e-mail from Keith Lichten, Regional Water Quality Control Board, to      Greg Bartow, San Francisco Publich Utilities Commission,      accepting the proposed monitoring plan subject to terms included in the following discussion: Greg, Thank you for your email and for your patience.  As discussed below, we do accept the proposed monitoring plan.  We have the following additional discussion. As we discussed Friday, we remain concerned that the sampling may be of limited utility in addressing any potential public health and beneficial uses impacts to Lake Merced resulting from the discharge of large volumes of stormwater into the Lake, either directly or, perhaps, through a wetland filter.  We recognize that the current sampling is not intended to characterize Lake circulation or provide detailed information such as change over time in coliform levels in the Lake after a stormwater runoff event.  Additional sampling may be needed in the future to address the potential impacts of stormwater diversions with respect to public health and beneficial uses, before more permanent or larger-scale projects should be implemented.  As a part of that, it will also be important to consider what opportunities are present to communicate to Lake users any potential water quality issues. We strongly support the collaboration of Daly City and SFPUC staff, and welcome it as, indeed, necessary in order to develop a solution that may be capable of addressing upstream flooding issues and opportunities to augment Lake levels.  Additionally, we support in concept proposals such as the current draft/conceptual proposal, which is (or which may be?) to use freshwater stormwater runoff to augment Lake levels after discharging it through a constructed wetland filter.   As you state, we strongly support attempts to sample Lake water quality within 24 hours of a rainfall--and particularly 24 hours of a runoff event.  This has the potential to suggest, at least anecdotally, whether current sampling may be capturing peak pollutant levels resulting from runoff events. Also as you state, we understand that you will work to set up, within the next month, a meeting to discuss statistical analysis issues on the sampling.  This meeting will include Daly City and SFPUC staff/consultants (including those sufficiently versed in statistical analysis to discuss the project's approach and whether there may be opportunities to look at different analytical methods), Water Board staff, and members of the interested public (including John Plummer). Again, we support SFPUC's and Daly City's combined efforts, and are hopeful that your work will result in a win-win that can reduce Daly City flooding, help Lake levels, and appropriately protect public health and beneficial uses at the Lake (maybe that's win-win-win?).  We accept the 2005-2006 Lake Merced Sampling Plan prepared by EOA, Inc., with the two conditions described above. Please contact me as below if you have any questions or comments on this matter. Regards, -Keith H. Lichten, P.E. Senior Engineer San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board 1515 Clay Street, Suite 1400 Oakland, CA 94612 (510) 622-2380 direct (510) 622-2460 fax klichten@waterboards.ca.gov