Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP)

Program Description

SWAMP is a statewide monitoring effort designed to assess the conditions of surface waters throughout the State of California. The SWAMP program was first established in year 2000 by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).

For the purposes of SWAMP, “ambient” monitoring refers to any activity in which information about the status of the physical, chemical, and/or biological characteristics of the environment is collected to answer specific questions about the status and trends in water quality and/or beneficial uses of water.

The primary objectives of surface water monitoring at the Lahontan Region are:

• to determine (to the extent to which funding is available) whether ambient water quality at selected sites is in compliance with the chemical and physical water quality objectives contained in the Water Quality Control Plan for the Lahontan Region (Basin Plan) and the “California Toxics Rule.”

• to determine (to the extent to which funding is available) whether water flowing from California into the State of Nevada meets Nevada’s water quality objectives.

• to develop and implement (to the extent to which funding is available) tools to assess the biological integrity of the Region's streams and rivers based on instream benthic macroinvertebrate and periphyton assemblages.

Staff contact info and currently available reports, protocols, and data are summarized below. For more info, see also the SWRCB’s SWAMP website.

Contact Info for SWAMP staff at the Lahontan Region

• Tom Suk
  Regional Monitoring Coordinator, Lahontan RWQCB
  tsuk@waterboards.ca.gov
  (530) 542-5419

• Kelly Huck
  Requests for Data, Reports, Etc.
  khuck@waterboards.ca.gov
  (530) 542-5458

Available
[ Reports ] [ Data ] [ Protocols for Bioassessment & Habitat Assessment ]

Reports

• Comparison of the Performance of Different Bioassessment Methods: similar evaluations of biotic integrity from separate programs and procedures, by David B. Herbst and Erik L. Silldorff, June 2006

  Herbst & Silldorff – Methods Comparison (JNABS) - [ pdf - 252 KB ]

• Performance of Different Bioassessment Methods from California: Side by Side Comparisons of Field, Laboratory and Analysis Procedures for Streams of the Eastern Sierra Nevada, by David B. Herbst and Erik L. Silldorff, November 2004

  Herbst & Silldorff – Methods Comparison (tech report) -  [ pdf - 640 KB ]

• Macroinvertebrate Monitoring for the Bagley Valley Watershed Restoration Project on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest: Final Report, by David B. Herbst and Jeffrey M. Kane, September 2004

  Herbst & Kane – Bagley Valley Restoration - [ pdf - 318 KB ]

• Responses of Stream Channels, Riparian Habitat, and Aquatic Invertebrate Community Structure to Varied Livestock Grazing Exposure and Management in the West Walker River Watershed (Mono County, California), by David B. Herbst and Jeffrey M. Kane, May 2004.

  Herbst & Kane – West Walker Grazing - [ pdf - 2.06 MB ]

• Use of Diatoms and Soft Algae as Indicators of Stream Abiotic Determinants in the Lahontan Basin, by Dean W. Blinn and David B. Herbst, December 2003

  Blinn & Herbst - Periphyton - [ pdf - 1.09 MB ]

• Development of Biological Water Quality Targets for Assessment of Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) of Sediment in the Squaw Creek Watershed (Placer County, California), by David B. Herbst, April 2002

  Herbst – Squaw Creek Bioassessment - [ pdf - 641 KB ]

• Investigation of Near Shore Turbidity at Lake Tahoe, by Kendrick Taylor, March 2002

  Taylor – Tahoe Turbidity - [ pdf - 1.48 MB ]

• Biomonitoring on the Upper Truckee River Using Aquatic Macroinvertebrates: Watershed Restoration Baseline Data for 1998-2000, by David B. Herbst, December 2001

  Herbst – Upper Truckee River Bioassessment -  [ pdf - 921 KB ]

Data

• Data generated by the SWAMP program are posted on the Internet on an ongoing basis, as soon as quality assurance checks are completed. To access available SWAMP data on-line, follow the instructions at: http://mpsl.mlml.calstate.edu/SWdata.htm.
• Note:  Only “raw” data are available at the website listed above. More detailed assessments of the Lahontan Region’s SWAMP data for years 2000-2005 are available as described below. If you have questions, you may contact Water Board staff.
  
  
• SWAMP Summary Report, 2000-2005.  Lahontan Water Board SWAMP staff has prepared an assessment report for years 2000-2005. The report summarizes comparisons of SWAMP results to regulatory criteria contained in the Lahontan Basin Plan, California Toxics Rule, California Primary MCLs and California Secondary MCLs. Note: This report assesses and summarizes the results, but does not contain the actual data.
  • Fact Sheet (4MB)
  • SWAMP Summary Report 2000-2005
    
    
• SWAMP results for years 2000-2005, by Hydrologic Unit.  Below are links to spreadsheet workbooks for each water body where sampling was conducted by the SWAMP program within the Lahontan Region from 2000-2005. The workbooks provide raw data as well as comparisons of the results to numerous regulatory and non-regulatory (i.e., advisory) criteria, including criteria contained in the Lahontan Basin Plan, California Toxics Rule, California Primary MCLs, California Secondary MCLs, California Public Health Goals, USEPA primary MCLs, USEPA secondary MCLs, USEPA (IRIS) Reference Dose (for Drinking Water), USEPA Health Advisory, USEPA National Ambient Water Quality Criteria, California DHS Action Level (Drinking Water), United Nations Water Quality for Agriculture criteria, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) Water Quality Criteria, and NDEP Water Quality Standards. For more information about these various water quality criteria, see: http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/centralvalley/water_issues/water_quality_standards_limits/water_quality_goals/
  
  
  
• Surprise Valley Hydrologic Unit (641.00)
  • Bidwell Creek
  • Mill Creek at Upper Lake (near Lake City)
  • Cedar Creek (near Cedarville)
    
    
• Susanville Hydrologic Unit (637.00)
  • Susan River above Willard Creek
  • Susan River near Litchfield
    
    
• West Fork Carson River Hydrologic Unit (633.00)
  • West Fork Carson River below Willow Creek
    
    
• East Fork Carson River Hydrologic Unit (632.00)
  • East Fork Carson River below Markleeville
    
    
• West Walker River Hydrologic Unit (631.00)
  • West Walker River near Coleville
    
    
• East Walker River Hydrologic Unit (630.00)
  • East Walker River near Stateline
  • Buckeye Creek above Campground
  • Robinson Creek below Barney Lake
  • Green Creek above Campground
  • Virginia Creek at Conway Summit
    
    
• Owens River Hydrologic Unit (603.00)
  • Mammoth Creek at Twin Lakes
  • Mammoth Creek Tributary
  • Mammoth Creek at Old Mammoth Road
  • Mammoth Creek at Highway 395
  • Hilton Creek at Lake Crowley
  • Rock Creek above Diversion
    
    
• Amargosa River Hydrologic Unit (609.00)
  • Amargosa River at Tecopa USGS gage
  • Amargosa River at Upper Canyon
  • Amargosa River below Willow Creek
  • Mesquite Springs (Death Valley National Park)
    
    
• Antelope Hydrologic Unit (626.00)
  • Little Rock Reservoir
    
    
• Mojave River Hydrologic Unit (628.00)
  • Deep Creek above Deep Creek Lake (near town of Arrowbear Lake)
  • Crab Creek at Crab Flats Road
• Sheep Creek below Lake Arrowhead Scout Camp
• Holcomb Creek at Crab Flats Road
• Mojave River below Forks Reservoir
• Mojave River at Upper Narrows

Protocols for Bioassessment & Habitat Assessment

• Protocols for SWAMP method (Feb 2007).  In February 2007, the SWAMP program published new protocols and guidance to be used for most ambient bioassessments of perennial wadeable streams in California. Those protocols (titled: Benthic Macroinvertebrates & Associated Data for CA Bioassessments – February 2007) are available at the State Water Board’s SWAMP website: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/swamp/reports.html.
  
  
• Other protocols.  It is important to note that, while the above protocols will be used in many situations, a variety of different protocols may be used or required in the Lahontan Region. For example, different taxonomic effort may be needed for some projects. Whenever bioassessment sampling is required by the Regional Water Board, the methods will be specified.
  
  
• Protocols for UC-SNARL method.  For projects that rely on the UC-SNARL methodology (developed in the 1990s), the Quality Assurance Project Plan for that method remains available at this website.