The Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) is a research institute focusing on the coastal ecosystems of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

from watersheds to the ocean. SCCWRP was created as a

joint powers authority A joint powers authority (JPA) is an entity permitted under the laws of some U.S. states, whereby two or more public authorities (e.g. local governments, or utility or transport districts), not necessarily located in the same state, may jointly e ...

(JPA), which is an agency formed when multiple government agencies have a common mission that can be better achieved by pooling resources and knowledge. The purpose of SCCWRP is to gather the necessary scientific information to allow member agencies to effectively and cost-efficiently steward the Southern California coastal environment.

Location

SCCWRP is located in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

. SCCWRP's original location (in 1969) was Westwood, California, with subsequent offices in El Segundo, Long Beach and Westminster before moving to the present location in 2007.

Research

SCCWRP’s research foci include collaborative regional

environmental monitoring Environmental monitoring is the processes and activities that are done to characterize and describe the state of the environment. It is used in the preparation of environmental impact assessments, and in many circumstances in which human activit ...

, development of assessment tools to characterize environmental conditions, and modeling and analysis to answer relevant environmental management questions. Significant research topics include regional monitoring of the

Southern California Bight The Southern California Bight is a 692-kilometer-long (430 mi) stretch of curved coastline that runs along the West Coast of the United States and Mexico, from Point Conception in California to Punta Colonet in Baja California, plus the area of t ...

, beach

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

, hydromodification,

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...

marine debris Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created solid material that has deliberately or accidentally been released in seas or the ocean. Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and on coastlines, freque ...

, and

contaminants Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that renders something unsuitable, unfit or harmful for the physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc. Types of contamination Within the scie ...

of emerging concern. The organization also works to transition new technologies to the user community, and foster communication among different stakeholder sectors, including regulatory agencies,

wastewater Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of do ...

dischargers,

stormwater Stormwater, also written storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed lan ...

managers, academic researchers,

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

groups, technology developers, and industries affected by aquatic and marine resources.

History

SCCWRP was formed in 1969, at about the time when California’s Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act was passed, to prepare an integrative report about the effects of wastewater and other discharges on the Southern California coastal marine environment. Though originally intended as a three-year project, SCCWRP was reauthorized to conduct further research in 1972 owing to the many data gaps identified in the summary report. The JPA has since been amended several times, extending SCCWRP’s existence through to the present day.

Member Agencies

SCCWRP's original member agencies in 1969 included the five largest southern California metropolitan sanitation agencies (

City of San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

City of Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3,878,704 residents within the city ...

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

Sanitation District, Orange County Sanitation District, and

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises ...

).Kennish, Michael J (1998). ''Pollution Impacts on Marine Biotic Communities.'' Boca Raton, FL:

CRC Press The CRC Press, LLC is an American publishing group that specializes in producing technical books. Many of their books relate to engineering, science and mathematics. Their scope also includes books on business, forensics and information technol ...

. p. 151-152. In subsequent years, additional member agencies were added to the JPA. These include water quality regulatory agencies added in 1990 (

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...

, Region IX;

California State Water Resources Control Board The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) is one of six branches of the California Environmental Protection Agency. History This regulatory program has had the status of an official government department since the 1950s. The ...

; Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board; Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board; and San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board) and the largest southern California stormwater management agencies added in 2003 (Ventura County Watershed Protection District, Los Angeles County Flood Control District, Orange County Public Works, and

County of San Diego San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

). The most recent addition was the California Ocean Protection Council, which was added in 2007 to enhance interactions with the

California Resources Agency The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) is a state cabinet-level agency in the government of California. The institution and jurisdiction of the Natural Resources Agency is provided for in California Government Code sections 12800 and 1 ...

References

External links