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

Supporting Information

Regional Board 5 - Central Valley Region

Water Body Name: Big Trees Creek (Calaveras County)
Water Body ID: CAR5333001020230626032656
Water Body Type: River & Stream
 
DECISION ID
161513
Region 5     
Big Trees Creek (Calaveras 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 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 161513, Indicator Bacteria
Region 5     
Big Trees Creek (Calaveras County)
 
LOE ID: 329466
 
Pollutant: Escherichia coli (E. coli)
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: STV
 
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 SWAMP RWB5 Monitoring data for Big Trees Creek (Calaveras County) to determine beneficial use support and the results are as follows: 0 of the 1 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: Benthic, Field, Habitat, Toxicity, WQ from the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program for the 2026 Integrated Report in Region 5
 
SWAMP Data: 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): 533CAL904 (Big Trees Creek above White Pines Lake).
Temporal Representation: The samples were collected between the days of 2018-07-25 and 2018-07-25 .
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: SWAMP QAPrP
QAPP Information Reference(s): Generic SWAMP QAPrP
 
 
DECISION ID
160757
Region 5     
Big Trees Creek (Calaveras County)
 
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:
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 160757, Oxygen, Dissolved
Region 5     
Big Trees Creek (Calaveras County)
 
LOE ID: 332198
 
Pollutant: Oxygen, Dissolved
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Fish Spawning
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 0
 
Data and Information Type: PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed SWAMP RWB5 Monitoring data for Big Trees Creek (Calaveras County) to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 0 of 1 samples exceeded the water quality threshold for Oxygen, Dissolved.
Data Reference: Benthic, Field, Habitat, Toxicity, WQ from the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program for the 2026 Integrated Report in Region 5
 
SWAMP Data: SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: The minimum dissolved oxygen concentration for waters designated as SPWN is 7.0 mg/L. (Water Quality Control Plan, Central Valley Region, Sacramento River Basin and San Joaquin Basin)
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:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site: 533CAL904 (Big Trees Creek above White Pines Lake).
Temporal Representation: The samples were collected between the dates of 2018-07-25 and 2018-07-25
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: SWAMP QAPrP
QAPP Information Reference(s): Generic SWAMP QAPrP
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 160757, Oxygen, Dissolved
Region 5     
Big Trees Creek (Calaveras County)
 
LOE ID: 332170
 
Pollutant: Oxygen, Dissolved
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Cold Freshwater Habitat
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 0
 
Data and Information Type: PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed SWAMP RWB5 Monitoring data for Big Trees Creek (Calaveras County) to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 0 of 1 samples exceeded the water quality threshold for Oxygen, Dissolved.
Data Reference: Benthic, Field, Habitat, Toxicity, WQ from the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program for the 2026 Integrated Report in Region 5
 
SWAMP Data: SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: The minimum dissolved oxygen concentration for waters designated as COLD is 7.0 mg/L. (Water Quality Control Plan, Central Valley Region, Sacramento River Basin and San Joaquin Basin)
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:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: The samples were collected at 1 monitoring site: 533CAL904 (Big Trees Creek above White Pines Lake).
Temporal Representation: The samples were collected between the dates of 2018-07-25 and 2018-07-25
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: SWAMP QAPrP
QAPP Information Reference(s): Generic SWAMP QAPrP
 
 
DECISION ID
160758
Region 5     
Big Trees Creek (Calaveras 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:
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 160758, Temperature, water
Region 5     
Big Trees Creek (Calaveras County)
 
LOE ID: 332982
 
Pollutant: Temperature, water
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Cold Freshwater Habitat
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 0
 
Data and Information Type: PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Water Board staff assessed SWAMP RWB5 Monitoring data for Big Trees Creek (Calaveras County) to determine beneficial use support and results are as follows: 0 of 1 samples exceeded the water quality threshold for Temperature.
Data Reference: Benthic, Field, Habitat, Toxicity, WQ from the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program for the 2026 Integrated Report in Region 5
 
SWAMP Data: 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: 533CAL904 (Big Trees Creek above White Pines Lake).
Temporal Representation: The samples were collected between the dates of 2018-07-25 and 2018-07-25
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: SWAMP QAPrP
QAPP Information Reference(s): Generic SWAMP QAPrP