Bibliography | Background | Hypotheses | Home

Stream Conditions: Water Quality

Aquatic organisms, including salmon and steelhead, can be negatively effected by water quality problems. In addition to cold water, salmon and steelhead need high levels of dissolved oxygen (>5 mg/l), a pH close to neutral (7.0) and limited nutrient and chemical pollution. The California State Water Resources Control Board and the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (2001) recognize cold water fish as a beneficial use of water under the under the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA). Water quality impairment in northwestern California is recognized for various water bodies through a triennial review under section 303 D of the CWA (NCRWQCB, 2001a). KRIS projects focus on factors that limit fisheries and water quality. Follow links below to discover more about the following major categories of water quality impairment.

Temperature Dissolved Oxygen pH Nutrients Other Pollutants

References

North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. 2001. Water Quality Control Plan for the North Coast Region. Staff report adopted by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board on June 28, 2001. Santa Rosa, CA. 124 p. Appendix.

Web Sites for Water Quality Information

EPA water quality standards  http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/standards/ 

Water Plan for SF Bay http://www.epa.gov/ost/standards/wqslibrary/ca/ca_9_san_francisco.pdf

GeoTracker (interactive map)  http://www.geotracker.swrcb.ca.gov 

Hach  Basic and clear descriptions of  pH, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, etc.  http://www.hach.com/h2ou/h2wtrqual.htm