Northern CA PPSR Projects 1

First Flush - Monterey Bay

• Organization Name

  Coastal Watershed Council
• Project Website

  http://coastal-watershed.org/first-flush/
• Organization Website

  http://coastal-watershed.org/
• Partners

  Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary; the California Coastal Commission; California Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board
• Contact Name

  Debie Chirco-Macdonald
• Contact Email

  djchirco@coastal-watershed.org
• Contact Phone

  (831)464-9200
• Other Contact Information

  Volunteer sign-up page: http://coastal-watershed.org/how-can-i-help/volunteer-signup/

  See also Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Citizen Watershed Monitoring Network: http://montereybay.noaa.gov/monitoringnetwork/about_us.html#activities

  Lisa Emanuelson, Coordinator, lisa.emanuelson@noaa.gov

• Project Purpose (taken from project materials)

  Sample storm drain runoff during the first significant rainfall of the wet season. During the first rainfall, water washes significant levels of pollution off street surfaces, driveways, and curbs and into storm drains. This concentrated mix of often polluted water flows directly from these storm drains into creeks, rivers and the Monterey Bay.

• Participant Activities

  Volunteers monitor specific storm drains during the first initial runoff. Volunteers are trained to collect water samples that are sent to a professional lab to assess levels of non-point source pollutants such as nutrients (nitrate, orthophosphate and urea), metals (copper, lead and zinc), bacteria (total coliform, enterococcus and E.coli), hardness, and total suspended solids. Additionally, volunteers are trained to monitor water temperature, conductivity, pH, and transparency at the storm drains.

• Data Entry

  • Website
  • Collection Kits
• Other Participant Activities

  N / A
• System Studied

  • Water Quality
  • Wetlands - Freshwater Streams and Marshes
• Geographic Scope

  Local
• Region

  Santa Cruz
• Location

  Creeks and run-off sites in the Monterey Bay Watershed (see http://50.16.247.99/cwc-data-portal-ver2/ for First Flush sites)
• Location - Map

  Soquel, CA
• Time Commitment

  • Once a year
• Volunteer Qualifications

  N / A
• Volunteer Training

  Volunteers are trained to collect water samples and to monitor water temperature, conductivity, pH, and transparency at the storm drains.

  Website resources include background information on watersheds and monitoring, policy and science implications and links to data portal.

• Cost to Participant

  N / A
• How will the findings be used?

  Data is displayed on the Coastal Watershed Council's Stewardship Portal: http://50.16.247.99/cwc-data-portal-ver2/

  First Flush results are compared to the Central Coast Ambient Monitoring Program’s (CCAMP) Action Levels. These action levels are not used for regulatory purposes. Rather, they provide guidance on potential impacts to the health of the marine ecosystem.

• Other Information

  First Flush happens in the fall each year - contact Debie ASAP to get trained in time to participate.

• Photo

  
• last update:

  9/26/12