Monitoring is an essential component of stormwater management and other programs to protect and improve water quality. EOA has decades of experience developing and implementing monitoring programs designed to address specific management questions and compliance needs. With our support, EOA clients such as large San Francisco Bay Area countywide stormwater management programs have achieved perfect records of compliance with stormwater NPDES permit monitoring requirements . EOA also coordinates water quality monitoring with our technical support for developing and implementing control programs that target specific pollutants of concern (e.g., mercury and PCBs).
Water quality monitoring is part of a watershed science and assessment approach that focuses on the sustainable and cost-effective management of stream, lake, and estuarine ecosystems. EOA conducts watershed analyses that focus on stream ecosystem functions, sediment impacts, riparian area functions, stream physical habitat, biological assessments, and other watershed processes.
EOA extensively uses Geographic Information System (GIS) tools to conduct spatial analyses that inform the interpretation and communication of environmental data generated through these types of projects.
CASE STUDIES
Municipal Stormwater Monitoring and Assessment
Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP)
EOA staffs, manages and implements all aspects of the Receiving Water Monitoring Program for SCVURPPP, which is designed to assess the condition, impacts and trends in beneficial uses, water quality and sediment quality in receiving waters in the South San Francisco Bay watersheds. EOA assesses and reports on watershed conditions through analysis of past and recently collected data and by conducting creek status monitoring, including the collection of data on aquatic life use, pollutant and recreational condition indicators. We also develop hypotheses and implement investigative monitoring in high priority areas, to better understand the extent and magnitude of stormwater impacts on beneficial uses and to identify high priority areas where management actions can be implemented to protect or restore beneficial uses. Additionally, EOA develops and implements quality assurance and control procedures consistent with the State of California’s Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP) comparability standards.
SF Bay Regional Creek Status Monitoring Program Design
Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (BASMAA)
On behalf of all members of the Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (BASMAA), EOA developed a regional monitoring program design to assess the condition of Bay Area creeks in compliance with NPDES permit requirements. The monitoring design was developed using the Generalized Random Tessellation Stratified (GRTS) approach (developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and Oregon State University) to develop a spatially balanced design that produces statistically representative data with known confidence intervals. BASMAA member agencies implement the design in compliance with their municipal stormwater NPDES permit requirements.
Industrial Stormwater Monitoring and Analysis
Port of Oakland
For each of the past several years, EOA has assisted the Port of Oakland in preparing an annual Group Evaluation Report (GER) that documents the results of the Port’s annual stormwater runoff monitoring and facility inspections. The monitoring was performed in compliance with the statewide NPDES General Industrial Permit (GIP) to regulate stormwater discharges from industrial facilities. The GER includes an evaluation and summary of all stormwater runoff monitoring chemical analysis data (e.g., petroleum hydrocarbons, metals, and volatile organic compounds); an evaluation of the overall performance of the industrial facilities in complying with the GIP; a recommended baseline and site-specific Best Management Practices (BMPs) that should be considered by each industrial facility based upon items (1) and (2) above and annual site inspections; and evaluation reports with recommendations to improve BMP implementation prepared by the Port following site inspections of individual facilities. EOA has also provided the Port with occasional regulatory analysis and assistance over the past several years in relation to topics such as the Port’s Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program and various statewide stormwater permits (i.e., GIP, Construction General Permit and Phase II).