Who We Are

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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Latest News

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Upcoming Meetings

February 6, 2026
Seminar: “Assessing Sanitary Sewer Exfiltration and Its Nitrogen Loads in Watershed-Scale Models from the North Carolina Piedmont and Chesapeake Bay Basin”

March 7, 2025
SCCWRP Commission meeting

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Latest Publications

Fassman-Beck, E., D. Xin, S. Sauers, D. Nguyen, J. Gray. 2026. Field Monitoring of Microplastics Loading and Accumulation in Biofiltration Best Management Practices. Technical Report 1457. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, CA.

Lie, A.A.Y., M.M. Coffer, M. Van Dyke, C. Nilson, J. Smith. 2026. California’s approach to standardizing cyanobacterial bloom metrics derived from satellite imagery. Ecological Indicators

Sutula, M., F. Kessouri, C.A. Frieder, N. Lombardo. 2025. Quality Control Procedures for the Development, Validation and Science Applications of the Regional Ocean Modeling System with Biogeochemical Elemental Cycling Model (2019-2026). Technical Report 1444. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, CA.

RD Mazor. 2025. Bioassessment Survey of the Stormwater Monitoring Coalition: Workplan for Years 2021 through 2025 Version 6.0 (2026 continuation year). Technical Report 1174. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, CA.

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Research Portfolio

Research Portfolio

SCCWRP is a regional aquatic science research agency with national impact. Learn more about the agency’s broad research portfolio and how it shapes development of informed water-quality management strategy. More »

Management Impact

Management Impact

SCCWRP focuses on building a rigorous scientific foundation to inform management decision-making. Explore the organization’s most influential, impactful accomplishments of the past 50 years. More »

Scientific Publications

George Robertson of the Orange County Sanitation District, left, and Ashley Booth, center, and Erin Oderlin of the City of Los Angeles Sanitation calibrate and prepare an XPRIZE-developed ocean pH monitoring sensor for a test deployment in nearshore waters off Crystal Cove. All four of SCCWRP’s POTW member agencies participated in the training exercise in early August.

SCCWRP has collaborated with nearly 200 organizations on peer-reviewed journal articles in recent years. Explore the institutional affiliations of all of SCCWRP’s recent co-authors. More »

Scientific Leadership

Scientific Leadership

SCCWRP scientific staff hold more than 100 leadership roles with professional scientific societies, advisory committees and peer-reviewed journals. Learn more about how SCCWRP engages with the broader scientific community. More »