A public agency applying next-generation science to aquatic ecosystems management - Since 1969 - Southern California Coastal Water Research Project

Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia

Researchers are documenting how corrosive coastal ocean conditions and low dissolved oxygen levels threaten the health of marine food webs.

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Bioanalytical Cell Screening Assays

Researchers are investigating how to adapt cell bioassays as a cost-effective screening tool to improve monitoring of bioactive chemical contaminants in aquatic systems.

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Harmful Algal Blooms

SCCWRP and its research partners are examining how to mitigate the proliferation of ecologically disruptive blooms in aquatic systems that threaten the health of wildlife and humans.

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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 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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November 6, 2026
Seminar: “Assessing and Monitoring Aquifer Recharge and Subsurface Water Dynamics in Natural and Built Environments”

December 4, 2026
SCCWRP Commission meeting

Hajibabaei, M., F. Leese, C. Abbott, H. Araki, D.J. Baird, P. Beja, K. Deiner, H. Doi, N. Fahner, K.D. Goodwin, M.E. Hunter, R.P. Kelly, K. Klymus, M. Kondoh, N. Olivia Mapholi, T. Minamoto, X. Pochon, T.M. Porter, S. Theroux, A. Trujillo-Gonzalez, A. Watts, H. Yamanaka, X. Zhang, J. Darling, K. Meissner. 2026. The International eDNA Standardization Task Force (iESTF): toward development of inclusive international standards for eDNA biodiversity monitoring. Metabarcoding and Metagenomics DOI:10.3897/mbmg.10.193334.

Taniguchi-Quan, K.T., J. Wiener, J. Ayers, B. Gibbons, A. Le Compte Santiago. 2026. Operationalizing Functional Flows to Inform and Evaluate Flood-Managed Aquifer Recharge (Flood-MAR) Diversion Approaches. Technical Report 1501. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, CA.

Walker, J.B., R.S. Smith, K.M. Beheshti, K.K. Johnston, C.R. Whitcraft, J.A. Crooks, M. Grubbs, H.M. Page, S. Schroeter, E.D. Stein, K.A. Uyeda. 2026. Comparison of Coastal Wetland Vegetation Assessment Methods in Southern California. Estuaries and Coasts

Tupitza, J., D.J. Gillett, A. Le Compte Santiago, J.B. Walker, C. Whitcraft, H. Lyford. 2026. Southern California Bight 2023 Regional Monitoring Program: Volume VIII. Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV). Technical Report 1488. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, CA.