SWAMP - Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program

SCIENTIFIC REVIEW

An external scientific panel, the Scientific Planning and Review Committee (SPARC), was organized by SWAMP to review study design, approaches, indicators and other relevant topics. Committee members are representatives from federal and state agencies and academics with expertise in fields such as monitoring program management, fish habitat, invertebrates, sediment, organic chemistry, metals chemistry, quality assurance, pathogens, toxicology and statistics.

The committee held a two-day meeting in May 2002, at which staff from the nine Regional Boards presented past, ongoing and future SWAMP activities. The committee submitted comments and recommendations in September 2002.

The four comments/recommendations are summarized below:

1. The SPARC recognizes that the level of funding is not adequate to meet all of the program's objectives
   
   
2. The SPARC strongly recommends that each Regional Board arrange for rigorous external scientific review of its monitoring plans.
   
   
3. Key program objectives, such as adequate 305(b) reporting, are not currently being met. While there was no consensus, strong support was expressed by various SPARC members for two potential activities to address these program short-comings:
   
   
   1. Establish a consistent statewide monitoring protocol for a particular parameter; and
      
      
   2. Develop a matrix of recommended monitoring protocols for each variable based on environmental setting.
      
      
4. The SPARC notes the importance of the on-going development of quality assurance and control plans for monitoring procedures employed by SWAMP.

 

(updated 7/27/05)