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

Supporting Information

Regional Board 9 - San Diego Region

Water Body Name: De Luz Creek, unnamed tributary at De Luz Murrieta Road
Water Body ID: CAR9022100020120308112123
Water Body Type: River & Stream
 
DECISION ID
84970
Region 9     
De Luz Creek, unnamed tributary at De Luz Murrieta Road
 
Pollutant: Benthic Community Effects
Final Listing Decision: Do Not List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)
Last Listing Cycle's Final Listing Decision: Do Not List on 303(d) list (TMDL required list)(2016)
Revision Status Revised
Impairment from Pollutant or Pollution: Pollutant
 
Regional Board Conclusion: Benthic Community Effects is being considered for placement on the CWA section 303(d) List under sections 3.9 of the Listing Policy. Under section 3.9, an additional line of evidence associating the Benthic Community Effects with a water or sediment concentration of pollutants is necessary to assess listing status. One line of evidence is available in the administrative record. The CSCI score for this site was 0.93. Based on the readily available data and information, the weight of evidence indicates that there is sufficient justification against placing Benthic Community Effects in this water segment on 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. The CSCI score for this site was 0.93. A score of 0.79 or higher is achieved by a stream that is not likely altered or impaired. A water body with a CSCI score of 0.79 or higher and no impairment listings, supports the WARM/COLD beneficial use and will be placed in Category 1 (all core beneficial uses are supported). A water body with a CSCI score of 0.79 or higher and impairment listings (or other evidence of lack of beneficial use support) will be placed in Category 2 (meets some designated beneficial uses).
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 not be placed on the section 303(d) list because applicable water quality standards are not being exceeded.
 
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.
 
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 84970, Benthic Community Effects
Region 9     
De Luz Creek, unnamed tributary at De Luz Murrieta Road
 
LOE ID: 73477
 
Pollutant: Benthic-Macroinvertebrate Bioassessments
LOE Subgroup: Population/Community Degradation
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Cold Freshwater Habitat
 
Number of Samples: 3
Number of Exceedances: 0
 
Data and Information Type: Benthic macroinvertebrate surveys
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Nonne of the four samples collected had IBI scores below 40. NPDES bioassessment
Data Reference: Data for Various Pollutants from the County of San Diego Copermittees Receiving Waters Monitoring and Reporting Program, 2001-2008.
 
SWAMP Data: Non-SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: All waters shall be maintained free of toxic substances in concentrations that are toxic to, or that produce detrimental physiological responses in, human, plant or animal, or aquatic life. Compliance with this objective will be determined by use of indicator organisms, analysis of species diversity, population density, growth anomalies, bioassays of appropriate duration or other appropriate methods as specified by the State or Regional Board. Region 9 Basin Plan.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan for the San Diego Basin
 
Evaluation Guideline: The IBI is a multi-metric assessment that employs biological metrics that respond to a habitat or water quality impairment. Each of the biological metrics measured at a site are converted to an IBI score then summed. These cumulative scores are then ranked. For the Southern California IBI, sites with scores below 40 are considered to have impaired conditions.
Guideline Reference: Development of a Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (B-IBI) for Wadeable Streams in Northern Coastal California and its Application to Regional 305(b) Assessment
 
Spatial Representation: The samples were collected at station REF-DLC3, De Luz Creek.
Temporal Representation: The samples were collected in October 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: The data was collected under the Southern California Regional Watershed Monitoring Program Bioassessment Quality Assurance Project Plan, June 25, 2009.
QAPP Information Reference(s): e-mail clarifying QAPP information
 
Line of Evidence (LOE) for Decision ID 84970, Benthic Community Effects
Region 9     
De Luz Creek, unnamed tributary at De Luz Murrieta Road
 
LOE ID: 133511
 
Pollutant: Benthic-Macroinvertebrate Bioassessments
LOE Subgroup: Population/Community Degradation
Matrix: Water
Fraction: None
 
Beneficial Use: Cold Freshwater Habitat
 
Number of Samples: 1
Number of Exceedances: 0
 
Data and Information Type: BIOLOGICAL MONITORING
Data Used to Assess Water Quality: Data used to generate the SWAMP Bioassessment Scores Map. The one sample collected produced a CSCI score of 0.93. Therefore, it is not exceeding the water quality objective for the aquatic life beneficial use.
Data Reference: CSCI scores downloaded from: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/swamp/bioassessment/csci_scores_map.html
 
SWAMP Data: SWAMP
 
Water Quality Objective/Criterion: All waters shall be maintained free of toxic substances in concentrations that are toxic to, or that produce detrimental physiological responses in, human, plant or animal, or aquatic life. Compliance with this objective will be determined by use of indicator organisms, analysis of species diversity, population density, growth anomalies, bioassays of appropriate duration, or other appropriate methods as specified by the Regional Board. Region 9 Basin Plan.
Objective/Criterion Reference: Water Quality Control Plan for the San Diego Basin
 
Evaluation Guideline: The California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) is a biological scoring tool that helps aquatic resource managers translate complex data about benthic macroinvertebrates found living in a stream into an overall measure of stream health. The CSCI score is calculated by comparing the expected condition with actual (observed) results (Rhen, A.C. et al., 2015). CSCI scores range from 0 (highly degraded) to greater than 1 (equivalent to reference). CSCI scoring of biological condition are as follows (per the scientific paper supporting the development of the CSCI scoring tool): greater than or equal to 0.92 = likely intact condition, 0.91 to 0.80 = possibly altered condition, 0.79 to 0.63 = likely altered condition, less than or equal to 0.62 = very likely altered condition. Sites with scores below 0.79 are considered to have exceeded the water quality objective for the aquatic life beneficial use.
Guideline Reference: Bioassessment in complex environments: designing an index for consistent meaning in different settings
 
Spatial Representation: Samples were collected at 902S11593.
Temporal Representation: Samples were collected on 6/21/2012.
Environmental Conditions:
QAPP Information: Data collected following SWAMP QA protocols.
QAPP Information Reference(s):