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

Supporting Information

Regional Board 8 - Santa Ana Region

Water Body Name:	Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach)
Water Body ID:	CAR8015200020210720031131
Water Body Type:	River & Stream


DECISION ID	134135	Region 8
Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach)

Pollutant:	Alkalinity as CaCO3
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:	Insufficient information is available to determine beneficial use support for this waterbody-pollutant combination with the statistical power and confidence required by the Listing Policy. Beneficial use support will be reassessed in a future cycle, if more data are available.

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 the available data and information, SWRCB staff concludes that the water body-pollutant combination should not be placed on the section 303(d) list because it cannot be determined if applicable water quality standards are not being exceeded.

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 134135, Alkalinity as CaCO3	Region 8
Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach)

LOE ID:

234937

Pollutant:

Alkalinity as CaCO3

LOE Subgroup:

Ancillary Line of Evidence

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

Total

Beneficial Use:

Cold Freshwater Habitat

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Water Board staff assessed Water Quality Monitoring Program data for Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach) to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 0 of 1 samples exceeded the water quality threshold for Alkalinity as CaCO3.

Data Reference:

Field, WQ data from the California Environmental Data Exchange Network assembled for the 2024 Integrated Report in Region 8.

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

The concentrations of toxic pollutants in the water column, sediments or biota shall not adversely affect beneficial uses (Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin).

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Water Quality Control Plan, Santa Ana River Basin

Evaluation Guideline:

The USEPA recommended alkalinity criterion continuous concentration (CCC) for the protection of aquatic life in freshwater is a minimum value of 20,000 ug/L (4-day average).

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site: PLNCR1 (Plunge Creek).

Temporal Representation:

The samples were collected between the dates of 2015-12-08 and 2015-12-08

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

SWRCB. 2020. The data included in this LOE does not have a QAPP, but was collected after the QAPP requirements had been developed, and thus was assessed as an ancillary line of evidence..

QAPP Information Reference(s):

The data included in this LOE does not have a QAPP, but was collected after the QAPP requirements had been developed, and thus was assessed as an ancillary line of evidence.


DECISION ID	153813	Region 8
Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach)

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. Two line(s) of evidence evaluating benthic-macroinvertebrate bioassessment data is/are available in the administrative record to assess this indicator. Zero of two benthic-macroinvertebrate samples exceed the California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) impairment threshold. These data indicate that the waterbody is likely unimpaired for Benthic Community Effects and therefore no other pollutant LOEs need be associated with this decision at this time. 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. Zero of two benthic-macroinvertebrate bioassessment samples had CSCI scores below 0.79. Therefore, this water body is not exceeding the water quality threshold for the protection of the COLD beneficial use. The available information indicates that the waterbody/pollutant combination should not 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 because applicable water quality standards are not being exceeded.

State Board Review of Regional Board Conclusion and Recommendation:

State Board Decision Recommendation:

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 153813, Benthic Community Effects	Region 8
Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach)

LOE ID:

314262

Pollutant:

Benthic-Macroinvertebrate Bioassessments

LOE Subgroup:

Population/Community Degradation

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

None

Beneficial Use:

Cold Freshwater Habitat

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

Benthic macroinvertebrate surveys

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Water Board staff assessed data for 801PNCEHL to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 0 of 1 samples exceeded the threshold. CSCI scores were from 1.129733316 to 1.129733316.

Data Reference:

California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) Scores for the 2024 Integrated Report for Region 8.

SWAMP Data:

SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

Inland surface water communities and populations, including vertebrate, invertebrate, and plant species, shall not be degraded as a result of the discharge of waste. Degradation is damage to an aquatic community or population with the result that balanced community no longer exists. The concentrations of toxic pollutants in the water column, sediments or biota shall not adversely affect beneficial uses.

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Water Quality Control Plan, Santa Ana River Basin

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 801PNCEHL.

Temporal Representation:

Samples were collected from 4/20/2014 to 4/20/2014.

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

Data collected following SWAMP QA 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 153813, Benthic Community Effects	Region 8
Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach)

LOE ID:

314338

Pollutant:

Benthic-Macroinvertebrate Bioassessments

LOE Subgroup:

Population/Community Degradation

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

None

Beneficial Use:

Cold Freshwater Habitat

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

Benthic macroinvertebrate surveys

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Water Board staff assessed data for 801WE0806 to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 0 of 1 samples exceeded the threshold. CSCI scores were from 1.352328469 to 1.352328469.

Data Reference:

California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) Scores for the 2024 Integrated Report for Region 8.

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Water Quality Control Plan, Santa Ana River Basin

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Bioassessment in complex environments: designing an index for consistent meaning in different settings

Spatial Representation:

Samples were collected from station 801WE0806.

Temporal Representation:

Samples were collected from 6/20/2001 to 6/20/2001.

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

Data collected following EPA Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Program QA 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.


DECISION ID	134132	Region 8
Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach)

Pollutant:	Oxygen, Dissolved
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:	Insufficient information is available to determine beneficial use support for this waterbody-pollutant combination with the statistical power and confidence required by the Listing Policy. Beneficial use support will be reassessed in a future cycle, if more data are available.

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 the available data and information, SWRCB staff concludes that the water body-pollutant combination should not be placed on the section 303(d) list because it cannot be determined if applicable water quality standards are not being exceeded.

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 134132, Oxygen, Dissolved	Region 8
Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach)

LOE ID:

236946

Pollutant:

Oxygen, Dissolved

LOE Subgroup:

Ancillary Line of Evidence

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

Total

Beneficial Use:

Cold Freshwater Habitat

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Data Reference:

Field, WQ data from the California Environmental Data Exchange Network assembled for the 2024 Integrated Report in Region 8.

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

The dissolved oxygen content of surface waters shall not be depressed below 6 mg/L for waters designated COLD as a result of controllable water quality factors (Water Quality Control Plan, Santa Ana Basin, Chapter 4 Water Quality Objectives, Inland Surface Waters).

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Water Quality Control Plan, Santa Ana River Basin

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site: PLNCR1 (Plunge Creek).

Temporal Representation:

The samples were collected between the dates of 2015-12-08 and 2015-12-08

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

SWRCB. 2020. The data included in this LOE does not have a QAPP, but was collected after the QAPP requirements had been developed, and thus was assessed as an ancillary line of evidence..

QAPP Information Reference(s):

The data included in this LOE does not have a QAPP, but was collected after the QAPP requirements had been developed, and thus was assessed as an ancillary line of evidence.


DECISION ID	134134	Region 8
Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach)

Pollutant:	Total Dissolved Solids
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:	Insufficient information is available to determine beneficial use support for this waterbody-pollutant combination with the statistical power and confidence required by the Listing Policy. Beneficial use support will be reassessed in a future cycle, if more data are available.

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 the available data and information, SWRCB staff concludes that the water body-pollutant combination should not be placed on the section 303(d) list because it cannot be determined if applicable water quality standards are not being exceeded.

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 134134, Total Dissolved Solids	Region 8
Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach)

LOE ID:

239873

Pollutant:

Total Dissolved Solids

LOE Subgroup:

Ancillary Line of Evidence

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

Dissolved

Beneficial Use:

Cold Freshwater Habitat

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Data Reference:

Field, WQ data from the California Environmental Data Exchange Network assembled for the 2024 Integrated Report in Region 8.

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

Site-Specific Objective: The concentration of Total Dissolved Solids shall not exceed 200 mg/L in this waterbody (Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin).

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Water Quality Control Plan, Santa Ana River Basin

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site (PLNCR1)

Temporal Representation:

The samples were collected between the dates of 2015-12-08 and 2015-12-08

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

USFS WQ monitoring

QAPP Information Reference(s):

The data included in this LOE does not have a QAPP, but was collected after the QAPP requirements had been developed, and thus was assessed as an ancillary line of evidence.

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 134134, Total Dissolved Solids	Region 8
Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach)

LOE ID:

239875

Pollutant:

Total Dissolved Solids

LOE Subgroup:

Ancillary Line of Evidence

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

Dissolved

Beneficial Use:

Municipal & Domestic Supply

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Data Reference:

Field, WQ data from the California Environmental Data Exchange Network assembled for the 2024 Integrated Report in Region 8.

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

Site-Specific Objective: The concentration of Total Dissolved Solids shall not exceed 200 mg/L in this waterbody (Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin).

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Water Quality Control Plan, Santa Ana River Basin

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site (PLNCR1)

Temporal Representation:

The samples were collected between the dates of 2015-12-08 and 2015-12-08

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

USFS WQ monitoring

QAPP Information Reference(s):

The data included in this LOE does not have a QAPP, but was collected after the QAPP requirements had been developed, and thus was assessed as an ancillary line of evidence.

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 134134, Total Dissolved Solids	Region 8
Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach)

LOE ID:

239874

Pollutant:

Total Dissolved Solids

LOE Subgroup:

Ancillary Line of Evidence

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

Dissolved

Beneficial Use:

Groundwater Recharge

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Data Reference:

Field, WQ data from the California Environmental Data Exchange Network assembled for the 2024 Integrated Report in Region 8.

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

Site-Specific Objective: The concentration of Total Dissolved Solids shall not exceed 200 mg/L in this waterbody (Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin).

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Water Quality Control Plan, Santa Ana River Basin

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site (PLNCR1)

Temporal Representation:

The samples were collected between the dates of 2015-12-08 and 2015-12-08

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

USFS WQ monitoring

QAPP Information Reference(s):

The data included in this LOE does not have a QAPP, but was collected after the QAPP requirements had been developed, and thus was assessed as an ancillary line of evidence.


DECISION ID	134133	Region 8
Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach)

Pollutant:	pH
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:	Insufficient information is available to determine beneficial use support for this waterbody-pollutant combination with the statistical power and confidence required by the Listing Policy. Beneficial use support will be reassessed in a future cycle, if more data are available.

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 the available data and information, SWRCB staff concludes that the water body-pollutant combination should not be placed on the section 303(d) list because it cannot be determined if applicable water quality standards are not being exceeded.

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 134133, pH	Region 8
Plunge Creek (Mountain Reach)

LOE ID:

237272

Pollutant:

LOE Subgroup:

Ancillary Line of Evidence

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

None

Beneficial Use:

Cold Freshwater Habitat

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Data Reference:

Field, WQ data from the California Environmental Data Exchange Network assembled for the 2024 Integrated Report in Region 8.

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

The pH of inland surface waters shall not be raised above 8.5 or depressed below 6.5 as a result of controllable water quality factors (The Water Quality Control Plan, Santa Ana Basin, Chapter 4 Water Quality Objectives, Inland Surface Waters).

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Water Quality Control Plan, Santa Ana River Basin

Evaluation Guideline:

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site: PLNCR1 (Plunge Creek).

Temporal Representation:

The samples were collected between the dates of 2015-12-08 and 2015-12-08

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

SWRCB. 2020. The data included in this LOE does not have a QAPP, but was collected after the QAPP requirements had been developed, and thus was assessed as an ancillary line of evidence..

QAPP Information Reference(s):

The data included in this LOE does not have a QAPP, but was collected after the QAPP requirements had been developed, and thus was assessed as an ancillary line of evidence.