Draft California 2020 Integrated Report (303(d) List/305(b) Report)

Supporting Information

Regional Board 5 - Central Valley Region

Water Body Name: Wildwood, Lake (Nevada County)
Water Body ID: CAL5172002020080810191901
Water Body Type: Lake & Reservoir
 
DECISION ID
131065
Region 5     
Wildwood, Lake (Nevada County)
 
Pollutant: Mercury
Final Listing Decision: Do Not Delist from 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision: Do Not Delist from 303(d) list (TMDL required list)(2018)
Revision Status Revised
Sources: A Source Unknown
Expected TMDL Completion Date: 2033
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Regional Board Conclusion: This pollutant is being considered for removal from the CWA section 303(d) List under section 4.5 and 4.11 of the Listing Policy. Under section 4.5 a single line of evidence is necessary to assess listing status. Under section 4.11 when all other delisting factors do not result in the delisting of a water segment but information indicates attainment of standards, a water segment shall be evaluated to determine whether the weight of evidence demonstrates that water quality standard is attained. If the weight of evidence indicates attainment, the water segment shall be removed from the CWA section 303(d) List. 4 lines of evidence are available in the administrative record to assess the pollutant.

LOE 95623 is replaced with LOE 227546. LOE 227546 is a reassessment of the same data following the statewide mercury objectives adopted in 2017. LOE 95623 previously replaced LOE 22602.
LOE 95624 is replaced with LOE 227040. LOE 227040 is a reassessment of the same data following the statewide mercury objectives adopted in 2017. LOE 95624 previously replaced LOE 26445.

WILD beneficial use (sport fish objective):
LOE 227039: 1 of 1 samples exceed the mercury objective and consist of 11 trophic level 4 fish.
LOE 227591: 1 of 1 samples exceed the mercury objective and consist of 6 trophic level 3 fish. Fish lengths are within CDFW length limits.

COMM beneficial use (sport fish objective):
LOE 227040: 1 of 1 samples exceed the mercury objective and consist of 11 trophic level 4 fish.
LOE 227546: 1 of 1 samples exceed the mercury objective and consist of 6 trophic level 3 fish. Fish lengths are within CDFW length limits.

Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification against removing this water segment-pollutant combination from the CWA section 303(d) List.

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. Tissue samples were compared with the sport fish objective for both trophic level 3 and trophic level four fish. For trophic level 3 fish, 1 of 1 samples exceed for the WILD beneficial use and 1 of 1 samples exceed for the COMM beneficial use; however these samples are annual averages aggregated from less than eight fish. 1 of 1 samples exceed for the WILD beneficial use and 1 of 1 samples exceed for the COMM beneficial use for trophic level 4 fish and are aggregated from at least 8 fish. Eight or more fish within a sample are needed to determine non-attainment of the mercury objective following weight of evidence in Listing Policy section 3.11.
4. Pursuant to section 4.11 of the Listing Policy, no additional data and information are available indicating that standards are not met.
 
Regional Board Decision Recommendation: This decision was made by SWRCB staff.
 
State Board Review of Regional Board Conclusion and Recommendation:
 
State Board Decision Recommendation:
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 131065, Mercury
Region 5     
Wildwood, Lake (Nevada County)
 
LOE ID: 227040
 
Pollutant: Mercury
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Tissue
Matrix: Tissue
Fraction: Fish fillet
 
Beneficial Use: Commercial or recreational collection of fish, shellfish, or organisms
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 1
 
Data and Information Type: PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed Deer Creek Watershed Mercury Survey data for Wildwood, Lake (Nevada County) to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 1 of the 1 samples exceeded the water quality threshold for Mercury. This LOE contains data only for trophic level 4 fish. The concentration of Mercury in fish collected within the same calendar year, for the same trophic level were averaged into a single sample for comparison with the objective. A total of 11 fish were aggregated into 1 annual averages, which consisted of 1 fish species (11 composite(s) of Largemouth Bass each composed of 1 fish per composite). Of these annual averages, 1 average(s), (Year(s): 2008) exceeded the objective.
Data Reference: Deer Creek Watershed Mercury Survey. Draft Report. Friends of Deer Creek.
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: All waters shall be maintained free of toxic substances in concentrations that are toxic to, or that produce detrimental physiological responses in human, plant, animal, or aquatic life. (Water Quality Control Plan for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region, Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins)
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region, Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins. 4th ed
 
Evaluation Guideline: The Statewide Sport Fish Water Quality Objective for the protection of the Commercial and Sport Fishing beneficial comes from the Statewide Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California, and is 0.2 mg/Kg wet weight skinless fillet samples of trophic level 3, or trophic level 4 fish (whichever is highest in the water body) over a one year averaging period. Trophic levels of applicable fish are defined in, but not limited to those in Attachment C of the Final Regulatory Language document (Appendix A) of State Water Resources Control Board Resolution No. 2017-0027.
Guideline Reference: Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries Plan. Part 1: Trash Provisions; Part 2: Tribal Subsistence Beneficial Uses and Mercury Provisions; Part 3: Bacteria Provisions and Variance Policy
 
Spatial Representation: Data was collected from 1 station(s) with the station code(s): Lake Wildwood.
Temporal Representation: Data for this line of evidence were collected between 2008-07-01 and 2008-07-01. When composited fish were collected over multiple days, the first day of fish collection was used as the sample date in the LOE, both for LOE writing, and for averaging period purposes.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Data quality: Good. Quality Control for the fish sampling portion of this study was conducted as described in the Deer Creek Watershed Mercury Survey, which was the same sample collection procedure as USGS (Finkler et al., 2008; May et al., 2000). The fish tissue samples were analyzed by the Texas A&M University Laboratory.
QAPP Information Reference(s): This is a placeholder reference for data that was collected after QAPP requirements were developed, but exempt from the requirements.
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 131065, Mercury
Region 5     
Wildwood, Lake (Nevada County)
 
LOE ID: 227591
 
Pollutant: Mercury
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Tissue
Matrix: Tissue
Fraction: Fish fillet
 
Beneficial Use: Wildlife Habitat
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 1
 
Data and Information Type: PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed Toxic Substances Monitoring Program 1978-2000 data for Wildwood, Lake (Nevada County) to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 1 of the 1 samples exceeded the water quality threshold for Mercury. This LOE contains data only for trophic level 3 fish. The concentration of Mercury in fish collected within the same calendar year, for the same trophic level were averaged into a single sample for comparison with the objective. A total of 6 fish were aggregated into 1 annual averages, which consisted of 1 fish species (1 composite(s) of Common Carp each composed of 6 fish per composite). Of these annual averages, 1 average(s), (Year(s): 1987) exceeded the objective.This LOE does not contain data from fish who's average length was outside of the legal size limits as described by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Fishing Regulations.
Data Reference: Toxic Substances Monitoring Program: Freshwater Bioaccumulation Monitoring: TSM Program Data 1978-2000. State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: All waters shall be maintained free of toxic substances in concentrations that are toxic to, or that produce detrimental physiological responses in human, plant, animal, or aquatic life. (Water Quality Control Plan for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region, Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins)
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region, Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins. 4th ed
 
Evaluation Guideline: The Statewide Sport Fish Water Quality Objective for the protection of Wildlife Habitat comes from the Statewide Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California, and is 0.2 mg/Kg wet weight skinless fillet samples of trophic level 3, or trophic level 4 fish (whichever is highest in the water body) over a one year averaging period. If trophic level 3 fish are used in the assessment then the Prey Fish Water Quality Objective must also be used to determine that the Sport Fish Objective is being met. Trophic levels of applicable fish are defined in, but not limited to those in Attachment C of the Final Regulatory Language document (Appendix A) of State Water Resources Control Board Resolution No. 2017-0027.
Guideline Reference: Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries Plan. Part 1: Trash Provisions; Part 2: Tribal Subsistence Beneficial Uses and Mercury Provisions; Part 3: Bacteria Provisions and Variance Policy
 
Spatial Representation: Data was collected from 1 station(s) with the station code(s): 517.20.14.
Temporal Representation: Data for this line of evidence were collected between 1987-10-02 and 1987-10-02. When composited fish were collected over multiple days, the first day of fish collection was used as the sample date in the LOE, both for LOE writing, and for averaging period purposes.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Data quality is good to excellent. Quality Control for fish sampling, tissue preparation, mercury analysis, and QA sample analysis portions of this study for various years were conducted as described in the following Toxic Substance Monitoring Reports: McCleneghan and Rectenwald, 1979; McCleneghan et al., 1980; McCleneghan et al., 1981; La Karo et al., 1982; La Karo, 1983; Agee, 1986; Rasmussen et al., 1987; Rasmussen, 1988; Rasmussen and Starrett, 1989; Rasmussen and Blethrow, 1991; Rasmussen, 1992; Rasmussen, 1993. Additional Quality Control information is found in the Laboratory Quality Assurance Program Plan (DFG, 1990) for portions of data collected in 1990 and also in the Environmental Chemistry Quality Assurance and Data Report for the Toxic Substances Monitoring Program (CDFG, 2001) for portions of data collected 1996-2000.
QAPP Information Reference(s): This is a placeholder reference for data that was collected after QAPP requirements were developed, but exempt from the requirements.
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 131065, Mercury
Region 5     
Wildwood, Lake (Nevada County)
 
LOE ID: 227039
 
Pollutant: Mercury
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Tissue
Matrix: Tissue
Fraction: Fish fillet
 
Beneficial Use: Wildlife Habitat
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 1
 
Data and Information Type: PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed Deer Creek Watershed Mercury Survey data for Wildwood, Lake (Nevada County) to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 1 of the 1 samples exceeded the water quality threshold for Mercury. This LOE contains data only for trophic level 4 fish. The concentration of Mercury in fish collected within the same calendar year, for the same trophic level were averaged into a single sample for comparison with the objective. A total of 11 fish were aggregated into 1 annual averages, which consisted of 1 fish species (11 composite(s) of Largemouth Bass each composed of 1 fish per composite). Of these annual averages, 1 average(s), (Year(s): 2008) exceeded the objective.
Data Reference: Deer Creek Watershed Mercury Survey. Draft Report. Friends of Deer Creek.
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: All waters shall be maintained free of toxic substances in concentrations that are toxic to, or that produce detrimental physiological responses in human, plant, animal, or aquatic life. (Water Quality Control Plan for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region, Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins)
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region, Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins. 4th ed
 
Evaluation Guideline: The Statewide Sport Fish Water Quality Objective for the protection of Wildlife Habitat comes from the Statewide Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California, and is 0.2 mg/Kg wet weight skinless fillet samples of trophic level 3, or trophic level 4 fish (whichever is highest in the water body) over a one year averaging period. If trophic level 3 fish are used in the assessment then the Prey Fish Water Quality Objective must also be used to determine that the Sport Fish Objective is being met. Trophic levels of applicable fish are defined in, but not limited to those in Attachment C of the Final Regulatory Language document (Appendix A) of State Water Resources Control Board Resolution No. 2017-0027.
Guideline Reference: Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries Plan. Part 1: Trash Provisions; Part 2: Tribal Subsistence Beneficial Uses and Mercury Provisions; Part 3: Bacteria Provisions and Variance Policy
 
Spatial Representation: Data was collected from 1 station(s) with the station code(s): Lake Wildwood.
Temporal Representation: Data for this line of evidence were collected between 2008-07-01 and 2008-07-01. When composited fish were collected over multiple days, the first day of fish collection was used as the sample date in the LOE, both for LOE writing, and for averaging period purposes.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Data quality: Good. Quality Control for the fish sampling portion of this study was conducted as described in the Deer Creek Watershed Mercury Survey, which was the same sample collection procedure as USGS (Finkler et al., 2008; May et al., 2000). The fish tissue samples were analyzed by the Texas A&M University Laboratory.
QAPP Information Reference(s): This is a placeholder reference for data that was collected after QAPP requirements were developed, but exempt from the requirements.
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 131065, Mercury
Region 5     
Wildwood, Lake (Nevada County)
 
LOE ID: 227546
 
Pollutant: Mercury
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Tissue
Matrix: Tissue
Fraction: Fish fillet
 
Beneficial Use: Commercial or recreational collection of fish, shellfish, or organisms
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 1
 
Data and Information Type: PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed Toxic Substances Monitoring Program 1978-2000 data for Wildwood, Lake (Nevada County) to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 1 of the 1 samples exceeded the water quality threshold for Mercury. This LOE contains data only for trophic level 3 fish. The concentration of Mercury in fish collected within the same calendar year, for the same trophic level were averaged into a single sample for comparison with the objective. A total of 6 fish were aggregated into 1 annual averages, which consisted of 1 fish species (1 composite(s) of Common Carp each composed of 6 fish per composite). Of these annual averages, 1 average(s), (Year(s): 1987) exceeded the objective.This LOE does not contain data from fish who's average length was outside of the legal size limits as described by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Fishing Regulations.
Data Reference: Toxic Substances Monitoring Program: Freshwater Bioaccumulation Monitoring: TSM Program Data 1978-2000. State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: All waters shall be maintained free of toxic substances in concentrations that are toxic to, or that produce detrimental physiological responses in human, plant, animal, or aquatic life. (Water Quality Control Plan for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region, Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins)
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region, Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins. 4th ed
 
Evaluation Guideline: The Statewide Sport Fish Water Quality Objective for the protection of the Commercial and Sport Fishing beneficial comes from the Statewide Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California, and is 0.2 mg/Kg wet weight skinless fillet samples of trophic level 3, or trophic level 4 fish (whichever is highest in the water body) over a one year averaging period. Trophic levels of applicable fish are defined in, but not limited to those in Attachment C of the Final Regulatory Language document (Appendix A) of State Water Resources Control Board Resolution No. 2017-0027.
Guideline Reference: Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries Plan. Part 1: Trash Provisions; Part 2: Tribal Subsistence Beneficial Uses and Mercury Provisions; Part 3: Bacteria Provisions and Variance Policy
 
Spatial Representation: Data was collected from 1 station(s) with the station code(s): 517.20.14.
Temporal Representation: Data for this line of evidence were collected between 1987-10-02 and 1987-10-02. When composited fish were collected over multiple days, the first day of fish collection was used as the sample date in the LOE, both for LOE writing, and for averaging period purposes.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Data quality is good to excellent. Quality Control for fish sampling, tissue preparation, mercury analysis, and QA sample analysis portions of this study for various years were conducted as described in the following Toxic Substance Monitoring Reports: McCleneghan and Rectenwald, 1979; McCleneghan et al., 1980; McCleneghan et al., 1981; La Karo et al., 1982; La Karo, 1983; Agee, 1986; Rasmussen et al., 1987; Rasmussen, 1988; Rasmussen and Starrett, 1989; Rasmussen and Blethrow, 1991; Rasmussen, 1992; Rasmussen, 1993. Additional Quality Control information is found in the Laboratory Quality Assurance Program Plan (DFG, 1990) for portions of data collected in 1990 and also in the Environmental Chemistry Quality Assurance and Data Report for the Toxic Substances Monitoring Program (CDFG, 2001) for portions of data collected 1996-2000.
QAPP Information Reference(s): This is a placeholder reference for data that was collected after QAPP requirements were developed, but exempt from the requirements.
 
 
DECISION ID
76726
Region 5     
Wildwood, Lake (Nevada County)
 
Pollutant: pH
Final Listing Decision: Do Not List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision: Do Not List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)(2016)
Revision Status Original
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Regional Board Conclusion: This pollutant is being considered for placement on the CWA section 303(d) List under section 3.2 of the Listing Policy. Under section 3.2 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. One of the 16 samples exceed the Criteria/Objective.

Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification against placing this water segment-pollutant combination on the CWA section 303(d) List in the Water Quality Limited Segments category.

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. One of 16 samples exceeded the Criteria/Objective and this sample size is insufficient to determine, with the power and confidence of the Listing Policy, the applicable beneficial use support rating. A minimum of 26 samples is needed to determine if a beneficial use is fully supported using table 3.2.
4. Pursuant to section 3.11 of the Listing Policy, no additional data and information are available indicating that standards are not met.
 
Regional Board Decision 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. The readily available data and information is insufficient to determine, with the power and confidence of the Listing Policy, the applicable beneficial use support rating.
 
State Board Review of Regional Board Conclusion and Recommendation:
 
State Board Decision Recommendation: After review of this Regional Board decision, SWRCB staff recommend the decision be approved by the State Board.
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 76726, pH
Region 5     
Wildwood, Lake (Nevada County)
 
LOE ID: 59471
 
Pollutant: pH
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: Dissolved
 
Beneficial Use: Cold Freshwater Habitat
 
Number of Samples: 16
Number of Exceedances: 1
 
Data and Information Type: PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Numeric data generated from 16 samples collected had 1 exceedence.
Data Reference: Data for Mercury over dams at Lake Wildwood in Deer Creek watershed and Benthic Macro-Invertebrate (BMI) samples, 2000-2010.
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: The pH shall not be depressed below 6.5 nor raised above 8.5.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region, Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins. 4th ed
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Samples were collected from the following stations: 517DC11xx 517DC12xx 517DC13xx
Temporal Representation: Samples were collected approximately once a month from October 2008 to July 2010.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: SWAMP QAPP
QAPP Information Reference(s): Quality Assurance Project Plan for the Yuba Watershed Council Monitoring Committee, Revision 1.3.
QAPP Information Reference(s): Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program Quality Assurance Program Plan