On June 13, 2018, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted Resolution No. R2-2018-0027, amending the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay Region. This amendment establishes a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for sediment in Pescadero-Butano watershed and an implementation plan to achieve the TMDL and related habitat enhancement goals.
The objective of this amendment is to reduce sediment deposition in Pescadero and Butano creeks and their tributaries, to support recovery of steelhead and coho salmon runs. The amendment is also expected to enhance channel habitat complexity and connectivity to the floodplain. The TMDL allocates discharges of sediment to natural erosion processes, non-point sources generated by human actions (e.g., roads, grazing, and accelerated bed and bank erosion along the creeks), and minor point sources including construction activities and stormwater runoff.
The amendment establishes:
* A sediment TMDL [LESS THAN EQUAL TO] 125 percent of natural background sediment load;
* Numeric targets for sediment, expressed as residual pool volume and substrate composition;
* Numeric targets for habitat condition, expressed as the amount of large woody debris in channels;
* Allocations for all significant sediment source categories;
* An implementation plan to achieve the TMDL and related habitat enhancement goals; and
* A plan and schedule for monitoring and evaluating progress toward meeting the targets.
Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 23, § 3919.19