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

Supporting Information

Regional Board 1 - North Coast Region

Water Body Name:	Mendocino Coast HU, Point Arena HA, Elk Creek
Water Body ID:	CAR1136200020230413031485
Water Body Type:	River & Stream


DECISION ID	163046	Region 1
Mendocino Coast HU, Point Arena HA, Elk Creek

Pollutant:	Specific Conductivity
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 163046, Specific Conductivity	Region 1
Mendocino Coast HU, Point Arena HA, Elk Creek

LOE ID:

329142

Pollutant:

Specific Conductivity

LOE Subgroup:

Pollutant-Water

Matrix:

Water

Fraction:

None

Beneficial Use:

Municipal & Domestic Supply

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Water Board staff assessed USGS California Water Science Center data for Mendocino Coast HU, Point Arena HA, Elk Creek to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 0 of 1 samples exceeded the water quality threshold for SpecificConductivity.

Data Reference:

WQX from the NWQMP for the 2026 Integrated Report in Region 1

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

Waters designated for use as domestic or municipal supply (MUN) shall not contain concentrations of chemical constituents in excess of the limits specified in California Code of Regulations, Title 22, Chapter 15, Division 4, Article 4, Section 64435 (Tables 2 and 3), and Section 64444.5 (Table 5), and listed in Table 3-2 of this Plan (Water Quality Control Plan, North Coast Basin).

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Water Quality Control Plan (Basin Plan) for the North Coast Region

Evaluation Guideline:

California Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) apply to ambient waters under the Basin Plan's 'Chemical Constituents' objective. The California Secondary MCL for specific conductivity is 900 uS/cm.

Guideline Reference:

California Code of Regulations, Title 22, Division 4, Chapter 15. Domestic Water Quality and Monitoring

Spatial Representation:

The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site: USGS-11467710 (ELK C A HWY 1 NR ELK CA).

Temporal Representation:

The samples were collected between the dates of 2015-09-01 and 2015-09-01

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

QAPP not required for USGS projects

QAPP Information Reference(s):

QAPP for USGS Data Collected during the 2026 Integrated Report Cycle


DECISION ID	158673	Region 1
Mendocino Coast HU, Point Arena HA, Elk Creek

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:

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 158673, Temperature, water	Region 1
Mendocino Coast HU, Point Arena HA, Elk Creek

LOE ID:

329257

Pollutant:

Temperature, water

LOE Subgroup:

Pollutant-Water

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:

WQX from the NWQMP for the 2026 Integrated Report in Region 1

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

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. At no time or place shall the temperature of any COLD water be increased more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit (F) above natural receiving water temperature (Basin Plan, North Coast Region).

Objective/Criterion Reference:

Water Quality Control Plan (Basin Plan) for the North Coast Region

Evaluation Guideline:

According to Carter (2008) the lethal temperature evaluation guideline for salmonid spawning, egg incubation & fry emergence is 20C.

Guideline Reference:

Effects of Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen/Total Dissolved Gas, Ammonia, and pH on Salmonids. Implications for California's North Coast TMDLs. California Regional Water Quality Control Board, North Coast Region

Spatial Representation:

The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site: USGS-11467710 (ELK C A HWY 1 NR ELK CA).

Temporal Representation:

The samples were collected between the dates of 2015-09-01 and 2015-09-01

Environmental Conditions:

QAPP Information:

QAPP not required for USGS projects

QAPP Information Reference(s):

QAPP for USGS Data Collected during the 2026 Integrated Report Cycle