Science activity

Science activity #53411, updated 22 May 2025

Continuous Flow and Water Quality Monitoring Network in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

Description / purpose

This project envisions the continuation, expansion, and further integration of high frequency monitoring for flow, water quality (including chlorophyll and nutrients), sediment, as well as biological responses at key locations in the Delta and Suisun Bay. The physical properties monitored by the fixed-station network are the primary drivers of the habitat conditions and biological responses that management actions hope to achieve. Nutrient dynamics are explicitly measured at select stations to improve our understanding of how physical dynamics, water quality and landscape features shape the base of Delta food webs. These data will provide information about drivers linked to food quantity and quality as well as potential toxins production by harmful algae. Suspended-sediment monitoring provides an understanding of the inputs and internal exchanges between regions, locations of sources and sinks, and provides insight into the underlying cause of turbidity variability in the study area. Suspended-sediment measurements gage the availability of suspended sediment for existing marshes and for proposed large-scale marsh restoration efforts in the Delta. There are a total of 4 teams associated with this work: • Hydrodynamics Team – Fixed Station Network Operation and Maintenance (Flow, Velocity, Gage Height, Core WQ) • BioGeoChemistry Team -- Fixed Station Network Operation and Maintenance (Expanded WQ, Nutrients, Phytoplankton) • Delta Sediment Team – Fixed Station Network Operation and Maintenance (Suspended Sediment, Delta) • Bay Team – Fixed Station Network Operation and Maintenance (Suspended Sediment and WQ in SF Bay)

Linked science activities

None specified
  • Map of USGS Monitoring Locations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

Activity status

  • 1 Awarded / Initiating (2023)
  • 2 In progress / Ongoing
  • 3 Complete

Funding summary

Total allocated funding: $24,295

Label Value
Contract # or labor code R23PG00065
Implementing organization U.S. Geological Survey [USGS]
Funding organization U.S. Bureau of Reclamation [USBR]
Funding Source Not provided
Date of award 2023-06-26
Date of fiscal year-end 2025-03-30
Total award amount $14,335
State type of obligation Not provided
Federal type of obligation Interagency Agreement
Reimbursability Not provided
Procurement mechanism Contracted competitive or direct award
Label Value
Contract # or labor code None
Implementing organization U.S. Geological Survey [USGS]
Funding organization California Department of Water Resource [DWR]
Funding Source Not provided
Date of award 2025
Date of fiscal year-end Not provided
Total award amount $5,037
State type of obligation Not provided
Federal type of obligation Not provided
Reimbursability Not provided
Procurement mechanism Not provided
Label Value
Contract # or labor code None
Implementing organization U.S. Geological Survey [USGS]
Funding organization U.S. Geological Survey [USGS]
Funding Source Not provided
Date of award 2025
Date of fiscal year-end Not provided
Total award amount $900
State type of obligation Not provided
Federal type of obligation Not provided
Reimbursability Not provided
Procurement mechanism Not provided
Label Value
Contract # or labor code None
Implementing organization U.S. Geological Survey [USGS]
Funding organization U.S. Bureau of Reclamation [USBR]
Funding Source Not provided
Date of award 2025-04-01
Date of fiscal year-end 2025-09-30
Total award amount $4,023
State type of obligation Not provided
Federal type of obligation Not provided
Reimbursability Not provided
Procurement mechanism Not provided

Location

Subbasins
Delta regions

Geographic tags

None specified

Products and outputs

Type Title Description Views
Report Physics to Fish: Understanding the Factors that Create and Sustain Native Fish Habitat in the San Francisco Estuary The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) operates t 2
File Hydrodynamics structure plankton communities and interactions in a freshwater tidal estuary Drivers of phytoplankton and zooplankton dynami 0
File Dispersion and stratification dynamics in the upper Sacramento River deep water ship channel Hydrodynamics control the movement of water and 0
File A lagrangian-to-eulerian metric to identify estuarine pelagic habitats Estuaries are among the world’s most producti 0