Draft California 2018 Integrated Report (303(d) List/305(b) Report)

Supporting Information

Regional Board 5 - Central Valley Region

Water Body Name:	Pardee Reservoir
Water Body ID:	CAL5326009120000208163748
Water Body Type:	Lake & Reservoir


DECISION ID	72761	Region 5
Pardee Reservoir

Pollutant:	Mercury
Final Listing Decision:	Do Not Delist from 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision:	Do Not Delist from 303(d) list (TMDL required list)(2016)
Revision Status	Original
Sources:	Source Unknown
Expected TMDL Completion Date:	2021
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution:	Pollutant

Regional Board Conclusion:	This pollutant is being considered for removal from the CWA section 303(d) List under section 4.1 of the Listing Policy. Under this section a single line of evidence is necessary to assess listing status. Two lines of evidence are available in the administrative record to assess concentrations of mercury in fish tissue. Fourteen of the forty-four samples exceed the evaluation guideline. LOEs 22579 and 22586 were not used in the final listing decision due to the criterion change. The data in LOE 22542 were reassessed in LOE 95568 with the new criterion and the data in LOE 22586 were reassessed in LOE 95569. LOE 95568 and LOE 95569 were used in the final listing decision. Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification against removing this water segment-pollutant combination from the CWA section 303(d) List. 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. Fourteen of the forty-four samples exceed the evaluation guideline and this exceeds the allowable frequency listed in Table 4.1 of the Listing Policy. 4. Pursuant to section 4.11 of the Listing Policy, no additional data and information are available indicating that standards are met.

Regional Board Decision Recommendation:	After review of the available data and information, RWQCB staff concludes that the water body-pollutant combination should not be removed from the section 303(d) list because applicable water quality standards for the pollutant are being exceeded.

State Board Staff 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 72761, Mercury	Region 5
Pardee Reservoir

LOE ID:

95568

Pollutant:

Mercury

LOE Subgroup:

Pollutant-Tissue

Matrix:

Tissue

Fraction:

Total

Beneficial Use:

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Fish were sampled for tissue analysis at one location from Pardee Reservoir. A total of 14 out of 40 samples exceeded the USEPA fish tissue criterion for human health. The average wet weight mercury concentration in fish tissue was 0.17 ppm for all 40 samples collected. The number of fish collected per sample, the measured mercury concentrations in fish tissue, and the number of exceedances are, by species:

Carp- 5 samples, 0.03-0.08 ppm (average 0.05 ppm), no exceedances;
Channel Catfish- 10 samples, 0.08-0.4 ppm (average 0.22 ppm), 6 exceedances;
Kokanee- 13 samples, 0.09-0.12 ppm (average 0.11 ppm), no exceedances;
Largemouth Bass- 12 samples, 0.15-0.4 ppm (average 0.25 ppm), 8 exceedances.

All 40 samples were collected from fish with total lengths greater than 150 mm, which represent fish most commonly caught and consumed by sport fishers and their families.

Data Reference:

Fish Mercury Project, Year 1 Annual Report, Sport Fish Sampling and Analysis. Collaborating parties: San Francisco Estuary Institute, California Department of Fish and Game, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Final Technical Report. CBDA Project # ERP 02D-P6729. May 2007

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

All waters shall be maintained free of toxic substances in concentrations that produce detrimental physiological responses in human, plant, animal, or aquatic life. (Water Quality Control Plan, Central Valley Region, Sacramento River Basin and San Joaquin River 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. 4th ed

Evaluation Guideline:

The U.S. EPA 304(a)-recommended water quality criterion for concentrations of methylmercury in fish tissue of trophic level 4 fish (150 - 500 mm; fillet wet weight) is 0.20 mg/Kg.

Guideline Reference:

Water Quality Criterion for the Protection of Human Health: Methylmercury. Final. United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Science and Technology Office of Water. EPA-823-R-01-001. January 2001

Spatial Representation:

Samples were collected at one location from the North Arm of Pardee Reservoir.

Temporal Representation:

Fish samples were collected during two sampling events: from 9/14/2005 to 9/15/2005, and on 4/18/2006.

Environmental Conditions:

Significant gold mining activity occurred during the Gold Rush era within the Pardee Reservoir watershed and the lands inundated by Pardee Reservoir (USGS, 2005).

QAPP Information:

Data quality: Excellent.. Quality Control for all of the elements described in section 6.1.4 of the Policy was conducted in accordance with the Laboratory QAPP developed by Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML, 2005). This data was also collected and analyzed in accordance with the CALFED Mercury Project QAPP (Puckett and van Buuren, 2000).

QAPP Information Reference(s):

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 72761, Mercury	Region 5
Pardee Reservoir

LOE ID:

95569

Pollutant:

Mercury

LOE Subgroup:

Pollutant-Tissue

Matrix:

Tissue

Fraction:

Total

Beneficial Use:

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Fish were sampled for tissue analysis at one location from Pardee Reservoir. A total of 2 out of 4 samples exceeded the USEPA fish tissue criterion for human health. The average wet weight mercury concentration in fish tissue was 0.29 ppm for all 4 samples collected. The number of fish collected per sample, the measured mercury concentrations in fish tissue, and the number of exceedances are, by species:

Channel Catfish- 2 composite samples, 0.1 and 0.55 ppm, 1 exceedance;
Largemouth Bass- 2 composite samples, 0.14 and 0.38 ppm, 1 exceedance.

All 4 composite samples were collected from fish with average total lengths greater than 150 mm, which represent fish most commonly caught and consumed by sport fishers and their families.

Data Reference:

Toxic Substances Monitoring Program: Freshwater Bioaccumulation Monitoring: TSM Program Data 1978-2000. State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

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:

The U.S. EPA 304(a)-recommended water quality criterion for concentrations of methylmercury in fish tissue of trophic level 4 fish (150 - 500 mm; fillet wet weight) is 0.20 mg/Kg.

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

Samples were collected at one location from the Channel Arm of Pardee Reservoir.

Temporal Representation:

Fish samples were collected during three sampling events from 7/26/1984 to 8/24/1989.

Environmental Conditions:

Significant gold mining activity occurred during the Gold Rush era within the Pardee Reservoir watershed and the lands inundated by Pardee Reservoir (USGS, 2005).

QAPP Information:

Data quality: Good.. Quality Control for the fish sampling, tissue preparation, mercury analysis, and QA sample analysis portions of this study was conducted as described in the Toxic Substance Monitoring Reports for 1984, 1985 and 1988-89 (Agee, 1986; Rasmussen et al., 1987; Rasmussen and Blethrow, 1991).

QAPP Information Reference(s):

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 72761, Mercury	Region 5
Pardee Reservoir

LOE ID:

22586

Pollutant:

Mercury

LOE Subgroup:

Pollutant-Tissue

Matrix:

Tissue

Fraction:

Total

Beneficial Use:

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Fish were sampled for tissue analysis at one location from Pardee Reservoir. A total of 2 out of 4 samples exceeded the USEPA fish tissue criterion for human health. The average wet weight mercury concentration in fish tissue was 0.29 ppm for all 4 samples collected. The number of fish collected per sample, the measured mercury concentrations in fish tissue, and the number of exceedances are, by species: Channel Catfish- 2 composite samples, 0.1 and 0.55 ppm, 1 exceedance; Largemouth Bass- 2 composite samples, 0.14 and 0.38 ppm, 1 exceedance. All 4 composite samples were collected from fish with average total lengths greater than 150 mm, which represent fish most commonly caught and consumed by sport fishers and their families.

Data Reference:

Toxic Substances Monitoring Program: Freshwater Bioaccumulation Monitoring: TSM Program Data 1978-2000. State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

All waters shall be maintained free of toxic substances in concentrations that produce detrimental physiological responses in human, plant, animal, or aquatic life. The objective applies regardless of whether the toxicity is caused by a single substance or the interactive effect of multiple substances.

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:

The USEPA Fish Tissue Residue Criterion for methylmercury in fish is 0.3 mg/kg (0.3 ppm) for the protection of human health. This is the concentration in fish tissue that should not be exceeded based on a total fish and shellfish consumption-weighted rate of 0.0175 kg fish/day. (USEPA, 2001)

Guideline Reference:

Spatial Representation:

Samples were collected at one location from the Channel Arm of Pardee Reservoir.

Temporal Representation:

Fish samples were collected during three sampling events from 7/26/1984 to 8/24/1989.

Environmental Conditions:

Significant gold mining activity occurred during the Gold Rush era within the Pardee Reservoir watershed and the lands inundated by Pardee Reservoir (USGS, 2005).

QAPP Information:

QAPP Information Reference(s):

Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 72761, Mercury	Region 5
Pardee Reservoir

LOE ID:

22579

Pollutant:

Mercury

LOE Subgroup:

Pollutant-Tissue

Matrix:

Tissue

Fraction:

Total

Beneficial Use:

Number of Samples:

Number of Exceedances:

Data and Information Type:

PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL MONITORING

Data Used to Assess Water Quality:

Fish were sampled for tissue analysis at one location from Pardee Reservoir. A total of 5 out of 40 samples exceeded the USEPA fish tissue criterion for human health. The average wet weight mercury concentration in fish tissue was 0.17 ppm for all 40 samples collected. The number of fish collected per sample, the measured mercury concentrations in fish tissue, and the number of exceedances are, by species: Carp- 5 samples, 0.03-0.08 ppm (average 0.05 ppm), no exceedances; Channel Catfish- 10 samples, 0.08-0.4 ppm (average 0.22 ppm), 2 exceedances; Kokanee- 13 samples, 0.09-0.12 ppm (average 0.11 ppm), no exceedances; Largemouth Bass- 12 samples, 0.15-0.4 ppm (average 0.25 ppm), 3 exceedances. All 40 samples were collected from fish with total lengths greater than 150 mm, which represent fish most commonly caught and consumed by sport fishers and their families.

Data Reference:

SWAMP Data:

Non-SWAMP

Water Quality Objective/Criterion:

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 at one location from the North Arm of Pardee Reservoir.

Temporal Representation:

Fish samples were collected during two sampling events: from 9/14/2005 to 9/15/2005, and on 4/18/2006.

Environmental Conditions:

Significant gold mining activity occurred during the Gold Rush era within the Pardee Reservoir watershed and the lands inundated by Pardee Reservoir (USGS, 2005).

QAPP Information:

QAPP Information Reference(s):