be placed on the section 303(d) list if the number of measured exceedances supports rejection of the null hypothesis as presented in Table 3.1. There are an insufficient number of sample exceedances to make this decision. There are also an insufficient number of samples to make a "use rating" decision. Central Coast Water Board staff require a minimum of 16 samples to make a "use rating" decision of Fully Supporting.

This conclusion is based on the staff findings that:
1. The data used satisfies the data quality requirements of section 6.1.4 of the Policy.
2. The data used satisfies the data quantity requirements of section 6.1.5 of the Policy.
3. The single sample does not exceed the water quality objective for Municipal and Domestic Supply, and did not exceed the allowable frequency listed in Table 3.1 of the Listing Policy. The sample size is insufficient to determine with the power and confidence of the Listing Policy if water quality standards are met or exceeded.
4. Pursuant to section 3.11 of the Listing Policy, no additional data and information are available indicating that standards are not met.
 
RWQCB Board Decision / Staff Recommendation: After review of the available data and information, RWQCB staff concludes that the water body-pollutant combination should not be placed on the section 303(d) list because applicable water quality standards are not being exceeded and the sample size is insufficient to determine with the power and confidence of the Listing Policy if water quality standards are met or exceeded.
 
SWRCB Board Decision / Staff Recommendation:
 
USEPA Decision:
 
 
Lines of Evidence (LOEs) for Decision ID 11965
 
LOE ID: 17454
 
Pollutant: Nitrate
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Municipal & Domestic Supply
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 0
 
Data and Information Type: PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Central Coast Regional Board Staff assessed Monterey Area Research Consortium (R3_MARC) data for Cassery Creek to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 0 of 1 samples exceed the criterion for Nitrate as N.
Data Reference: Final Data File used for assessment: Marc Los Huertos Water Quality Data, file A
  Final Data File used for assessment: Marc Los Huertos Water Quality Data, file B
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: The Water Quality Control Plan, Central Coast Basin Objective for municipal and domestic supply uses of inland surface waters (Section II.A.2) states the following: waters shall not contain concentrations of chemical constituents in excess of the limits specified in California Code of Regulations, Title 22, Article 4, Chapter 15, Section 64435, Tables 2 and 3 as listed in Table 3-2. The maximum contaminant level listed in Table 3-2 (inorganic and fluoride concentrations not to be exceeded in domestic or municipal supply) for nitrate is 10.0 mg/L (NO3 as N).
Objective/Criterion Reference: Title 22, Division 4, Ch. 15, Article 4, Section 64431, Table 64431-A
  Water Quality Control Plan Central Coast Region (R3) Basin Plan
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Data for this line of evidence for Cassery Creek was collected at 1 monitoring site [ Cassery Road (trib to Salsuipuedes Creek and College Lake]
Temporal Representation: Data was collected on a single day 3/11/2003.
Environmental Conditions: Staff is not aware of any special conditions that might effect interpretation of the data.
QAPP Information: Regional Board approved QAPP. Multiple errors were identified in data and were flagged or fixed by RB staff (in communication with Project staff) prior to assessment of data.
QAPP Information Reference(s):
 
DECISION ID
11964
 
Pollutant: Nitrogen, ammonia (Total Ammonia)
Final Listing Decision: Do Not List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision: New Decision
Revision Status Revised
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Weight of Evidence: This pollutant is being considered for placement on the section 303(d) list under section 3.1 of the Listing Policy. Under section 3.1 a single line of evidence is necessary to assess listing status.

One line of evidence is available in the administrative record to assess this pollutant. The single sample exceeds the Evaluation Guideline EPA's Lifetime Health advisory level, 2006) applied to protect the Municipal & Domestic Supply beneficial use.

Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is insufficient justification for placing this water segment-pollutant combination on the section 303(d) list in the Water Quality Limited Segments category. Using the binomial distribution, waters shall be placed on the section 303(d) list if the number of measured exceedances supports rejection of the null hypothesis as presented in Table 3.1. There are an insufficient number of sample exceedances to make this decision. There are also an insufficient number of samples to make a "use rating" decision. Central Coast Water Board staff require a minimum of 16 samples to make a "use rating" decision of Fully Supporting.

This conclusion is based on the staff findings that:
1. The data used satisfies the data quality requirements of section 6.1.4 of the Policy.
2. The data used satisfies the data quantity requirements of section 6.1.5 of the Policy.
3. The single sample did not exceed the Evaluation Guideline (MacDonald et al. 2000) as it applies to the General Objective, and did not exceed the allowable frequency listed in Table 3.1 of the Listing Policy. The sample size is insufficient to determine with the power and confidence of the Listing Policy if water quality standards are met or exceeded.
4. Pursuant to section 3.11 of the Listing Policy, no additional data and information are available indicating that standards are not met.
 
RWQCB Board Decision / Staff Recommendation: After review of the available data and information, RWQCB staff concludes that the water body-pollutant combination should not be placed on the section 303(d) list because applicable water quality standards are not being exceeded and the sample size is insufficient to determine with the power and confidence of the Listing Policy if water quality standards are met or exceeded.
 
SWRCB Board Decision / Staff Recommendation:
 
USEPA Decision:
 
 
Lines of Evidence (LOEs) for Decision ID 11964
 
LOE ID: 17436
 
Pollutant: Ammonia as Nitrogen
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Municipal & Domestic Supply
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 0
 
Data and Information Type: PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Central Coast Regional Board Staff assessed Monterey Area Research Consortium (R3_MARC) data for Cassery Creek to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 0 of 1 samples exceed the criterion for Ammonia As N, Total.
Data Reference: Final Data File used for assessment: Marc Los Huertos Water Quality Data, file A
  Final Data File used for assessment: Marc Los Huertos Water Quality Data, file B
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: USEPA Health Advisory 2006 Edition of the Drinking Water Standards and Health Advisories (EPA 822-R-06-013, 2006).
Objective/Criterion Reference: 2006 edition of the drinking water standards and health advisories. EPA 822-R-03-013
 
Evaluation Guideline: EPA's Lifetime Health advisory level for total ammonia is 30.0 mg/L as stated on page 8 of the 2006 edition of the drinking water standards and health advisories. This Advisory Level is defined as "the concentration of a chemical in drinking water that is not expected to cause any adverse noncarcinogenic effects for up to ten days of exposure."
Guideline Reference: 2006 edition of the drinking water standards and health advisories. EPA 822-R-03-013
 
Spatial Representation: Data for this line of evidence for Cassery Creek was collected at 1 monitoring site [ Cassery Road (trib to Salsuipuedes Creek and College Lake]
Temporal Representation: Data was collected on a single day 3/11/2003.
Environmental Conditions: Staff is not aware of any special conditions that might effect interpretation of the data.
QAPP Information: Regional Board approved QAPP. Multiple errors were identified in data and were flagged or fixed by RB staff (in communication with Project staff) prior to assessment of data.
QAPP Information Reference(s):