Study launched to determine chances of improving condition of Bay Area streams

SCCWRP has been invited by stormwater managers in the San Francisco Bay Area to participate in a one-year study that will shed light on where managers are more vs. less likely to find success in improving the health of the region’s watersheds.

The study, launched in November by the San Francisco Estuary Institute and its stormwater management partners, will use a computer modeling tool co-developed by SCCWRP that predicts the degree to which stream bioassessment scores are likely to be limited, or “constrained,” by urban and agricultural development.

SCCWRP will examine whether the Stream Classification and Priority Explorer (SCAPE) interactive web tool needs to be adapted and fine-tuned for use in Bay Area watersheds.

Watershed managers across Southern California already have been using the SCAPE tool to determine where they should direct their limited resources to get the biggest bang for the restoration buck.