Title
Body
MEMORANDUM
TO: Board of Directors, Lake County Watershed Protection District
FROM: Jim Steele, District 3 Supervisor
DATE: September 25, 2018
SUBJECT: (Sitting as Lake County Watershed Protection District, Board of Directors) Consideration of a Resolution in Support of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Funding and Implementing a Multi-Year Continuous Nutrient Monitoring Program to Measure Post-Fire Effects of the Mendocino Complex Fires on Clear Lake
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Mendocino Complex fires have burned 90,078 acres in the Middle Creek watershed, much of which is on federal lands owned by Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service. The fires removed vegetation and created conditions that will cause extreme stormwater runoff when winter rains arrive. In light of the recent fires, continuous water quality monitoring is necessary to determine phosphorus loading into Clear Lake and the effectiveness of post-fire management measures for our water resources.
Runoff from burned areas is likely to produce large phosphorus loads into Clear Lake as nutrient-rich soils are washed from the surrounding watershed. Phosphorus has been identified as contributing to significant cyanobacteria blooms that have created cyanotoxins impacting water supplies and water recreation. Phosphorus inputs are also regulated under the Regional Water Quality Control Board's Total Maximum Daily Load implementation plan for Clear Lake.
Since continuous monitoring collects samples throughout select storm events, it represents the most accurate method of measuring stormwater quality. There are no current plans to perform continuous monitoring of phosphorus or other water quality parameters in the watershed. Yet without accurate monitoring effectiveness of post-fire management measures can't be determined.
I recommend that our Board adopt the attached Resolution in support of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board establishing a c...
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