Final California 2024 Integrated Report (303(d) List/305(b) Report)

Supporting Information

Regional Board 2 - San Francisco Bay Region

Water Body Name: Wooden Valley Creek subwatershed (Solano County, tributary to Suisun Creek)
Water Body ID: CAR2072200020220510056220
Water Body Type: River & Stream
 
DECISION ID
151800
Region 2     
Wooden Valley Creek subwatershed (Solano County, tributary to Suisun Creek)
 
Pollutant: Benthic Community Effects
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
 
Regional Board Conclusion: Benthic Community Effects are being considered for placement on the CWA section 303(d) List under sections 3.9 of the Listing Policy. Under section 3.9, additional lines of evidence (LOEs) associating the Benthic Community Effects decision with a water or sediment concentration of pollutants other than benthic-macroinvertebrate bioassessment or habitat assessment LOEs are necessary to place a water body on the 303(d) List for Benthic Community Effects.

Three line(s) of evidence evaluating benthic-macroinvertebrate bioassessment data is/are available in the administrative record to assess this indicator. Three of three benthic-macroinvertebrate samples exceed the California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) impairment threshold. However, a minimum of two benthic-macroinvertebrate samples and an additional indicator pollutant are needed to assess listing status.

Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification against placing Benthic Community Effects in this waterbody segment on 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. Three of three benthic-macroinvertebrate bioassessment samples had CSCI scores below 0.79. The available information is insufficient to determine whether the waterbody/pollutant combination should be placed on the 303(d) List of impaired waters at this time.
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 151800, Benthic Community Effects
Region 2     
Wooden Valley Creek subwatershed (Solano County, tributary to Suisun Creek)
 
LOE ID: 306399
 
Pollutant: Benthic-Macroinvertebrate Bioassessments
LOE Subgroup: Population/Community Degradation
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Cold Freshwater Habitat
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 1
 
Data and Information Type: Benthic macroinvertebrate surveys
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed data for 207SUI210 to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 1 of 1 samples exceeded the threshold. CSCI scores were from 0.699373 to 0.699373.
Data Reference: California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) Scores for the 2024 Integrated Report for Region 2.
 
SWAMP Data: SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: All waters shall be maintained free of toxic substances in concentrations that are lethal to or that produce significant alterations in population or community ecology or receiving water biota. In addition, the health and life history characteristics of aquatic organisms in waters affected by controllable water quality factors shall not differ significantly from those for the same waters in areas unaffected by controllable water quality factors.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan (Basin Plan) San Francisco Bay Basin (Region 2)
 
Evaluation Guideline: The California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) is a biological scoring tool that helps aquatic resource managers translate complex data about benthic macroinvertebrates found living in a stream into an overall measure of stream health. The CSCI score is calculated by comparing the expected condition with actual (observed) results (Rehn, A.C. et al., 2015). CSCI scores range from 0 (highly degraded) to greater than 1 (equivalent to reference). CSCI scoring of biological condition are as follows (per the scientific paper supporting the development of the CSCI scoring tool): greater than or equal to 0.92 = likely intact condition, 0.91 to 0.80 = possibly altered condition, 0.79 to 0.63 = likely altered condition, less than or equal to 0.62 = very likely altered condition. Sites with scores below 0.79 are considered to have exceeded the water quality objective for the aquatic life beneficial use. 
Guideline Reference: Bioassessment in complex environments: designing an index for consistent meaning in different settings
 
Spatial Representation: Samples were collected from station 207SUI210.
Temporal Representation: Samples were collected from 4/20/2001 to 4/20/2001.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Data were collected using Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program protocols
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 151800, Benthic Community Effects
Region 2     
Wooden Valley Creek subwatershed (Solano County, tributary to Suisun Creek)
 
LOE ID: 306397
 
Pollutant: Benthic-Macroinvertebrate Bioassessments
LOE Subgroup: Population/Community Degradation
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Cold Freshwater Habitat
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 1
 
Data and Information Type: Benthic macroinvertebrate surveys
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed data for 207SUI110 to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 1 of 1 samples exceeded the threshold. CSCI scores were from 0.755047 to 0.755047.
Data Reference: California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) Scores for the 2024 Integrated Report for Region 2.
 
SWAMP Data: SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: All waters shall be maintained free of toxic substances in concentrations that are lethal to or that produce significant alterations in population or community ecology or receiving water biota. In addition, the health and life history characteristics of aquatic organisms in waters affected by controllable water quality factors shall not differ significantly from those for the same waters in areas unaffected by controllable water quality factors.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan (Basin Plan) San Francisco Bay Basin (Region 2)
 
Evaluation Guideline: The California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) is a biological scoring tool that helps aquatic resource managers translate complex data about benthic macroinvertebrates found living in a stream into an overall measure of stream health. The CSCI score is calculated by comparing the expected condition with actual (observed) results (Rehn, A.C. et al., 2015). CSCI scores range from 0 (highly degraded) to greater than 1 (equivalent to reference). CSCI scoring of biological condition are as follows (per the scientific paper supporting the development of the CSCI scoring tool): greater than or equal to 0.92 = likely intact condition, 0.91 to 0.80 = possibly altered condition, 0.79 to 0.63 = likely altered condition, less than or equal to 0.62 = very likely altered condition. Sites with scores below 0.79 are considered to have exceeded the water quality objective for the aquatic life beneficial use. 
Guideline Reference: Bioassessment in complex environments: designing an index for consistent meaning in different settings
 
Spatial Representation: Samples were collected from station 207SUI110.
Temporal Representation: Samples were collected from 4/19/2001 to 4/19/2001.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Data were collected using Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program protocols
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 151800, Benthic Community Effects
Region 2     
Wooden Valley Creek subwatershed (Solano County, tributary to Suisun Creek)
 
LOE ID: 306398
 
Pollutant: Benthic-Macroinvertebrate Bioassessments
LOE Subgroup: Population/Community Degradation
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Cold Freshwater Habitat
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 1
 
Data and Information Type: Benthic macroinvertebrate surveys
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed data for 207SUI180 to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 1 of 1 samples exceeded the threshold. CSCI scores were from 0.754078 to 0.754078.
Data Reference: California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) Scores for the 2024 Integrated Report for Region 2.
 
SWAMP Data: SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: All waters shall be maintained free of toxic substances in concentrations that are lethal to or that produce significant alterations in population or community ecology or receiving water biota. In addition, the health and life history characteristics of aquatic organisms in waters affected by controllable water quality factors shall not differ significantly from those for the same waters in areas unaffected by controllable water quality factors.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan (Basin Plan) San Francisco Bay Basin (Region 2)
 
Evaluation Guideline: The California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) is a biological scoring tool that helps aquatic resource managers translate complex data about benthic macroinvertebrates found living in a stream into an overall measure of stream health. The CSCI score is calculated by comparing the expected condition with actual (observed) results (Rehn, A.C. et al., 2015). CSCI scores range from 0 (highly degraded) to greater than 1 (equivalent to reference). CSCI scoring of biological condition are as follows (per the scientific paper supporting the development of the CSCI scoring tool): greater than or equal to 0.92 = likely intact condition, 0.91 to 0.80 = possibly altered condition, 0.79 to 0.63 = likely altered condition, less than or equal to 0.62 = very likely altered condition. Sites with scores below 0.79 are considered to have exceeded the water quality objective for the aquatic life beneficial use. 
Guideline Reference: Bioassessment in complex environments: designing an index for consistent meaning in different settings
 
Spatial Representation: Samples were collected from station 207SUI180.
Temporal Representation: Samples were collected from 4/20/2001 to 4/20/2001.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Data were collected using Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program protocols
QAPP Information Reference(s): This is a placeholder reference for data that was collected after QAPP requirements were developed, but exempt from the requirements.