RESOURCES

San Diego Region - Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP)

Background

The Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP) is a statewide monitoring effort designed to assess the conditions of surface waters throughout the State of California. The State Water Resources Control Board established the SWAMP program in 2000. Under the SWAMP program, "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 responsibility for implementation of monitoring activities resides with the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards that have jurisdiction over their specific geographical areas of the State.

The SWAMP program in San Diego is designed to support and expand water quality assessments of our region's waters [Clean Water Act (CWA) section 305(b)]; determine whether water quality standards are met to support listings or de-listings of water quality limited segments [CWA section 303(d)]; and to provide information to help make decisions about problems and locations that should be prioritized in order to initiate or support site-specific actions, such as traditional enforcement. Additional objectives of the SWAMP are to identify long term trends in water quality, beneficial uses and habitat; support development and refinement of the Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI); develop lasting partnerships with stakeholders; and to disseminate information.

Under the SWAMP, we are collaborating to capture monitoring information collected through other State and Regional Water Board Programs such as the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), Nonpoint Source, and Watershed Project Support programs. Monitoring under SWAMP does not include effluent or discharge monitoring, which is covered under the various Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR) issued by the Regional Water Boards. The following existing surface water monitoring programs have been included as part of SWAMP: State Mussel Watch, Toxic Substance Monitoring Program, Toxicity Testing Program, and Coastal Fish Contamination Program.

Regional Monitoring

For the first five years (July through June) of the SWAMP program, monitoring efforts in the San Diego Region were focused on main stem rivers and streams and major tributaries within the various hydrologic units. There are eleven hydrologic units in the San Diego Region: San Juan, Santa Margarita, San Luis Rey, Carlsbad, San Dieguito, Penasquitos, San Diego, Pueblo San Diego, Sweetwater, Otay and Tijuana. Monitoring efforts were focused on two hydrologic units in each of four years and three hydrologic units in the fifth year. This approach ensured that SWAMP monitoring was conducted in each hydrologic unit in the region over a five-year period. Monitoring was conducted for conventional water chemistry, water and sediment toxicity, fish tissue contamination, and bioassessment.

Click here for a map of SWAMP monitoring locations.

More information regarding the ambient biological assessment monitoring program may be found on the San Diego Water Board's Website.

Data Availability

SWAMP data that has undergone the quality assurance process is available on the Internet. Toxicity information is not yet available on the Internet.

In order to access the SWAMP data visit: http://bdat.ca.gov

Select "Data Retrieval"

Select "Data Category" = water quality

Select "SWAMP" project or combine with multiple projects by holding down the "Ctrl" key.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

A goal of the SWAMP is to ensure that high quality data is produced by SWAMP efforts statewide. The SWAMP Quality Assurance and Quality Control Project Plan (QAPP) can be found at: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/swamp/qapp.shtml. This QAPP is the statewide standard for all-surface water monitoring conducted under various State grant programs. The SWAMP QAPP Website includes a template for preparing a SWAMP compatible QAPP for a surface water monitoring project.

For More Information

Please contact Ms. Cynthia Gorham-Test at (858) 467-2957, or email at ctest@waterboards.ca.gov.