| Water Body Name: | Clam Beach (near Strawberry Creek) |
| Water Body ID: | CAC1091002020070319150720 |
| Water Body Type: | Coastal & Bay Shoreline |
DECISION ID |
161512 |
Region 1 |
Clam Beach (near Strawberry Creek) |
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| Pollutant: | Indicator Bacteria |
| 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 |
| TMDL Priority: | Low |
| Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: | Pollutant |
| Regional Board Conclusion: | The State Water Board’s Water Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays, and Estuaries of California (the “ISWEBE Plan”) was adopted on August 7, 2018, and contains bacteria water quality objectives applicable to the REC-1 beneficial use. This has resulted in a change from assessing fecal coliform to assessing E. coli in fresh water and Enterococcus in saline water. Fecal coliform and freshwater enterococcus lines of evidence used in previous REC-1 beneficial use indicator bacteria decisions in the North Coast Region are not included in the 2026 Integrated Report assessment. The pollutant will again be considered for placement on the CWA section 303(d) List under section 3.2 of the Listing Policy. In accordance with section 6.1.5.3 of the Listing Policy, data should be representative of the critical timing that the pollutant is expected to impact the waterbody. Lacking constant inputs, indicator bacteria do not persist in the environment for a long period and effects are of relatively short duration. As a result, the historic levels of E. coli in the waterbody may be a poor indicator of current risks to human health, particularly when more recent data are available to sufficiently assess the water quality standard. Historic lines of evidence for data collected prior to October 21, 2012 (i.e., data collected more than 10 years from the 2026 data solicitation cutoff date) were evaluated pursuant to these considerations and, when more recent data were available, the pre-October 21, 2012, data were not used to assess water quality standards attainment because they do not meet the temporal representation requirements of section 6.1.5.3 of the Listing Policy. Five lines of evidence are available in the administrative record to assess this pollutant. Geometric means are used to assess the data for the REC-1 beneficial use. Where geometric means are not available, statistical threshold values are used. Geometric means are available for Clam Beach Near Strawberry Creek and will be used for the assessment. ***DO NOT LIST*** *For Fecal Coliform, 0 of 1 single sample maximum exceeds the objective for the REC-1 beneficial use, and this is insufficient data to apply Table 3.2 of the Listing Policy. ***DO NOT DELIST REC-1 OR SHELL BENEFICIAL USES*** *For Enterococcus, 44 of 59 geometric means exceed the objective for the REC-1 beneficial use, and this exceeds the allowable frequency in Table 4.2 of the Listing Policy. *For Total Coliform, 8 of 8 weekly medians exceed the objective for the SHELL beneficial use, and this exceeds the allowable frequency in Table 4.2 of the Listing Policy. *For Total Coliform, 8 of 8 monthly percents exceed the objective for the SHELL beneficial use, and this exceeds the allowable frequency in Table 4.2 of the Listing Policy. Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification in favor of placing 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. For the REC-1 beneficial use enterococcus geomean, 44 of 59 geomeans exceed the objective; for the SHELL beneficial use total coliform median concentration, 8 of 8 medians exceed the objective; and for the SHELL beneficial use total coliform SSM, 8 of 8 SSMs exceed the objective, and this exceeds the allowable frequency listed in Table 3.2 of the Listing Policy. 4. Pursuant to section 4.11 of the Listing Policy, no additional data and information are available indicating that standards are met. This listing applies to the entire waterbody. |
| Regional Board Decision Recommendation: | After review of the available data and information, RWQCB staff concludes that the water body-pollutant combination should not be removed from the section 303(d) list because applicable water quality standards for the pollutant are being exceeded. |
| State Board Review of Regional Board Conclusion and Recommendation: | |
| State Board Decision Recommendation: | |
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| LOE ID: | 353486 | ||||
| Pollutant: | Enterococcus | ||||
| LOE Subgroup: | Pollutant-Water | ||||
| Matrix: | Water | ||||
| Fraction: | GeoMean | ||||
| Beneficial Use: | Water Contact Recreation | ||||
| Number of Samples: | 29 | ||||
| Number of Exceedances: | 21 | ||||
| Data and Information Type: | PATHOGEN MONITORING | ||||
| Data Used to Assess Water Quality: | Water Board staff assessed BeachWatch-Humboldt County data for Clam Beach (near Strawberry Creek) to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 21 of the 29 samples exceeded the geomean water quality threshold for Enterococcus. This is a six week rolling geomean that is calculated weekly. This data is for an AB411 beach. This LOE specifically corresponds with dry weather samples and only includes samples collected between April 1 and October 31 of each year. | ||||
| Data Reference: | Humboldt County Beachwatch data reformatted to match CEDEN fields. | ||||
| SWAMP Data: | Non-SWAMP | ||||
| Water Quality Objective/Criterion: | The bacteria water quality objective to protect the REC-1 beneficial in ocean waters applies a six-week rolling geomean to enterococcus, not to exceed 30 cfu/100mL. (Ocean Plan 2019) | ||||
| Objective/Criterion Reference: | SWRCB. 2005. Water Quality Control Plan, Ocean Waters of California (Ocean Plan). California Environmental Protection Agency, State Water Resources Control Board. February 2, 2019 | ||||
| Evaluation Guideline: | |||||
| Guideline Reference: | |||||
| Spatial Representation: | The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site(s), station(s): Clam Beach Co. Park (Clam Beach Co. Park-Clam Beach Co. Park, Humboldt). | ||||
| Temporal Representation: | Data was assessed for samples collected within 10 years of the close of data solicitation for the 2026 Integrated Report (October 21, 2012 to October 21, 2022). | ||||
| Environmental Conditions: | |||||
| QAPP Information: | Data exempt from QAPP requirement. Draft QAPP for Humboldt County Beachwatch data used instead. Represents data collection procedure prior to development of a formal QAPP. | ||||
| QAPP Information Reference(s): | Draft QAPP for Humboldt County Beachwatch data. Represents data collection procedure prior to development of a formal QAPP. | ||||
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| LOE ID: | 353487 | ||||
| Pollutant: | Enterococcus | ||||
| LOE Subgroup: | Pollutant-Water | ||||
| Matrix: | Water | ||||
| Fraction: | GeoMean | ||||
| Beneficial Use: | Water Contact Recreation | ||||
| Number of Samples: | 30 | ||||
| Number of Exceedances: | 23 | ||||
| Data and Information Type: | PATHOGEN MONITORING | ||||
| Data Used to Assess Water Quality: | Water Board staff assessed BeachWatch-Humboldt County data for Clam Beach (near Strawberry Creek) to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 23 of the 30 samples exceeded the geomean water quality threshold for Enterococcus. This is a six week rolling geomean that is calculated weekly. This data is for an AB411 beach. This LOE specifically corresponds with dry weather samples and only includes samples collected between April 1 and October 31 of each year. | ||||
| Data Reference: | WQ from the BeachWatch for the 2026 Integrated Report in Region 1 | ||||
| SWAMP Data: | Non-SWAMP | ||||
| Water Quality Objective/Criterion: | The bacteria water quality objective to protect the REC-1 beneficial in ocean waters applies a six-week rolling geomean to enterococcus, not to exceed 30 cfu/100mL. (Ocean Plan 2019) | ||||
| Objective/Criterion Reference: | SWRCB. 2005. Water Quality Control Plan, Ocean Waters of California (Ocean Plan). California Environmental Protection Agency, State Water Resources Control Board. February 2, 2019 | ||||
| Evaluation Guideline: | |||||
| Guideline Reference: | |||||
| Spatial Representation: | The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site(s), station(s): Clam Beach Co. Park (Clam Beach Co. Park-Clam Beach Co. Park, Humboldt). | ||||
| Temporal Representation: | Data was assessed for samples collected within 10 years of the close of data solicitation for the 2026 Integrated Report (October 21, 2012 to October 21, 2022). | ||||
| Environmental Conditions: | |||||
| QAPP Information: | QAPP for BeachWatch | ||||
| QAPP Information Reference(s): | QAPP Reference for Beach Watch Program | ||||
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| LOE ID: | 133706 | ||||
| Pollutant: | Fecal Coliform | ||||
| LOE Subgroup: | Pollutant-Water | ||||
| Matrix: | Water | ||||
| Fraction: | None | ||||
| Beneficial Use: | Water Contact Recreation | ||||
| Number of Samples: | 1 | ||||
| Number of Exceedances: | 0 | ||||
| Data and Information Type: | PATHOGEN MONITORING | ||||
| Data Used to Assess Water Quality: | Water Board staff assessed Beachwatch_Humboldt County data for Clam Beach (near Strawberry Creek) to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 0 of the 1 samples exceeded the water quality standard for Coliform, Fecal. The water quality standard is based on a Single Sample Maximum (SSM) value that is calculated daily. | ||||
| Data Reference: | Humboldt County Beachwatch data reformatted to match CEDEN fields. | ||||
| SWAMP Data: | Non-SWAMP | ||||
| Water Quality Objective/Criterion: | California Ocean Plan (SWRCB 2018) states that the Single Sample Maximum concentration of Fecal Coliform shall not exceed 400 per 100 ml. | ||||
| Objective/Criterion Reference: | California Ocean Plan Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California 2009 | ||||
| Evaluation Guideline: | |||||
| Guideline Reference: | |||||
| Spatial Representation: | The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site(s), station(s): Clam Beach Co. Park | ||||
| Temporal Representation: | The samples were collected between the days of 2015-09-15 and 2015-09-15 . | ||||
| Environmental Conditions: | |||||
| QAPP Information: | Data exempt from QAPP requirement. Draft QAPP for Humboldt County Beachwatch data used instead. Represents data collection procedure prior to development of a formal QAPP. | ||||
| QAPP Information Reference(s): | Draft QAPP for Humboldt County Beachwatch data. Represents data collection procedure prior to development of a formal QAPP. | ||||
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| LOE ID: | 353436 | ||||
| Pollutant: | Total Coliform | ||||
| LOE Subgroup: | Pollutant-Water | ||||
| Matrix: | Water | ||||
| Fraction: | Median | ||||
| Beneficial Use: | Shellfish Harvesting | ||||
| Number of Samples: | 8 | ||||
| Number of Exceedances: | 8 | ||||
| Data and Information Type: | PATHOGEN MONITORING | ||||
| Data Used to Assess Water Quality: | Water Board staff assessed Beachwatch_Humboldt County data to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 8 of the 8 samples exceeded the water quality standard for Total Coliform. The water quality standard for shellfish is based on the median concentration of Total Coliform at each station, and is calculated on a monthly basis. | ||||
| Data Reference: | Humboldt County Beachwatch data reformatted to match CEDEN fields. | ||||
| SWAMP Data: | Non-SWAMP | ||||
| Water Quality Objective/Criterion: | California Ocean Plan (SWRCB 2018) states that the median concentration of total coliform samples shall not exceed 70 per 100 ml. | ||||
| Objective/Criterion Reference: | California Ocean Plan Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California 2009 | ||||
| Evaluation Guideline: | |||||
| Guideline Reference: | |||||
| Spatial Representation: | The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site(s), station(s): Clam Beach Co. Park | ||||
| Temporal Representation: | The samples were assessed for the ten years before the close of data solicitation (2012-10-21 to 2022-10-21). | ||||
| Environmental Conditions: | |||||
| QAPP Information: | Data exempt from QAPP requirement. Draft QAPP for Humboldt County Beachwatch data used instead. Represents data collection procedure prior to development of a formal QAPP. | ||||
| QAPP Information Reference(s): | Draft QAPP for Humboldt County Beachwatch data. Represents data collection procedure prior to development of a formal QAPP. | ||||
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| LOE ID: | 353437 | ||||
| Pollutant: | Total Coliform | ||||
| LOE Subgroup: | Pollutant-Water | ||||
| Matrix: | Water | ||||
| Fraction: | Percent | ||||
| Beneficial Use: | Shellfish Harvesting | ||||
| Number of Samples: | 8 | ||||
| Number of Exceedances: | 8 | ||||
| Data and Information Type: | PATHOGEN MONITORING | ||||
| Data Used to Assess Water Quality: | Water Board staff assessed Beachwatch_Humboldt County data to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 8 of the 8 samples exceeded the water quality standard for Total Coliform. The water quality standard for shellfish is based on the percent of Total Coliform at each station that exceed 230 per 100 mL, and is calculated on a monthly basis. | ||||
| Data Reference: | Humboldt County Beachwatch data reformatted to match CEDEN fields. | ||||
| SWAMP Data: | Non-SWAMP | ||||
| Water Quality Objective/Criterion: | California Ocean Plan (SWRCB 2018) states that not more than 10 percent of the samples shall exceed 230 per 100 mL. | ||||
| Objective/Criterion Reference: | California Ocean Plan Water Quality Control Plan Ocean Waters of California 2009 | ||||
| Evaluation Guideline: | |||||
| Guideline Reference: | |||||
| Spatial Representation: | The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site(s), station(s): Clam Beach Co. Park | ||||
| Temporal Representation: | The samples were assessed for the ten years before the close of data solicitation (2012-10-21 to 2022-10-21). | ||||
| Environmental Conditions: | |||||
| QAPP Information: | Data exempt from QAPP requirement. Draft QAPP for Humboldt County Beachwatch data used instead. Represents data collection procedure prior to development of a formal QAPP. | ||||
| QAPP Information Reference(s): | Draft QAPP for Humboldt County Beachwatch data. Represents data collection procedure prior to development of a formal QAPP. | ||||
DECISION ID |
170864 |
Region 1 |
Clam Beach (near Strawberry Creek) |
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| Pollutant: | Trash |
| 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 3.7 of the Listing Policy. Two lines of evidence are available to assess this pollutant and these LOEs are not used to consider waterbody placement on the CWA 303(d) list. The data in these LOEs were not suitable for assessing beneficial use attainment due to inadequate data quality and lack of spatial detail to discern the area that was surveyed. (Sections 2.2.2 and 6.1.4 of the Listing Policy) The trash data were collected during volunteer clean-up days by individual groups and were reported two ways: 1) individual trash count by type, and 2) trash weight collected. Each group reported an individual geographic coordinate set along with collection data. Group trash data were then tallied using a singular geographic coordinate set for each beach. Because the distances cleaned were estimated by the individual groups and multiple individual groups were collecting data on the same day, the amount of trash (count or weight) per area is uncertain. Additionally, assessing trash by weight is problematic as trash like bottles can trap water and/or sand thus skewing the trash results to estimate more trash than present on the beach. Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is insufficient information to place this water segment-pollutant combination on the CWA section 303(d) List; however, available information indicates that beneficial uses may be potentially threatened. This conclusion is based on the staff findings that: 1. It is unknown if the data used satisfies the data quality requirements of section 6.1.4 of the Policy. 2. It is unknown if the data used satisfies the data quantity requirements of section 6.1.5 of the Policy. 3. Presence of trash in the waterbody segment while the reported data lack suitable quality and spatial detail to discern the area that was surveyed as required by Sections 2.2.2 and 6.1.4 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. 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: | |
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| LOE ID: | 198729 | ||||
| Pollutant: | Trash | ||||
| LOE Subgroup: | Pollutant-Nuisance | ||||
| Matrix: | -N/A | ||||
| Fraction: | None | ||||
| Beneficial Use: | Non-Contact Recreation | ||||
| Number of Samples: | 0 | ||||
| Number of Exceedances: | 0 | ||||
| Data and Information Type: | Not Specified | ||||
| Data Used to Assess Water Quality: | Volunteers collected trash, categorized the types, and provided the total weight of all trash in pounds, during one-day cleanup events on 09/25/2010, 09/17/2011, 09/15/2012, and 10/20/2014, with totals of 400, 100, 50, and 197 lbs., respectively. There were counts of numbers of pieces of 41 separate categories of trash (e.g., cigarette butts, bottles, grocery bags). | ||||
| Data Reference: | Placeholder reference 2006 303(d) | ||||
| Dataset provided by the Center for Biological Diversity. Contains trash data from California Coastal Comission-sponsored beach cleanup days in the North Coast Region at nine sites: Clam Beach County Park, North Jetty/Samoa Dunes Recreation Area, South Jetty/South Spit, Trinidad State Beach, Glass Beach, MacKerricher State Park, Ten Mile Beach, North Salmon Creek Beach, and South Salmon Creek Beach. | |||||
| SWAMP Data: | Non-SWAMP | ||||
| Water Quality Objective/Criterion: | Trash shall not be present in ocean waters, along shorelines or adjacent areas in amounts that adversely affect beneficial uses or cause nuisance. (California Ocean Plan, 2019). | ||||
| Objective/Criterion Reference: | SWRCB. 2005. Water Quality Control Plan, Ocean Waters of California (Ocean Plan). California Environmental Protection Agency, State Water Resources Control Board. February 2, 2019 | ||||
| Evaluation Guideline: | |||||
| Guideline Reference: | |||||
| Spatial Representation: | A single set of coordinates were provided, representing an unspecified area of Clam Beach: Latitude, 40.99302; longitude, -124.112. | ||||
| Temporal Representation: | Samples were taken on four different one-day cleanup events on 09/25/2010, 09/17/2011, 09/15/2012, and 10/20/2014. | ||||
| Environmental Conditions: | |||||
| QAPP Information: | A "Site Captain Guide" document was provided, which included instructions to volunteers for a trash clean-up day. The document does not meet Listing Policy guidelines as a QAPP document. | ||||
| QAPP Information Reference(s): | Placeholder reference 2006 303(d) | ||||
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| LOE ID: | 352310 | ||||
| Pollutant: | Trash | ||||
| LOE Subgroup: | Pollutant-Nuisance | ||||
| Matrix: | -N/A | ||||
| Fraction: | None | ||||
| Beneficial Use: | Non-Contact Recreation | ||||
| Number of Samples: | 0 | ||||
| Number of Exceedances: | 0 | ||||
| Data and Information Type: | Not Specified | ||||
| Data Used to Assess Water Quality: | Volunteers collected trash, categorized the types, and provided the total weight of all trash in pounds, during one-day cleanup events with totals of 75 pounds of trash collected on 9/16/2017, 84 pounds of trash collected on 9/15/2018, and 7 pounds of trash collected on 9/21/2019. There were counts of numbers of pieces of 40 separate categories of trash (e.g., cigarette butts, bottles, grocery bags). | ||||
| Data Reference: | Habitat from the California Coastal Cleanup Day for the 2026 Integrated Report in Region 1 | ||||
| SWAMP Data: | Non-SWAMP | ||||
| Water Quality Objective/Criterion: | Trash shall not be present in ocean waters, along shorelines or adjacent areas in amounts that adversely affect beneficial uses or cause nuisance. (California Ocean Plan, 2019). | ||||
| Objective/Criterion Reference: | SWRCB. 2005. Water Quality Control Plan, Ocean Waters of California (Ocean Plan). California Environmental Protection Agency, State Water Resources Control Board. February 2, 2019 | ||||
| Evaluation Guideline: | |||||
| Guideline Reference: | |||||
| Spatial Representation: | A single set of coordinates were provided, representing an unspecified area of Clam Beach: Latitude, 41.00502; Longitude: -124.1145; Datum: WGS84. | ||||
| Temporal Representation: | Samples were taken on four different one-day cleanup events on 9/16/2017, 9/15/2018, and 9/21/2019. | ||||
| Environmental Conditions: | |||||
| QAPP Information: | QAPP for Stanford Environmental Law Clinic, on behalf of Northcoast Environmental Center - Humboldt Coastal Waterway Plastic Impairment | ||||
| QAPP Information Reference(s): | Stanford Environmental Law Clinic, on behalf of Northcoast Environmental Center - QAPP equivalent document - Humboldt Coastal Waterway Plastic Impairment - 402579 | ||||