Transcript MarineInterests003

Central Coast Ambient Monitoring Program
Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board
Water Quality Issues in the Ambient
Marine Environment of Central
Coastal California
Regional Water Quality Control Board
Central Coast Region
• RWQCB responsible for
regulation of discharge to
surface and groundwater
• Ocean discharges from point
sources such as power plants
or wastewater treatment
plants, and more recently
stormwater, are regulated
through NPDES permits
• In our Region, nonpoint
source pollutants may be the
most significant impact to the
marine environment
Typical pollutants found in
surface runoff to the ocean
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Nutrients
Pathogens
Sediment
Metals
Pesticides and PCBs
Petroleum hydrocarbons
Other substances, such as phthalates,
polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)
Nutrients
• Nitrate, phosphate, silicate
• Large loads of some nutrients are
discharged from agricultural river mouths
• Estuarine environments may show
indications of eutrophication
• Influence of nutrients from land sources is
not well understood
Nitrate averages (mg/l as N), north
to south
Eutrophication is evident in many
lagoon systems
• Algal blooms alter habitat, create nuisance,
generate large swings in oxygen levels
• Fish kills result from depressed oxygen
concentrations
• Nitrate can be present at levels that also
cause toxicity to aquatic life
Studies have linked concentrations
of some nutrients to toxic
phytoplankton blooms.
• In lab culture, domoic acid concentrations in
Pseudonitzchia increase in proportion to
nitrate concentrations
• Intracellular DA concentrations increase
when Silicate and phosphorus are limiting
• Iron availability is also a key factor in
determining whether blooms become toxic –
iron stress causes cells to discharge DA to
environment
It is still unclear to what extent sources from the
land play an impact in marine nutrient dynamics,
given the enormous amount of nutrients made
available by upwelling off our coast
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Long-term Ecological Research Program
Plumes and Blooms
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
U.C. Santa Cruz
Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research
Reserve
• Central Coast Long-term Environmental
Assessment Program (CCLEAN)
DPR 1999
Pounds Applied Per Acre
Gazos Creek
Rincon Creek
Carpinteria Creek
Franklin Creek
Mission Creek
Arroyo Burro Creek
Atascadero Creek
Canada de la Gaviota
Santa Ynez River
San Antonio Creek
Santa Maria River
Arroyo Grande Creek
Pismo Creek
San Luis Obispo Creek
Chorro Creek
Santa Rosa Creek
120.00
San Simeon Creek
Arroyo de la Cruz Creek
Willow Creek
Big Creek
Big Sur River
Carmel River
Salinas River
Old Salinas River
Tembladero Slough
Pajaro River
Aptos Creek
Soquel Creek
San Lorenzo River
Scott Creek
Waddell Creek
Average NO3 (mg/l)
160.00
avg NO3
lbs/acre
20
100.00
80.00
15
60.00
10
40.00
20.00
5
0.00
0
Applied pesticides (lbs/acre)
Pesticide Application and NO3
Coastal Confluence Sites North to South
140.00
25
Legacy Pesticides
• Bioaccumulate in higher trophic level species like
marine mammals
• Pesticides may disrupt endocrine systems or cause
immune system compromise
• Recent nesting failure in the Caspian tern has been
attributed to DDT transported by a heavy rain
event
• Funding currently being provided through
Proposition 13 to study these chemicals in
archived sea otter tissues
Mussel Watch Monitoring Data
(Sandholdt Bridge, Moss Landing, for DDT and Dieldrin)
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Santa Barbara Main
Beach Average
Arroyo Burro Beach
Average
Surf Beach Average
Gaviota Beach Average
Jalama Average
Sands Beach Average
San Antonio Cr. Beach
Average
Santa Maria R. Beach
Average
Guadalupe Beach Average
Pismo Beach Average
Shell Beach Average
Avila Beach Average
Port of SLO Harbor
Average
Carmel Beach Average
Salinas R. Mouth Average
Elkhorn Sl. Mouth
Average
Santa Cruz Main Beach
Average
Scott Cr. Beach Average
DDT (ug/kg) in sand crabs, northern Santa
Cruz County south to Santa Barbara County
TOTAL DDTs
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
Currently applied pesticides
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Moving target
Expensive or difficult to conduct analytical tests
Many do not bioaccumulate
Most effective testing includes multiple indicators
(toxicity, chemistry, benthic communities)
• Multiple indicator testing has been conducted in
the Salinas watershed, the Santa Maria watershed
and several other locations and has shown toxic
effects
• Unknown impacts to the nearshore marine
environment
Metals
• Some elevated levels of metals in coastal
lagoons appear to be geologic in origin
• Mercury is elevated in some watersheds,
particularly Santa Rosa Creek
• Recent marine fish contamination sampling
has not shown mercury levels of concern,
but did not target long-lived benthic species
Nickel concentrations in sediment from
coastal confluence sites , north to south
(ERM is 51.6 mg/kg)
Mercury in sediment
from coastal confluence sites, north to south
(ERM is 0.7 mg/kg)
Sediment
• Important pollutant of coastal steelhead
streams, but also a natural part of a
functioning watershed
• Important in transport of other pollutants
• Sedimentation of harbors is a continuing
problem, particularly where elevated
chemicals make disposal expensive
• Quantifying impacts in the marine
environment challenging
Petroleum Hydrocarbons
• Several large cleanup sites from past oil
activities
• Natural Sources
• Urban runoff
Sand crab data from 2000 shows somewhat
elevated levels in the vicinity of Guadalupe
and Avila
Pathogens may
enter the ocean
through surface
runoff or sewage
discharges, and
serve as a source of
infection for
humans and marine
mammals
Beach Closures
• Based on county testing for traditional indicators
including fecal coliform and Enterococcus
• Sampling mandated on beaches with greater than
50,000 visitations per year during dry season
months
• Stormwater runoff, river and urban discharges,
and failing sewer lines are common sources of
problems
• San Luis Obispo County Environmental Health
Department monitors 12 sites on a weekly basis
year-round
San Luis Obispo County Beaches
For 2002:
• 92% of monitored sites received “A”s for dry
season scores
• Pismo Pier had a few dry season hits and scored a
“B”
• Two wet season failing scores at Avila Beach
Check www.healthebay.org for a state-wide report
card of beach health
Sea Otters and Pathogens
CDFG Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center
U.C. Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
• Sea otters are excellent sentinels of marine water
quality health
• Recent mortality rates have been very high
• Recent research has shown the proportion of sea otters
dying from infectious disease has increased in recent
years to over 45%
• Several of the diseases of concern have implications for
human health
Protozoal pathogens
• Toxoplasma is the primary or contributing cause of
mortality for over 25% of dead sea otters
examined at the CDFG facility
• Cats are the primary host of this disease
• Another protozoan carried by opposums
contributes to another 12.4% of mortalities
• Other protozoans which have been detected in
otters include Cryptosporidium and Giardia
• Protozoans form resistant spores, which may be
uptaken by filter feeders as one possible
mechanism of infection
Pacific Grove Study
Screening sea otter feces for common
gastrointestinal pathogens from humans or
domestic animals
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Cryptosporidium
Giardia
Enterotoxigenic E. coli
Vibrio cholera
Salmonella
Campylobacter jejuni-like
Pleisomonas shigelloides
Clostridium perfringens type A
3.8%
1.9%
0%
0%
2.5%
2.5%
17.5%
20.0%
• New funding ($240 K) provided last week
by our Board to further these
investigations by the CDFG/U.C. Davis
team
• Study will focus on two “hot spots” for
Toxoplasma, which include Morro Bay and
Elkhorn Slough
• We should learn more about mechanisms
of infection, source areas, and other
potential bacterial species of concern from
these continuing studies