Final California 2010 Integrated Report (303(d) List/305(b) Report)

Supporting Information

Regional Board 5 - Central Valley Region

Water Body Name: Bear River (from Allen to Upper Bear River Reservoir, Amador County)
Water Body ID: CAR5326004020080623165216
Water Body Type: River & Stream
 
DECISION ID
12501
Region 5     
Bear River (from Allen to Upper Bear River Reservoir, Amador County)
 
Pollutant: pH (low)
Final Listing Decision: List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision: New Decision
Revision Status Revised
Sources: Source Unknown
Expected TMDL Completion Date: 2021
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Regional Board Conclusion: This pollutant is being considered for placement on the 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 line of evidence is available in the administrative record to assess this pollutant.

Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification in favor of placing this water segment-pollutant combination on the section 303(d) list in the Water Quality Limited Segments category.

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. Three of 5 samples exceed the Basin Plan pH objective and this exceeds 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 be placed on the section 303(d) list because applicable water quality standards are exceeded and a pollutant contributes to or causes the problem.
 
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.
 
USEPA Action (if applicable): USEPA approved the listing of this water body as a water quality limited segment requiring a TMDL for this pollutant.
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 12501, pH (low)
Region 5     
Bear River (from Allen to Upper Bear River Reservoir, Amador County)
 
LOE ID: 21654
 
Pollutant: pH
LOE Subgroup: Pollutant-Water
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Cold Freshwater Habitat
 
Number of Samples: 10
Number of Exceedances: 6
 
Data and Information Type: PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Historical Water Quality Results for Analytical Laboratory Measurements 590 PG&E Company Mokelumne River Project (FERC 137, PG&E, 2003) collected 10 samples from March 2002 to July 2002. Six out of 10 samples had pH values lower than 6.5 and thus did not meet the evaluation objective.
Data Reference: Mokelumne River Project (FERC 137) and Mokelumne Watershed correspondence and reports
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: The pH of water shall not be depressed below 6.5,raised above 8.5, or changed at any time more than 0.5 units from normal ambient pH.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region, Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins. 4th ed
 
Evaluation Guideline:
Guideline Reference:
 
Spatial Representation: Samples were collected from Bear River, above Upper Bear R. Reservoir and below the confluence with Tragedy Creek
Temporal Representation: Sampling occurred from March 2002 to July 2002.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Data quality: Good. Well documented QA/QC including report on Certified Analytical Reports and chain-of-custody documentation.
QAPP Information Reference(s):