Who We Are


The Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) is an aquatic sciences research institute that works to improve management of aquatic systems in Southern California and beyond. Since its founding as an intergovernmental public agency in 1969, SCCWRP has been developing strategies, tools and technologies that the region’s water-quality management community relies on to more effectively protect and enhance the ecological health of Southern California’s coastal ocean and the watersheds that drain to it. As an R&D agency, SCCWRP’s reputation is built on conducting research and translating this science into actionable guidance and recommendations that inform management decision-making and policy development.
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Latest News

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Upcoming Meetings

Seminar: "Aquaculture in the era of climate change: Utilizing biological modeling and physiological studies to benefit industry, climate and the urban ocean" -
Seminar: "Building interdisciplinary partnerships to advance climate change science and test adaption solutions" -
Seminar: "The interagency ecology program: A long term approach to collaborative applied science in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta" -
Seminar: "Ionocytes: A bioindicator of environmental stress?" -
Seminar: “Research and monitoring for environmental management at Lake Tahoe” -
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Latest Publications

Schiff, K.C., K. McLaughlin, S.L. Moore, Y. Cao. 2019. Southern California Bight. World Seas: An Environmental Evaluation pp. 465-482. Academic Press. London, UK.

Doughty, C.L., K.C. Cavanaugh, R.F. Ambrose, E.D. Stein. 2019. Evaluating regional resiliency of coastal wetlands to sea level rise through hypsometry‐based modeling. Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.14429.

Zimmer-Faust, A.G., C.A. Brown, A. Manderson. 2018. Statistical models of fecal coliform levels in Pacific Northwest estuaries for improved shellfish harvest area closure decision making. Marine Pollution Bulletin 137:360-369.

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Research Portfolio

Research Portfolio

SCCWRP is a regional aquatic science research agency with national impact. Learn more about the agency’s broad research portfolio and how it shapes development of informed water-quality management strategy. More »

Management Connections

Management Connections

SCCWRP is neither an academic research institution nor environmental consulting firm. Learn how the agency meets the R&D needs and priorities of Southern California’s water-quality management community. More »

Scientific Publications

George Robertson of the Orange County Sanitation District, left, and Ashley Booth, center, and Erin Oderlin of the City of Los Angeles Sanitation calibrate and prepare an XPRIZE-developed ocean pH monitoring sensor for a test deployment in nearshore waters off Crystal Cove. All four of SCCWRP’s POTW member agencies participated in the training exercise in early August.

SCCWRP has collaborated with nearly 200 organizations on peer-reviewed journal articles in recent years. Explore the institutional affiliations of all of SCCWRP’s recent co-authors. More »

Scientific Leadership

Scientific Leadership

SCCWRP scientific staff hold more than 100 leadership roles with professional scientific societies, advisory committees and peer-reviewed journals. Learn more about SCCWRP engages with the broader scientific community. More »