Chapters 1 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Refuge Resources
(EDL) in the tissue of mussels placed in Anaheim Bay for the purposes of the study (California
Water Boards 2007). The Mussel Watch data for Huntington Harbour showed levels of lead,
chromium, aldrin, chlordane, DDE, DDT, endrin, and heptachlor above EDL. These data,
although an indication of the present of toxics, do not provide adequate information to determine if
beneficial uses within the water bodies are being impacted. As a result, a thorough toxicity study
of Anaheim Bay and Huntington Harbour was initiated in 2001.
In 2007, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board released the results of the Anaheim
Bay and Huntington Harbour Sediment and Water Column Toxicity Study (California Water
Boards 2007), initiated in 2001. The goal of the study was to attain a comprehensive and current
assessment of the ambient water and sediment quality in the Anaheim Bay/Huntington Harbour
Complex and to establish baseline conditions for the area. The monitoring design involved a
stratified-random sampling design with a spatially systematic component that prevented the
clustering of sampling sites in an effort to achieve an unbiased representation of water quality
throughout the study area. The monitoring study consisted of sampling 60 sites, 30 each in
Anaheim Bay and Huntington Harbour. None of the sampling locations occurred within the
Refuge boundary; however, one sampling location (#26) was situated just to the east of the Pacific
Coast Highway bridge and two additional sampling sites (#3 and #29) were located to the just to
the southeast of the large, central tidal channel that extends up into the Refuge (refer to Figure 4-
1). The remaining sampling locations in Anaheim Bay were located to the west of Pacific Coast
Highway in Anaheim Bay proper. Sampling was conducted to measure sediment chemistry,
surface water chemistry, and benthic infauna. At each sample location, field measurements of the
water column were taken to measure pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, bottom depth,
turbidity, and total suspended solids. The results of the field measurements of the water column
for the three sampling sites located closest to the Refuge are provided in Table 4-3.
The toxicity study noted seasonal differences in the concentrations of various metals and organics
in sediments collected in Anaheim Bay. These differences occurred between wet and dry months;
however, a particular season was not consistently higher than the other. For example, wet season
samples had significantly higher concentrations of mercury than the dry season samples. Silver
concentrations on the other hand were higher in the dry season samples than in the wet season
samples. Total DDT and PCB concentrations were higher in the dry season than in the wet season
(California Water Boards 2007). In total for sampling sites near the Refuge, contaminants likely
to be associated with toxicity were present in sediments at sampling location #3, but at low
concentrations. The overall conclusions of the study were that Anaheim Bay supports a diverse
infaunal community that does not appear to be impaired. “The sediment geochemistry and
sediment toxicity analysis indicate a low probability of adverse effects” (California Water Boards
2007). Some seasonal effects were observed, particularly during the wet season when some
sediment toxicity was observed. This wet season toxicity is likely related to increased runoff from
watershed sources during the rainy season.
The Clean Water Act Section 303(d) Impaired Water Bodies list is updated about every two years.
In the latest update prepared in 2006 and approved by the USEPA on June 28, 2007, Anaheim Bay
was once again classified as an impaired water body on the 303(d) list. Identified pollutants or
stressors include dieldrin, nickel, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and sediment toxicity. The
proposed date for developing a TMDL for this water body is 2019. The adjacent Huntington
Harbour is also listed in the 2006 303(d) list. The identified pollutants in this water body include
chlordane, copper, lead, nickel, pathogens from urban runoff, PCBs, and sediment toxicity.
In accordance with California Water Code Section 13393, the California State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB) has developed sediment quality objectives for toxic pollutants for
Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan/Environmental Assessment 4-25