California

Water Quality Standards for California

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State Water Resources Control Board

Water Quality Standards Specific to Ocean Waters
State-wide Policies
Water Quality Standards for Salinity
Basin -Specific Water Quality Control Plans
Federal Rules Applicable to California
Maps

Water Quality Standards Specific to Ocean Waters

Water Quality Control Plan - Ocean Waters of California - California Ocean Plan - (PDF, 6.5M): (Effective December 3, 2001)
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State-wide Policies

Statement of Policy with Respect to Maintaining High Quality Waters in California, State Water Resources Control Board Resolution 68-16, October 24, 1968

Statement of Policy with Respect to Maintaining High Quality Waters in California, State Water Resources Control Board Resolution 68-16, October 24, 1968.

Memorandum from State Water Resources Control Board on Federal Antidegradation Policy, October 7, 1987 - (PDF, 1.8M)

Policy with Respect to Water Reclamation in California, State Water Resources Control Board Resolution 77-1, January 6, 1977.

Adoption of Policy Entitled "Sources of Drinking Water", State Water Resources Control Board Resolution 88-63, May 19, 1988.

Policies and Procedures for Investigation and Cleanup and Abatement of Discharges Under Water Code Section 13304, State Water Resources Control Board Resolution 92-49, as amended April 21, 1994 and October 2, 1996.

Water Quality Enforcement Policy, State Water Resources Control Board Resolution 96-030 (as amended by Resolution 97-085).

Amendment to the Water Quality Enforcement Policy, State Water Resources Control Board Resolution 97-085, September 18, 1997.

Adoption of the Water Quality Control Policy for Guidance on Development of Regional Toxic Hot Spot Cleanup Plans, State Water Resources Control Board Resolution 98-090, September 2, 1998.

Water Quality Control Policy on the Use and Disposal of Inland Waters Used for Powerplant Cooling, State Water Resources Control Board Resolution 75-58, June 19, 1975.

Water Quality Control Policy, July 6, 1972 - (PDF, 272K)

Water Quality Control Policy for the Enclosed Bays and Estuaries of California, State Water Resources Control Board Resolution 74-43 - (PDF, 695K)

Policy on the Disposal of Shredder Waste, State Water Resources Control Board Resolution 87-22, March, 1987 - (PDF, 128K)

Adoption of the Policy Regarding the Underground Storage Tank Pilot Program, State Water Resources Control Board Resolution 88-23, February 18, 1988 - (PDF, 585K)

Policy for Regulation of Discharges of Municipal Solid Waste, State Water Resources Control Board Resolution 93-62, June 17, 1993 - (PDF, 380K)

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Water Quality Standards for Salinity

1996 Review: Water Quality Standards for Salinity - Colorado River System, June 1996 - (PDF, 12M)

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Basin -Specific Water Quality Control Plans

Please note that the following Basin Plans contain provisions outside the scope of water quality standards. The dates provided here generally reflect the most recent effective date for the water quality standards portions of the Plans.

Regional Water Quality Control Board 1 (North Coast)

Water Quality Control Plan for the North Coast Region - (PDF, 12M): (Effective August 18, 1994)
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Regional Water Quality Control Board 2 (San Francisco Bay Region)

Water Quality Control Plan - San Francisco Bay Basin (Region 2) - (PDF, 14.7M)

(Effective November 13, 1995)

Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay Region: (Effective January 21, 2003) Adopts site-specific objectives for copper and nickel in the Lower South San Francisco Bay and an implementation plan.
Federal Withdrawal: (Effective November 6, 2003) Withdrawal of federally-promulgated aquatic life water quality criteria for copper and nickel applicable to South San Fransisco Bay.

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Regional Water Quality Control Board 3 (Central Coast)

Water Quality Control Plan - (PDF, 27.8M): (Effective September 8, 1994)
Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Central Coast Region (coming soon): (Effective August 22, 2003) This amendment removes the nitrate objective for the San Lorenzo River from Chapter 3 of the Basin Plan.
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Regional Water Quality Control Board 4 (Los Angeles)

Water Quality Control Plan, Los Angeles Region - (PDF, 18.7M)

(Effective February 25, 1995)

Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Los Angeles Region (PDF, 22KB): (Effective February 10, 2004) This amendment for the coastal watersheds of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties incorporates language authorizing the inclusion of compliance schedules in NPDES permits.
Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Los Angeles Region (PDF, 4M): (Effective January 27, 1997)
Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Los Angeles Region (PDF): (Effective September 25, 2002) This amendment updates bacteria objectives for waterbodies designated for Water Contact Recreation.
Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Los Angeles Region (PDF): (Effective June 19, 2003) This amendment updates ammonia water quality objectives and implementation procedures for inland surface waters, enclosed bays, and estuaries which are characteristic of freshwater and support aquatic life.
Amendments to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Los Angeles Region (PDF, 320K): (Effective June 19, 2003) These amendments incorporate 1) implementation provisions for the bacteria objectives and 2) the Santa Monica Bay Beaches wet-weather TMDL and 3) the Santa Monica Bay Beaches dry-weather TMDL.

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Regional Water Quality Control Board 5 (Central Valley)

Water Quality Control Plan for the Tulare Lake Basin, Second Edition - 1995 - (PDF, 8.0M)

(Effective July 20, 1995)

Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Tulare Lake Basin: (Effective January 6, 2004) This amendment modifies language addressing antidegradation policies.

Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary - (PDF, 5.1M)

(Effective May 1995)

Water Quality Control Plan, Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins - (PDF, 432K)

(Effective September 15, 1998) This is the Fourth Edition, which includes an amendment from 1996.

Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins for Clear Lake (PDF, 4.6M): (Effective September 26, 2003) These amendments establish a program for the control of mercury in Clear Lake.
Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins for Deer Creek (PDF, 2M): (Effective October 15, 2003) These amendments establish site-specific objectives for pH and turbidity for Deer Creek in Sacramento and El Dorado counties.
Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins: (Effective January 6, 2004) This amendment modifies language addressing antidegradation policies.

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Regional Water Quality Control Board 6 (Lahontan)

Water Quality Control Plan for the Lahontan Region, North and South Basins - (PDF, 50M)

(Effective October 1994)

Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Lahontan Region, North and South Basins, Table 2-1 (PDF, 68KB): (Effective April 29, 2002) This amendment removes the potential Municipal and Domestic Supply (MUN) use designation.
Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Lahontan Region, North and South Basins (PDF, 36KB): (Effective January 12, 2004) These amendments are editorial revisions that pertain to restatements of existing water quality standards for the purpose of clarity and corrections of formatting or typographic errors in the Basin Plan.

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Regional Water Quality Control Board 7 (Colorado River Basin)

Water Quality Control Plan, Colorado River Basin - (PDF, 5.8M): (Effective August 8, 1994)

Regional Water Quality Control Board 8 (Santa Ana)

Water Quality Control Plan, Santa Ana River Basin - (PDF, 15M)

(Effective July 17, 1997)

Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin - (PDF, 11KB): (Effective July 15, 2002) This amendment incorporates language to authorize the inclusion of compliance schedules in NPDES permits under specified circumstances.

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Regional Water Quality Control Board 9 (San Diego)

Water Quality Control Plan for the San Diego Basin - (PDF, 38M): (Effective March 12, 1997) This is the 1994 Edition, which includes water quality standards amendments from 1996 and 1997. Basin Plan on the State of California website.
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Federal Rules Applicable to California

Federal Regulations, 40 CFR 131.36 - (PDF, 121K): Toxics criteria for those states not complying with Clean Water Act section 303(c)(2)(B). This federal regulation establishes water quality criteria for certain toxic pollutants. The regulation is also known as the National Toxics Rule.
Federal Regulations, 40 CFR 131.37 - (PDF, 85K): Federal regulation establishing water quality criteria applicable to waters specified in the Water Quality Control Plan for Salinity for the San Francisco Bay/San Joaquin Delta Estuary.
Federal Regulations, 40 CFR 131.38 - (PDF, 191K): Federal regulation promulgates water quality criteria for priority toxic pollutants in the State of California for inland surface waters and enclosed bays and estuaries. This section also contains a compliance schedule.
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