When Does the Eel River Turn Toxic? Patterns in Cyanotoxin Occurrence 2013-2016

Methods

Summary

In collaboration with UC Berkeley and the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Eel River Recovery Project has collected hundreds of samples using Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) resin devices in the years 2013-2016.  Once UC Santa Cruz completes its laboratory work to quantify the amount of cyanotoxins in the samples, we will use graphical and statistical analyses to assess questions such as:

- Which sites and sub-basins have the highest concentrations of cyanotoxins?

- Can variations in water temperature and streamflow between sites and years explain the differences in cyantoxins? Our study included historic drought years as well as years with more typical rainfall, providing a unique opportunity to evaluate a range of conditions.

- Does the start date of adverse conditions when public health risk becomes significant vary between years?

- Are there some sub-basins where we need additional samples to have a better understanding of the cyanotoxin problem?

- Would a monthly sampling program provide sufficient resolution?