Draft California 2026 Integrated Report (303(d) List/305(b) Report)

Supporting Information

Regional Board 1 - North Coast Region

Water Body Name: Trinidad HU, Big Lagoon HA, Trinidad Rancheria
Water Body ID: CAC1081000020180213037209
Water Body Type: River & Stream
 
DECISION ID
163579
Region 1     
Trinidad HU, Big Lagoon HA, Trinidad Rancheria
 
Pollutant: Indicator Bacteria
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: 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 bacteria 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 were evaluated pursuant to these considerations and 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.

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 lines of evidence is available in the administrative record to assess this pollutant. Geometric means are used for the assessment. If no geometric means are available, statistical threshold values are used. No enterococcus geometric means are available for Trinidad HU, Big Lagoon HA, Trinidad Rancheria, so the STV will be assessed.

For the REC-1 beneficial use, 1 of 1 STV exceeds the Enterococcus 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.

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, 1 of 1 STV exceeds the Enterococcus objective 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. 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 163579, Indicator Bacteria
Region 1     
Trinidad HU, Big Lagoon HA, Trinidad Rancheria
 
LOE ID: 321872
 
Pollutant: Escherichia coli (E. coli)
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: STV
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 4
Number of Exceedances: 1
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed Coastal Pathogen TMDL data for Trinidad HU, Big Lagoon HA, Trinidad Rancheria to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 1 of the 4 samples exceeded the Statistical Threshold Value (STV) water quality threshold for E. coli. The STV is based on a 10% exceedance rate that is calculated monthly.
Data Reference: WQ from the RWQCB1 TMDL 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 use where the salinity is less than 1 parts per thousand 95 percent or more of the time applies a statistical threshold value to E. coli of 320 cfu/100 mL, not to be exceeded by more than 10 percent of samples within 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): 108HBOHB1 (Old Home Beach at Scenic Drive).
Temporal Representation: The samples were collected between the days of 2017-07-03 and 2017-10-30 .
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: QAPP for RWQCB1_RussianRiver
QAPP Information Reference(s): North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board - QA Doc (2015) - RWQCB1 Russian River TMDL - 402682
QAPP Information Reference(s): North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board - QA Doc (2015) - RWQCB1 Russian River TMDL - 402683
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 163579, Indicator Bacteria
Region 1     
Trinidad HU, Big Lagoon HA, Trinidad Rancheria
 
LOE ID: 321961
 
Pollutant: Enterococcus
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: STV
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 1
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed BeachWatch-Humboldt County data for Trinidad HU, Big Lagoon HA, Trinidad Rancheria to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 1 of the 1 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. 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 use in ocean waters, 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. (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): Old Home Beach (Old Home Beach-Old Home Beach, Humboldt).
Temporal Representation: The samples were collected between the days of 2010-10-20 and 2010-10-20 .
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: QAPP for BeachWatch
QAPP Information Reference(s): QAPP Reference for Beach Watch Program
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 163579, Indicator Bacteria
Region 1     
Trinidad HU, Big Lagoon HA, Trinidad Rancheria
 
LOE ID: 321868
 
Pollutant: Escherichia coli (E. coli)
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: GeoMean
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 15
Number of Exceedances: 0
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed Coastal Pathogen TMDL data for Trinidad HU, Big Lagoon HA, Trinidad Rancheria to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 0 of the 15 samples exceeded the geomean water quality threshold for E. coli. This is a six week rolling geomean that is calculated weekly.
Data Reference: WQ from the RWQCB1 TMDL 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 use for waters where the salinity is equal to or less than 1 part per thousand 95 percent or more of the time applies a rolling six-week geometric mean of E. coli, not to exceed 100 cfu/100 mL (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): 108HBOHB1 (Old Home Beach at Scenic Drive).
Temporal Representation: The samples were collected between the days of 2017-07-03 and 2017-10-30 .
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: QAPP for RWQCB1_RussianRiver
QAPP Information Reference(s): North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board - QA Doc (2015) - RWQCB1 Russian River TMDL - 402682
QAPP Information Reference(s): North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board - QA Doc (2015) - RWQCB1 Russian River TMDL - 402683