MONITORING/ASSESSMENT

Why Monitoring Matters

The Contra Costa Clean Water Program (CCCWP) conducts monitoring and assessment activities to protect the creeks and rivers of Contra Costa County watersheds as well as the connected San Francisco Bay and Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta waters. Monitoring helps evaluate how urban runoff and local land uses affect water quality and supports actions that protect aquatic life and community resilience.

These efforts are required under the Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit (MRP 3.0)—Order No. R2-2022-0018 and amended by Order No. R2-2023-0019—issued by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (Region 2). Additional monitoring and reporting requirements for East Contra Costa County jurisdictions are incorporated through Provision C.19 in coordination with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Region 5).

Through these activities, CCCWP and its 21 member agencies fulfill Clean Water Act obligations while advancing local goals to reduce pollutants, restore creek health, and promote sustainable stormwater management.

Understanding Monitoring and Assessment

Monitoring involves collecting physical, chemical, and trash data to better understand the conditions of local waterways. This includes:

Measuring pollutants such as metals, pesticides, nutrients, and trash
Evaluating stream flow and sediment
Evaluating the Green Infrastructure Plans for the inclusion of Low Impact Development (LID) drainage design into the storm drain infrastructure
Evaluating the effectiveness of trash discharge reduction strategies
Documenting biological indicators that reflect creek health

Assessment uses the data collected through monitoring to identify patterns, trends, and potential impacts on aquatic life. The results help determine how human activities influence local water quality and whether management actions—such as stormwater treatment controls or LID practices—are effective.

Together, these activities support data-driven decisions that improve stormwater management and water quality across Contra Costa County.

Our Goals

CCCWP’s monitoring and assessment program is designed to:

Detect pollutants in stormwater runoff and waterways
Determine impacts on local and regional waterways
Evaluate the effectiveness of management practices, such as LID and trash capture
Track long-term trends in water quality and watershed conditions
Support compliance with regional, state, and federal regulatory requirements

Program Coordination

CCCWP collaborates with regional and statewide partners through the Bay Area Municipal Stormwater Collaborative (BAMSC) and contributes to the Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay. These partnerships ensure consistent data collection, improve regional coordination, and strengthen scientific understanding of how urban runoff affects Bay and Delta ecosystems.

Key Monitoring Areas

Monitoring and assessment activities are organized under the following focus areas:

LID Monitoring – Evaluates pollutant removal and hydrologic benefits of Low Impact Development features, such as rain gardens and bioretention facilities.
Trash Monitoring – Determines how effective trash management actions are at preventing litter and debris from entering waterways.
PCBs and Mercury Reductions Monitoring – Supports monitoring and control measures for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and mercury, two key pollutants identified by the State of California as impairing local waterbodies.
Pesticides and Toxicity Monitoring – Assesses pesticide-related contaminants and potential toxicity impacts to aquatic organisms.
Methylmercury Monitoring (East Contra Costa County) – Implements monitoring required under Provision C.19 to address methylmercury and related pollutants in waterways within the Central Valley Water Board’s jurisdiction.
Creek Status Monitoring – Biological Assessment (bioassessment) monitoring evaluated biological, physical habitat and water quality conditions of designated water bodies Under MRP 1.0 and MRP 2.0. The Bay Area Municipal Stormwater Collaborative (BAMSC) completed a Regional Bioassessment Report for Water Years 2012 and 2022 under MRP 3.0.

Reports

CCCWP is responsible for the submission of several reports per the provisions detailed within MRP 3.0.

Monitoring reports are compiled annually through the Urban Creeks Monitoring Report. This document summarizes findings from each water year and documents progress toward meeting permit objectives. Archived MRP 3.0 Urban Creeks Monitoring Reports:
An integrated Monitoring Report (IMR) is completed once per 5 year Permit Term. This document reports on all data collected since the previous MRP IMR submission.
The Comprehensive Bioassessment Report for Water Years 2012-2022 presented the bioassessment findings to assist stormwater programs in understanding the current condition of regional waterbodies. This report was completed through a BAMSC regional collaboration.
Pollutants of Concern Annual Summaries of monitoring performed are provided as appendices within each archived annual Urban Creek Monitoring Report.