Discussed on this page: Water Quality in the watershed, Past Water Quality Projects, TBWC Water Quality Publications & Reports

View from Tomales Point near Pierce Point Ranch. Photos by Rob Carson

Tomales Bay Water Quality

The first goal identified in the TBWC Watershed Stewardship Plan adopted in 2004 was to "Ensure water quality in Tomales Bay and tributary streams is sufficient to support natural resources and sustain beneficial uses." This goal is central to the past and current activities and interests of the TBWC and its members.

In order to best identify future restoration needs, trends in water quality, and sources of nonpoint water pollution, TBWC is currently assessing surface water quality throughout the watershed. TBWC also provides a clearinghouse for regional water quality data, collected by member and outside agencies and groups leading to compilation and analysis of all available data to provide the "big picture" that is necessary to inform our resource management decisions and priorities.

To learn more about the Council's water quality monitoring, see Trends Monitoring page.

Past Water Quality Projects

As called for in our Tomales Bay Stewardship Plan, and with support from the Marin Community Foundation and County of Marin, TBWC Initiated its Water Quality Monitoring Program, which included sampling at three local swimming locations – Ink Wells, Samuel P. Taylor and Green Bridge – and source area monitoring in Inverness – at Third Valley Creek and at Chicken Ranch Beach – to gather information about sources of watershed pollution from septic systems and other human-related activities.

Monitoring at swimming locations was carried out as part of the Marin County Environmental Health Department Recreational Use Monitoring that occurs annually at area beaches from April 1-October 31. For a list of monitored beaches, and status of water quality, visit www.earth911.org.

San Geronimo Creek during January 4, 2008, storm.

In January 2006, the State Waters Resources Control Board awarded Tomales Bay Watershed Council Foundation a sizable planning grant. Part of the "Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002," such funds are known as Proposition 50 grants. Ours funded the development of an Integrated Coastal Watershed Management Plan (ICWMP), as well as a Septic Solutions Report and Municipal Stormwater Assessment and Recommendation Report. For this last item, TBWC monitored the stormwater systems in the communities of Woodacre, Point Reyes Station and Tomales during the 2006-2007 winter season. The information and analysis gained from this monitoring is available in Appendix M of the ICWMP.

In 2007, the TBWCF was awarded another Proposition 50 grant from the State Water Resources Board to implement the Tomales Bay Wetlands Restoration and Monitoring Program to integrate the Giacomini Wetland Restoration Project (GWRP) and water quality monitoring to reduce and eliminate existing threats and to identify emerging threats that face this critically important watershed. This funding supports three main elements 1) restoration and monitoring of the GWRP, 2) source area monitoring, and 3) trends monitoring - by establishing long-term water quality monitoring at fixed-sites at bottom of eleven tributary watersheds, and at four bay sites, enabling the analysis of long-term water quality trends in the watershed. More details, and recent results are available on the Trends Monitoring page.

TBWC Water Quality Publications & Reports

• 2009-10 Annual Water Quality Report (no appendices)
  Appendix A-Giacomini WQ Technical Memorandum-Year Two WY10
  Appendices B,C & D - Sampling Sites, WY08 & WY09 Result Tables and Legacy Data Project
  
  
• 2008-09 Annual Water Quality Report

• "Tomales Bay Water Quality Monitoring Plan 2003" PDF document - 273.1 KB



• Tomales Bay Wetland Restoration and Monitoring Program – see Monitoring Plan and Quality-Assurance Project Plan (QAPP).



• Stormwater Management Assessment (Appendix M of ICWM) – see documents, "Rural Stormwater Subshed Water Quality Monitoring Plan"; review of Stormwater Sampling, and Data and Maps for Sampling Locations at Point Reyes Station, Woodacre, and Tomales.