A public agency applying next-generation science to aquatic ecosystems management - Since 1969 - Southern California Coastal Water Research Project

Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia

Researchers are documenting how corrosive coastal ocean conditions and low dissolved oxygen levels threaten the health of marine food webs.

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Bioanalytical Cell Screening Assays

Researchers are investigating how to adapt cell bioassays as a cost-effective screening tool to improve monitoring of bioactive chemical contaminants in aquatic systems.

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Harmful Algal Blooms

SCCWRP and its research partners are examining how to mitigate the proliferation of ecologically disruptive blooms in aquatic systems that threaten the health of wildlife and humans.

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The Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) is an aquatic sciences research institute that works to improve management of aquatic systems in Southern California and beyond. Since its founding as an intergovernmental public agency in 1969, SCCWRP has been developing strategies, tools and technologies that the region’s water-quality management community relies on to more effectively protect and enhance the ecological health of Southern California’s coastal ocean and watersheds that drain to it. As an R&D agency, SCCWRP’s reputation is built on conducting research and translating this science into actionable guidance and recommendations that inform management decision-making and policy development.

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SCCWRP Commission meeting -
SCCWRP Commission meeting -
SCCWRP Commission meeting -
SCCWRP Commission meeting -
SCCWRP Commission meeting -

Kalra, I., B.P. Stewart, K.M. Florea, J. Smith, E.A. Webb, D.A. Caron. 2025. Temporal and spatial dynamics of harmful algal bloom-associated microbial communities in eutrophic Clear Lake, California. Applied and Environmental Microbiology DOI:10.1128/aem.00011-25.

Mazor, R.D., J.S. Brown, L.L. Tiefenthaler, A. Le Compte Santiago, G. Keating. 2025. Hydrologic assessment of reference streams in the Los Angeles region. Technical Report 1412. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, CA.

Walker, J.B., K. O’Connor, K. Wasson, C. Crain, K.K. Johnston, R.F. Ambrose, C.R. Whitcraft, J. Crooks, K. Beheshti, M. Hall, K. Nichols, M. Clemens, E.D. Stein. 2025. Sentinel site networks as a mechanism to evaluate progress toward meeting restoration goals in altered and unaltered landscapes. Restoration Ecology DOI:10.1111/rec.70062.

Xin, D., J. Choi, D.K. Cha, B.P. Hubbard, S.M. Sheets, P.C. Chiu. 2025. Optimizing Fenton process for efficient destruction of energetic compounds in insensitive munitions explosives (IMX) wastewater. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering