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

Supporting Information

Regional Board 5 - Central Valley Region

Water Body Name: Hunter Creek (Tuolumne County)
Water Body ID: CAR5364007020180619029612
Water Body Type: River & Stream
 
DECISION ID
126381
Region 5     
Hunter Creek (Tuolumne County)
 
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: 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 this Regional Board decision, SWRCB staff recommend the decision be approved by the State Board.
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 126381, Indicator Bacteria
Region 5     
Hunter Creek (Tuolumne County)
 
LOE ID: 194422
 
Pollutant: Escherichia coli (E. coli)
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Water Contact Recreation
 
Number of Samples: 3
Number of Exceedances: 2
 
Data and Information Type: PATHOGEN MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed data for Hunter Creek (Tuolumne County) to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 2 of the 3 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: Water data for the 2020/2022 integrated report in Region 5.
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: The bacteria water quality objective applicable to all waters, except Lake Tahoe, where the salinity is less than 10 parts per thousand (ppth) 95 percent or more of the time is a STATISTICAL THRESHOLD VALUE (STV) of 320 cfu/100 mL not to be exceeded more than 10 percent of the time (calculated monthly).
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): HUNC
Temporal Representation: The samples were collected between the days of 2011-08-05 and 2015-08-04 .
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center. 2010. QAPP for Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Project in the Stanislaus National Forest., Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center. 2016. QAPP for Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Project in the Stanislaus National Forest., Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center (CSERC). 2017. QAPP for Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Project in the Stanislaus National Forest., Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center. 2018. QAPP for Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Project in the Stanislaus National Forest.
QAPP Information Reference(s): QAPP for Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Project in the Stanislaus National Forest
QAPP Information Reference(s): QAPP for Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Project in the Stanislaus National Forest
QAPP Information Reference(s): QAPP for Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Project in the Stanislaus National Forest
QAPP Information Reference(s): QAPP for Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Project in the Stanislaus National Forest
 
 
DECISION ID
160282
Region 5     
Hunter Creek (Tuolumne County)
 
Pollutant: Temperature, water
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 160282, Temperature, water
Region 5     
Hunter Creek (Tuolumne County)
 
LOE ID: 330457
 
Pollutant: Temperature, water
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Cold Freshwater Habitat
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 1
 
Data and Information Type: PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed USGS California Water Science Center data for Hunter Creek (Tuolumne County) to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 1 of 1 samples exceeded the water quality threshold for Temperature.
Data Reference: WQX from the NWQMP for the 2026 Integrated Report in Region 5
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: The natural receiving water temperature of intrastate waters shall not be altered unless it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Regional Water Board that such alteration in temperature does not adversely affect beneficial uses (Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin Plans).
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region, Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins; Fifth Edition. Revised May 2018 (with approved amendments)
 
Evaluation Guideline: Inland Fishes of California (Moyle 1976) states that for rainbow trout the optimum range for growth and completion of most life stages is 13-21 degrees C (page 129).
Guideline Reference: Inland Fishes of California
 
Spatial Representation: The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site: USGS-11285200 (HUNTER C NR TUOLUMNE CA).
Temporal Representation: The samples were collected between the dates of 2015-09-01 and 2015-09-01
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: QAPP for USGS Data Collected during the 2026 Integrated Report Cycle
QAPP Information Reference(s): QAPP for USGS Data Collected during the 2026 Integrated Report Cycle