The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is a long-term monitoring program established in the early 1990s that investigates long-term trends in contamination in multiple media throughout San Francisco Bay. AMS has supported monitoring efforts associated with collection of water quality, sediment quality, and biotic information since project initiation and continues to this day.
The RMP was created in 1993 through a San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board Resolution that directed the Executive Officer to implement a regional monitoring plan for San Francisco Bay in collaboration with permitted dischargers pursuant to California Water Code, Sections 13267, 13383, 13268, and 13385. The goal was to replace individual receiving water monitoring requirements for dischargers with a comprehensive Regional Monitoring Program.
The original objective of the program, understanding the status and trends of contamination throughout the San Francisco Estuary, incorporated a broad characterization phase to better understand contaminant concentrations in water, sediment, and biota. Multiple sampling events were scheduled per year to incorporate a degree of temporal variation, and sampling range extended from Guadalupe Slough in the lower South Bay up into the lower Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. As this characterization phase provided a more in-depth understanding of the Estuary, the RMP was expanded over time to focus on different monitoring and management-related aspects, including investigations of sources, loadings, and biological effects of contaminants. The Program continues to evolve to this day as our understanding changes and management needs dictate.
AMS was integral to the establishment and functioning of the RMP. Initially, AMS’ responsibilities included coordination of all field activities, subcontracting for analytical services, data management and quality control, and reporting. AMS identified and collaborated with SFEI and various academic and commercial laboratories to help develop methods capable of measuring contaminants at environmentally-relevant concentrations to support management decision making. Over time SFEI has grown and taken on many of these responsibilities, but AMS continues to play a key role in implementation of the Status and Trends monitoring component as well as supporting various special studies.
AMS Contact:
Paul Salop serves as project manager for AMS for the RMP. He is a water quality expert with over 25 years of experience supporting a wide variety of private, non-profit, academic, and regulatory and resource management agencies.