The North Coast Regional Water Board is recommending that four local streams should be removed from the Clean Water Act 303(d) list of “impaired” waters because they are no longer considered polluted with E. coli, a type of fecal bacteria that is considered an indicator for pathogens that can make people sick, cause eye and wound infections. The streams are Little River, Lower Elk River/Martin Slough in Eureka, Gannon Slough/Campbell Creek in Arcata, and Norton/Widow White Creek in McKinleyville. Photo: Cattle grazing along Little River, not far upstream from Moonstone Beach. They sure are cute, but unless they are fenced away from streams, their poop can impact water quality and the health of people surfing, wading, swimming and harvesting shellfish downstream.This includes all but one of the streams that we got added to the 303(d) list in 2015 due to high levels of bacteria concentrations, particularly during “First Flush” the first major storms in the Fall. Only Jolly Giant Creek in Arcata is recommended to remain on the list due to ongoing high bacteria levels in both dry and wet weather.The Water Board’s reasoning is not that water quality in these four streams has improved. It’s that the bacteria standards for recreational waters has changed. The following beaches will remain on the 303(d) list due to bacteria pollution: Moonstone, Clam, Trinidad State, and Luffenholtz. Only Old Home Beach in Trinidad is being recommended for delisting. You can check out the complete list of recommendations by downloading this spreadsheet: Appendix A: 2026 303(d) List of Impaired Waters (XLS).Unfortunately, this decision isn’t being made based on the best available science. The Water Board arbitrarily decided not to use data from before October 2012, which eliminates all of the data that we submitted to get them listed in the first place. No changes have been made to reduce bacteria-polluted runoff, and the delisting does not consider impacts on shellfish harvesting, including commercial oyster farms in Humboldt Bay.They also failed to consider data from 2016, when we conducted focused studies of Little River and Janes Creek (which they refer to as McDaniel Slough) in coordination with Water Board scientists.Comments are due by noon on Wednesday, April 2. If you surf, wade, kayak, swim, fish, or paddleboard in Little River, Humboldt Bay, or Mad River Estuary, tell the Water Board not to delist these streams without considering the best available scientific information. The bacteria standards have changed, but the North Coast Basin Plan still says that "The bacteriological quality of waters of the North Coast Region shall not be degraded beyond natural background levels." We do not believe that all of the available data support delisting.Email your comments by noon on April 2 to:
Courtney Tyler, Clerk to the State Water Board at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Subject: “Comment Letter – 2026 California Integrated Report"
Include info on why you care about this issue, whether it's because you surf, bring children to play in Little River, or swim in Humboldt Bay.
Tell the Water Board to use all of the available data as required by the State's Listing Policy to ensure that the bacteriological quality of waters of the North Coast Region is not degraded beyond natural background levels.
Feel free to cc us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For more info, visit the State Water Board's 2026 California Integrated Report webpage. For more info on our bacteria research over the years, visit our Water Quality page.Thank you in advance for making your voice heard!
The North Coast Regional Water Board is recommending that four local streams should be removed from the Clean Water Act 303(d) list of “impaired” waters because they are no longer considered polluted with E. coli, a type of fecal bacteria that is considered an indicator for pathogens that can make people sick, cause eye and wound infections. The streams are Little River, Lower Elk River/Martin Slough in Eureka, Gannon Slough/Campbell Creek in Arcata, and Norton/Widow White Creek in McKinleyville. Photo: Cattle grazing along Little River, not far upstream from Moonstone Beach. They sure are cute, but unless they are fenced away from streams, their poop can impact water quality and the health of people surfing, wading, swimming and harvesting shellfish downstream.This includes all but one of the streams that we got added to the 303(d) list in 2015 due to high levels of bacteria concentrations, particularly during “First Flush” the first major storms in the Fall. Only Jolly Giant Creek in Arcata is recommended to remain on the list due to ongoing high bacteria levels in both dry and wet weather.The Water Board’s reasoning is not that water quality in these four streams has improved. It’s that the bacteria standards for recreational waters has changed. The following beaches will remain on the 303(d) list due to bacteria pollution: Moonstone, Clam, Trinidad State, and Luffenholtz. Only Old Home Beach in Trinidad is being recommended for delisting. You can check out the complete list of recommendations by downloading this spreadsheet: Appendix A: 2026 303(d) List of Impaired Waters (XLS).Unfortunately, this decision isn’t being made based on the best available science. The Water Board arbitrarily decided not to use data from before October 2012, which eliminates all of the data that we submitted to get them listed in the first place. No changes have been made to reduce bacteria-polluted runoff, and the delisting does not consider impacts on shellfish harvesting, including commercial oyster farms in Humboldt Bay.They also failed to consider data from 2016, when we conducted focused studies of Little River and Janes Creek (which they refer to as McDaniel Slough) in coordination with Water Board scientists.Comments are due by noon on Wednesday, April 2. If you surf, wade, kayak, swim, fish, or paddleboard in Little River, Humboldt Bay, or Mad River Estuary, tell the Water Board not to delist these streams without considering the best available scientific information. The bacteria standards have changed, but the North Coast Basin Plan still says that "The bacteriological quality of waters of the North Coast Region shall not be degraded beyond natural background levels." We do not believe that all of the available data support delisting.Email your comments by noon on April 2 to:
