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

Supporting Information

Regional Board 2 - San Francisco Bay Region

Water Body Name:	Pacific Ocean at China Beach
Water Body ID:	CAC2034001020110712235906
Water Body Type:	Coastal & Bay Shoreline


DECISION ID	148463	Region 2
Pacific Ocean at China Beach

Pollutant:	Indicator Bacteria
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)(2018)
Revision Status	Revised
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 3.3 of the Listing Policy. Under section 3.3 a single line of evidence is necessary to assess listing status. Five lines of evidence are available in the administrative record to assess this pollutant. Five of three hundred forty seven samples exceed the geometric mean enterococcus objective to protect contact recreation. 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. 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. Five of three hundred forty seven samples exceed the geometric mean enterococcus objective to protect contact recreation and this does not exceed the allowable frequency listed in Table 3.2 of the Listing Policy. 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 because applicable water quality standards are not being exceeded.

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 148463, Indicator Bacteria	Region 2
Pacific Ocean at China Beach

LOE ID:

92443

Pollutant:

Enterococcus

LOE Subgroup:

Pollutant-Water

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

None

Beneficial Use:

Water Contact Recreation

Number of Samples:

297

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

Not Specified

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Two of the 297 geomeans exceeded the enterococcus objective.

Data Reference:

Data for Region 2 Beach Watch.

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

The geometric mean standard for enterococcus states that the enterococcus density shall not exceed 35 per 100 mL. Water Quality Control Plan for Ocean Waters 2009.

Objective/Criterion Reference:

California Ocean Plan Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California 2009

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

Samples were collected at station China Beach.

Temporal Representation:

Samples were collected approximately once a week from January 2005 to September 2010.

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

The samples were collected for the Beach Watch program.

QAPP Information Reference(s):

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 148463, Indicator Bacteria	Region 2
Pacific Ocean at China Beach

LOE ID:

92444

Pollutant:

Fecal Coliform

LOE Subgroup:

Pollutant-Water

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

None

Beneficial Use:

Water Contact Recreation

Number of Samples:

302

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PATHOGEN MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Water Board staff assessed BeachWatch data for Pacific Ocean at China Beach to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 2 of 302 samples exceed the criterion for Coliform, Fecal.

Data Reference:

Data for Region 2 Beach Watch.

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

California Ocean Plan (SWRCB 2009) states that the single sample maximum for fecal coliform shall not exceed 400 MPN/100 mL

Objective/Criterion Reference:

California Ocean Plan Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California 2009

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

Data for this line of evidence for Pacific Ocean at China Beach was collected at 1 monitoring site [ China Beach]

Temporal Representation:

Data was collected over the time period 1/4/2005-8/25/2010.

Environmental Conditions:

Staff is not aware of any special conditions that might affect interpretation of the data.

QAPP Information:

The samples were collected for the Beach Watch program.

QAPP Information Reference(s):

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 148463, Indicator Bacteria	Region 2
Pacific Ocean at China Beach

LOE ID:

300200

Pollutant:

Total Coliform

LOE Subgroup:

Pollutant-Water

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

Median

Beneficial Use:

Shellfish Harvesting

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PATHOGEN MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Water Board staff assessed BeachWatch_San Francisco County data for Pacific Ocean at China Beach to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 16 of the 98 samples exceeded the water quality threshold for Coliform, Total. The water quality threshold for shellfish is based on the median concentration at each station, and is calculated as a 30-day median.

Data Reference:

WQ data from the California Environmental Data Exchange Network assembled for the 2024 Integrated Report in Region 2.

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

Water Quality Control Plan, San Francisco Bay Basin, Chapter III Water Quality Objectives, Section 3.3.1 Bacteria: Table 3-1 provides a summary of the bacterial water quality objectives and identifies the sources of those objectives. The total coliform objective for shellfish harvesting is a 30-day median less than 70 MPN/100 ML.

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Water Quality Control Plan (Basin Plan) San Francisco Bay Basin (Region 2)

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site(s), station(s): OCEAN#17_SL (OCEAN#17_SL-China Beach, San Francisco).

Temporal Representation:

The samples were collected between the days of 2010-08-31 and 2020-10-13 .

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

State Board Staff. 2021. QAPP Reference for Beach Watch Program.

QAPP Information Reference(s):

QAPP Reference for Beach Watch Program

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 148463, Indicator Bacteria	Region 2
Pacific Ocean at China Beach

LOE ID:

300220

Pollutant:

Enterococcus

LOE Subgroup:

Pollutant-Water

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

STV

Beneficial Use:

Water Contact Recreation

Number of Samples:

109

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PATHOGEN MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Water Board staff assessed BeachWatch_San Francisco County data for Pacific Ocean at China Beach to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 11 of the 109 samples exceeded the Statistical Threshold Value (STV) water quality threshold for Enterococcus. The STV is based on a 10% exceedance rate that is calculated monthly.

Data Reference:

WQ data from the California Environmental Data Exchange Network assembled for the 2024 Integrated Report in Region 2.

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

The bacteria water quality objective to protect the REC-1 beneficial use where the salinity is 1 ppth or higher 95 percent or more of the time applies a Statistical Threshold Value to enterococcus of 110 cfu/100 mL, not to be exceeded by more than 10 percent of samples collected within in a calendar month. (ISWEBE 2018)

Objective/Criterion 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

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site(s), station(s): OCEAN#17_SL (OCEAN#17_SL-China Beach, San Francisco).

Temporal Representation:

The samples were collected between the days of 2010-09-14 and 2020-10-13 .

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

State Board Staff. 2021. QAPP Reference for Beach Watch Program.

QAPP Information Reference(s):

QAPP Reference for Beach Watch Program

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 148463, Indicator Bacteria	Region 2
Pacific Ocean at China Beach

LOE ID:

300014

Pollutant:

Enterococcus

LOE Subgroup:

Pollutant-Water

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

GeoMean

Beneficial Use:

Water Contact Recreation

Number of Samples:

347

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PATHOGEN MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Water Board staff assessed BeachWatch_San Francisco County data for Pacific Ocean at China Beach to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 5 of the 347 samples exceeded the geomean water quality threshold for Enterococcus. This is a six week rolling geomean that is calculated weekly.

Data Reference:

WQ data from the California Environmental Data Exchange Network assembled for the 2024 Integrated Report in Region 2.

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

The bacteria water quality objective to protect the REC-1 beneficial use where the salinity is 1 ppth or higher 95 percent or more of the time applies a six-week rolling geomean to enterococcus, not to exceed 30 cfu/100mL. (ISWEBE 2018)

Objective/Criterion 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

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site(s), station(s): OCEAN#17_SL (OCEAN#17_SL-China Beach, San Francisco).

Temporal Representation:

The samples were collected between the days of 2010-09-14 and 2020-10-13 .

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

State Board Staff. 2021. QAPP Reference for Beach Watch Program.

QAPP Information Reference(s):

QAPP Reference for Beach Watch Program

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 148463, Indicator Bacteria	Region 2
Pacific Ocean at China Beach

LOE ID:

92445

Pollutant:

Fecal Coliform

LOE Subgroup:

Pollutant-Water

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

None

Beneficial Use:

Water Contact Recreation

Number of Samples:

297

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

Not Specified

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Zero of the 297 geomeans exceeded the fecal coliform objective.

Data Reference:

Data for Region 2 Beach Watch.

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

The geometric mean standard for fecal coliform states that the fecal coliform density shall not exceed 200 per 100 mL. Water Quality Control Plan for Ocean Waters 2009.

Objective/Criterion Reference:

California Ocean Plan Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California 2009

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

Samples were collected at station China Beach.

Temporal Representation:

Samples were collected approximately once a week from January 2005 to September 2010.

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

The samples were collected for the Beach Watch program.

QAPP Information Reference(s):