Research Areas > Stormwater > Runoff Characterization > Reference Conditions

Project Group: Reference Conditions

SCCWRP Research

Most routine water quality compliance monitoring focuses on geographical areas with known discharges or that receive runoff from urban or agricultural land uses. Assessing water quality in areas with minimal disturbances, though, can provide important context for interpreting compliance and general condition data. Establishing reference conditions provides a basis of comparison, and allows establishment of targets for remediation. It also facilitates an understanding of natural patterns of variability. This helps differentiate actual water quality problems from changes associated with natural climatic cycles, or inherent fluctuations in monitoring data. Unfortunately, characterization of water quality from natural areas is seldom included in routine monitoring programs, so that regional data on reference conditions are not typically available.

SCCWRP research investigates background water quality patterns at streams and beaches that drain catchments with little to no human disturbance. Data is collected for a variety of constituents including bacteria, sediment, metals, and nutrients. Information is compiled from a range of sites throughout southern California during both storm (wet-weather) and non-storm (dry-weather) conditions in order to establish regional reference conditions.

Reference condition research projects include:

• Assessment of Water Quality Concentrations and Loads from Natural Landscapes during Storm and Non-Storm Conditons
• Fecal Indicator Bacteria (FIB) Levels during Dry Weather from Southern California Reference Streams
• Microbiological Water Quality at Non-Human Impacted Reference Beaches in Southern California during Wet Weather