San Diego Coastkeeper


Mission Bay Citizen Project

Mission Bay Citizen Water Quality Monitoring and Education Project

Covering over 4,000 acres, Mission Bay Park is the West Coast's largest aquatic park and represents one of the City of San Diego's unique treasures. The Park is used year-round for walking, jogging, picnicking, swimming, rowing, sailing, fishing and water-skiing. Besides its value for recreation, Mission Bay Park also hosts a diverse assemblage of species indigenous to the southern California coastline, and is home to several wildlife preserves that provide important habitat for the federally endangered Least Tern, Brown Pelican and Light-footed Clapper Rail. Designated beneficial uses of the Park include water recreation, commercial and sport fishing, shellfish harvesting, spawning, migration, marine habitat and wildlife habitat. Unfortunately, the effects of urbanization within the Mission Bay watershed have affected the overall water and sediment quality of the Bay. The Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) has identified 1,540 acres of Mission Bay as impaired under the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) due to elevated coliform bacterial levels, and portions of the Bay also are listed as impaired by lead and eutrophication. While some monitoring has been performed in Mission Bay, data collection efforts typically have focused solely on bacteria and, therefore, human health impacts of pollution, ignoring a systemic approach aimed at understanding and preserving ecological communities within the Bay. Moreover, the data gathered by regulatory agencies, municipalities, businesses and volunteer groups often are incompatible, poorly organized and rarely reviewed fully, limiting their usefulness.

To better understand the status of ecological communities within Mission Bay, the University of San Diego, in conjunction with project partners AMEC Earth and Environmental and BayKeeper, have created a Citizen Water Quality Monitoring and Education Program, including a study of water quality, sediments, and pelagic and benthic communities in Mission Bay. Now entering its third year this project is an invaluable resource providing baseline data about Mission Bay.

Citizen volunteers are trained in the proper techniques of water sampling and analyses, as well as basic ecological principles. Monitoring takes place on a biweekly basis at six sites located within Mission Bay. Water samples are collected and the following parameters are measured: temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and nutrient levels. Baykeeper has developed and implemented a "Train the trainer" system in which experienced volunteers lead monitoring groups and help train those new to the program. In addition, Baykeeper conducts informational meetings at local high schools, community colleges, universities, civic and community organizations (e.g., Kiwanis, Chambers of Commerce) encouraging students, classes and concerned community members to participate as citizen monitoring volunteers.