Misplaced Pages

#182817

49-606: There are several restaurants, a hotel and a yacht club in the Berkeley Marina. There are also several walking and bicycle paths. The area is accessible from the rest of Berkeley by foot or bike over the Berkeley I-80 Bridge at the foot of Addison Street (one block south of University Avenue), and is traversed near Interstate 80 by a segment of the San Francisco Bay Trail . In addition, it

98-407: A body of water from diffuse sources such as runoff from storm water, which may contain road dirt or fertilizers and pesticides from lawns, as well as water that collects debris from construction sites and fecal matter from barnyards and flows into nearby rivers, streams and lakes.) The DFA has allocated about 4 billion dollars for the construction of sewage treatment plants in communities throughout

147-602: A first-of-its-kind Performance Report in 2009 describing the performance of the State and Regional Water Boards in protecting California's waters through implementation of existing water quality and water rights laws. Along with the Performance Report, the Water Boards led the State's Water Quality Monitoring Council's effort to launch a coordinated, statewide web portal named "My water quality" that communicates

196-482: A fund to help underground storage tank owners and operators pay for the costs of cleaning up leaking underground storage tanks. The State Water Board coordinates the state's nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards (Regional Water Boards), which serve as the frontline for state and federal water pollution control efforts. Together, the State Water Board and the nine Regional Water Boards are referred to as

245-699: Is one of six branches of the California Environmental Protection Agency . This regulatory program has had the status of an official government department since the 1950s. The State Water Pollution Control Board, as well as 9 regional boards, were established by the Dickey Water Pollution Act of 1949. The board was renamed to the State Water Quality Control Board by an Act of 1963. The State Water Resources Control Board

294-726: Is the Board Chair. Esquivel was born and raised in California's Coachella Valley, the son of educators and grandson of farm workers. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from U.C. Santa Barbara . He worked for eight and a half years in the Washington D. C. office of California's U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer . He started as an intern, leaving as Senator Boxer's Legislative Assistant. His portfolios for Senator Boxer covered agriculture, Native Americans, water, oceans, and nutrition. He

343-624: Is the western terminus of AC Transit Route 51B (University Avenue-Rockridge BART) on select trips only. The easternmost portion of the Marina, running parallel to I-80/580, is now a part of the Eastshore State Park . The Berkeley Marina was originally part of the open waters of San Francisco Bay . The original shoreline ran a few yards west of the Southern Pacific (now Union Pacific ) tracks on Third Street. The area

392-552: The California Department of Water Resources (DWR), which manages state-owned water infrastructure, such as dams, reservoirs and aqueducts. DWR, like any other water user, must apply for water rights permits from the State Water Board. Under the Federal Clean Water Act and the state's pioneering Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act the State Water Board has regulatory authority for protecting

441-655: The University Avenue pedestrian bridge and the Berkeley Marina overpass is a 15-foot (4.6 m)-wide bridge spanning the Eastshore Freeway ( Interstate 80 /580 ) in Berkeley, California . It forms part of the San Francisco Bay Trail . The bridge was constructed to allow bicycles, pedestrians, and wheelchair users access to the Berkeley Marina , Eastshore State Park , and the city. In

490-729: The Works Progress Administration in conjunction with its nearby work developing Aquatic Park . It was constructed just west of the West Berkeley Shellmound . During World War II , the Berkeley Yacht Harbor was used by the United States Navy to construct tug boats. From October 1961 until April 5, 1974 a heliport was operated by San Francisco and Oakland Helicopter Airlines (known as SFO Helicopter Airlines ) on

539-582: The Bay Bridge. Storms damaged the end of the pier over the years and it was closed. After World War II ended, it was repaired and re-opened in 1946 for fishing. In the 1970s, the city again repaired and upgraded the least damaged length of the Berkeley Pier, and it was in use until 2015 for fishing and viewing. Since about the late 1920s, the city municipal dump was located here, and the accumulated garbage and construction debris accounts for most of

SECTION 10

#1732790538183

588-900: The Berkeley Marina on San Francisco Bay, is a family-focused event that celebrates the Bay, and the people and organizations dedicated to its protection. Attendees can connect with the Bay and the local community through live music, performances, food, hands-on educational activities, and free boat rides. Prior to Berkeley Pier being closed, fishermen targeted sharks and rays year-round, as well as halibut from spring through summer and striped bass from spring through fall. They also caught smaller species, such as jacksmelt, pileperch, white seaperch, black perch, walleye surfperch, kingfish (white croaker), sand sole, and starry flounder. Fishing boats still use Berkeley Marina, and charter boats targeting halibut, striped bass, salmon, lingcod, rock cod, and Dungeness crab are available for fishermen to rent. The construction of

637-568: The Berkeley Marina through land reclamation and filling has had notable environmental consequences. The Berkeley Landfill, which now lies beneath César Chávez Park , operated between 1961 and 1983, accepting what was then considered non-hazardous waste. However, on January 18, 2024, the California Water Boards issued a letter requiring the City of Berkeley to conduct tests for potential radioactive substances that may exist within

686-669: The Berkeley Pier and the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco, a pier shared with the Sausalito ferry. During this period US Route 40 ran from San Pablo Avenue down University Avenue to the Berkeley Pier. The ferry service lasted until about 1937, after the 1936 opening of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge . Thereafter it became a fishing pier. US 40 was shifted to the new Eastshore Highway and

735-553: The California Water Boards. The Water Quality Division of the State Water Board develops statewide water protection plans and establishes water quality standards like the California Bays and Estuaries Policy . The Division has two branches: a surface water branch and a groundwater branch. The surface water branch focuses on monitoring and regulating storm water discharges and wastewater (sewage) treatment. It also monitors surface water quality, oversees protection of wetlands and

784-691: The Dickey Water Pollution Act and have been responsible for protecting the surface, ground and coastal waters of their regions since then. In adopting the Dickey Act the Legislature was acknowledging that California's water pollution problems are regional, and are affected by rain and snowfall, the configuration of the land, and population density, as well as recreational, agricultural, urban and industrial development, all of which vary from region to region. The Regional Water Boards develop basin plans for their natural geographic characteristics that affect

833-627: The Division of Water Rights, overseeing administration of water right change petitions, licensing, and cannabis cultivation permitting. From 2003 to 2015, Maguire worked for an engineering consulting firm. He was appointed in 2018. Laurel Firestone is a co-founder of the Community Water Center, a statewide nonprofit. She served on the Tulare County Water Commission from 2007 to 2012, and was appointed to

882-743: The SWRCB's alleged failure to protect these communities against pollutants in water systems. Tribal nations and minority groups have also accused the California State Water Resources Control Board of exclusion from public participation and policy-making. In March, Latino community members from the Central Coast filed a racial discrimination complaint over disparate levels of nitrate being found in groundwater serving Latino residencies. The nine semi-autonomous Regional Water Boards were created in 1949 by

931-594: The State Water Board or a court. In several basins, however, groundwater use is regulated in accordance with court decrees. Further, in Ventura , Los Angeles , San Bernardino , and Riverside counties, groundwater pumpers are required to report their groundwater extraction amounts to either the State Water Board or a local groundwater management agency. The State Water Board and the Regional Water Boards are responsible for swift and fair enforcement when

980-939: The State Water Board. The California State Water Resources Control Board oversees approximately 7,400 water systems. Each year, the SWRCB documents harmful health-based violations in approximately 7% of their community water systems. In their 2024 Drinking Water Needs Assessment, the State Water Board’s failing criteria identified 385 failing public water systems. Under their criteria, these water systems failed to meet safe standards either on groundwater contamination, outdated regulatory compliance, technical capacity, financial magnitude, or managerial scope. These public water systems provide drinking water to more than 900,000 California residents. A 2019 report found cancer-causing contaminants such as 1,2,3-TCP in roughly 495 public water systems in California. A 2023 public health journal found that groundwater and small water systems contain

1029-746: The State Water Resources Control Board in March 2017. As of June, 30 2021 Dorene D'Adamo is the board Vice Chair. D'Adamo was appointed to the board by Governor Brown in 2013. She previously served on the California Air Resources Board from 1999 to 2013 under the Brown, Schwarzenegger and Davis Administrations, where she was instrumental in the board's air quality and climate change programs and regulations. Sean Maguire previously worked as manager in

SECTION 20

#1732790538183

1078-534: The University Avenue freeway overpass. Since opening, the bridge has seen a much higher use than the previous path and stairwell. The National Bicycle Greenway has used it since 2003 in its Oakland to Berkeley Mayors' Ride. 37°51′52″N 122°18′11″W  /  37.86444°N 122.30318°W  / 37.86444; -122.30318 California State Water Resources Control Board The California State Water Resources Control Board ( SWRCB )

1127-402: The allocation of the state's water resources to various entities and for diverse uses, from agricultural irrigation to hydro electrical power generation to municipal water supplies, and for safeguarding the cleanliness and purity of Californians' water for everything from bubble baths to trout streams to ocean beaches. The State Water Board is separate from and has different responsibilities than

1176-701: The board in February 2019. Nichole Morgan served as an Assistant Deputy Director in the State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Financial Assistance. She worked in various capacities on the staff of the board, starting in 2009, and was appointed as the board's Civil Engineer in June, 2021. In July 2014, the California Department of Public Health passed down administration of the state’s Drinking Water Program to

1225-399: The city records, the bridge is referred to as the "City of Berkeley Eastshore Pedestrian Overcrossing". The bridge has two lanes for bikes and a raised sidewalk and is wide enough to carry emergency vehicles. Crossing 14 lanes of traffic, the main span is 85 metres (279 ft) long and the elevated approaches total 100 metres (330 ft) in length. Opened on February 27, 2002, the bridge

1274-1051: The commonly found contaminants uranium, arsenic, and nitrate; which if consumed in larger quantities than outlined in the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criteria, pose health detriments. Water system failures, health-based violations, and increased non-compliance are most commonly found in low-income, communities of color. A state auditor's report identified over two thirds of California's defected water systems in economically challenged districts. Research finds that marginalized groups such as Hispanics, Asian Americans, African-Americans and individuals residing in California Tribal Nations have increased chance of being exposed to unsafe and unregulated drinking water. The San Joaquin Valley for example hosts one third of California's failing water systems, and supplies water to one third of

1323-472: The dry land of the Berkeley Marina. In the early 1990s much of the former dump was landscaped and converted into a park, originally named "North Waterfront Park". The park was renamed César Chávez Park in 1996 to commemorate the late California labor leader. The actual Berkeley Marina, used by many people who sail on the Bay, was constructed as the Berkeley Yacht Harbor in the late 1930s by

1372-421: The environment or agriculture or that of large cities. Our charge is to balance all water needs of the state. Some call it a superhuman task, but through the years this Board, aided by its excellent staff, has done what I call a superhuman job of accomplishing that mandate despite the intensive historical, political, and economic pressures that always accompany California water issues. The State Water Board oversees

1421-405: The federal government. For the purpose of administering water rights, California categorizes groundwater as either a subterranean stream flowing through a known and definite channel or percolating groundwater. Groundwater that is a subterranean stream is subject to the same water right permitting requirements as surface water. California has no statewide water right permit process for regulating

1470-584: The food chain. The potential presence of radioactive materials raises further concerns due to the long-lasting and severe effects of radiation. Historical nuclear disasters such as Fukushima and Chernobyl demonstrate the devastating environmental and health impacts of radioactive contamination, which can persist for thousands of years, affecting soil, water, and surrounding ecosystems. 37°52′04″N 122°18′45″W  /  37.86767°N 122.3125°W  / 37.86767; -122.3125 Berkeley I-80 Bridge The Berkeley I-80 bridge also known as

1519-505: The form of grants and ultra-low interest zero and one-percent loans for projects that include wastewater treatment plant construction, upgrade and infrastructure improvements as well as "green" projects such as wastewater recycling . Under the 2009 stimulus program, the State Water Board handled $ 270.5 million in addition to more than $ 300 million normally loaned by the SRF each year. State Water Board members are appointed to four-year terms by

Berkeley Marina - Misplaced Pages Continue

1568-619: The goal of creating an enforcement system that addresses water quality problems in the most efficient, effective, and consistent manner. The State Water Board's Division of Financial Assistance (DFA) has a number of programs designed to help local agencies and individuals prevent or clean up water pollution. The DFA provides loans and grants for constructing municipal sewage and water recycling facilities, remediation for underground storage tank releases, watershed protection projects, and for nonpoint source pollution control projects. (Nonpoint source pollution usually involves contaminants flowing into

1617-518: The governor and are confirmed by the State Senate. Each salaried member fills a different specialty position. These represent engineering expertise, water quality expertise, public interest, and water supply. As of June 30, 2021 the members are E. Joaquin Esquivel (chair), Dorene D'Adamo (Vice Chair), Sean Maguire, Laurel Firestone, and Nichole Morgan. As of June 30, 2021 E. Joaquin Esquivel

1666-570: The landfill. According to the letter, these substances could originate from the aluminum extraction process from bauxite ore, which can result in heavy metal contamination. Additionally, Uranium-235 , a byproduct of aluminum processing and the primary fuel used in nuclear reactors , was also mentioned as a potential concern. Heavy metal pollution poses long-term environmental risks, as these substances are non-biodegradable and persist in ecosystems for extended periods. Plants and animals may accumulate these toxins, leading to contamination throughout

1715-610: The laws and regulations protecting California's waterways are violated. The State Water Board's Office of Enforcement assists and coordinates enforcement activities statewide. Enforcement serves many purposes. First and foremost, it assists in protecting the beneficial uses of waters of the State. Swift and firm enforcement can prevent pollution from occurring and can promote prompt cleanup and correction of existing pollution problems. Enforcement ensures compliance with requirements in State Water Board and Regional Water Board regulations, plans, policies, and orders. Enforcement not only protects

1764-478: The north side of University Avenue west of I-80 near the marina. This helicopter airline transported passengers to the San Francisco (SFO) and Oakland (OAK) international airports, and also at one point to downtown San Francisco. SFO Helicopter operated jet turbine powered Sikorsky S-61 and Sikorsky S-62 helicopters into the heliport which is no longer in existence. The Berkeley Bay Festival , held at

1813-418: The ocean, is active in environmental education and environmental justice issues, identifies and oversees clean-up of contaminated sites, and promotes low-impact development (LID). The groundwater branch provides statewide guidance and oversight for discharges to land and cleanup of sites with contaminated groundwater. The Water Rights Division of the State Water Board allocates surface water rights based on

1862-504: The overland flow of water in their area, govern requirements for and issue waste discharge permits, take enforcement action against dischargers who violate permits or otherwise harm water quality in surface waters, and monitor water quality. The Regional Water Boards are unusual in this state because their boundaries follow natural mountain chains and ridges that define watersheds rather than political boundaries. The 9 Regional Water Quality Control Boards are the: The Water Boards released

1911-566: The public health and the environment, but also creates an "even playing field," ensuring that dischargers who comply with the law are not placed at a competitive disadvantage by those who do not. It also deters potential violators and, thus, further protects the environment. Monetary remedies provide a measure of compensation for the damage that pollution causes to the environment and ensure that polluters do not gain an economic advantage from violations of water quality laws. In 2017, The State Water Board revised its water quality enforcement policy with

1960-628: The state through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program. Also, a billion and a half dollars in bond funds have gone to communities for water quality protection, including water quality planning, treatment of storm water and clean beaches since 2000. DFA also administers the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRI) funds through the State Revolving Fund. The money awarded is in

2009-870: The state's extremely complex system of water rights laws, and assists Board members in exercising the Board's judicial power in water rights disputes. The State Water Board is solely responsible for issuing permits for water rights, specifying amounts, conditions, and construction timetables for diversion and storage. Decisions about water rights are based on such factors as water availability, historical water rights, and flows needed to preserve in-stream uses, such as recreation and fish habitat. California recognizes several different types of rights to take and use surface water. Some water rights can only be held by government. These include pueblo rights, which can only be held by municipalities that were originally Mexican or Spanish pueblos, and federal reserved rights, which can only be held by

Berkeley Marina - Misplaced Pages Continue

2058-550: The state's immensely complex waterscape. The Porter-Cologne Act is recognized as one of the nation's strongest pieces of anti-pollution legislation, and was so influential that Congressional authors used sections of the Act as the basis for the Federal Clean Water Act . The late SWRCB chairman, Don Maughan, wrote: The State Water Board has never had the luxury of advocating protection of just one water need, such as

2107-661: The state's residents with high poverty rates. Federally recognized Tribal water systems included in the SWRCB' SAFER Drinking Program face data insufficiency for at-risk water system assessment. In September 2022, the California State Water Resources Control Board added Assembly Bill 2108 to their Water Code to help eliminate these disparities. The bill's goals are equitable and reinforced measures for Tribal nations and low-resourced communities affected by disproportionate water quality violations. However, Tribal nations, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans have filed racial discrimination complaints and expressed public dissent over

2156-499: The use of percolating groundwater. A subterranean stream meets the following four characteristics: (1) A subsurface channel must be present; (2) The channel must have relatively impermeable bed and banks; (3) The course of the channel must be known or capable of being determined by reasonable inference; and (4) Groundwater must be flowing in the channel. In most areas of the state, landowners whose property overlies percolating groundwater may pump it for beneficial use without approval from

2205-510: The water quality of nearly 1,600,000 acres (6,500 km ) of lakes, 1,300,000 acres (5,300 km ) of bays and estuaries, 211,000 miles (340,000 km) of rivers and streams, and about 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of exquisite California coastline. The State Water Board also provides financial assistance to local governments and non-profit agencies to help build or rejuvenate wastewater treatment plants, and protect, restore and monitor water quality, wetlands, and estuaries. It also administers

2254-695: Was also Director of Information and Technology. In July 2015 he was appointed to the California Natural Resources Agency where he also served in the Washington D. C. office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. as Assistant Secretary for Federal Water Policy. There, he co-ordinated the interests of that agency and its departments with those of the Governor's Office, the California Congressional delegation and federal stakeholder agencies. Governor Brown appointed him to

2303-460: Was built at a cost of $ 6.4 million. The new pathway created a route in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 between Berkeley and its Marina and waterfront park region. Prior to its construction, the only wheelchair accessible route was via an undercrossing 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north. Bicycles and pedestrians alternately use a path and stairwell that ran under and along

2352-557: Was established from the State Water Quality Control Board and the State Water Rights Board by an Act of 1967. California's pioneering clean water act is the 1969 Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (Porter-Cologne Act). Through the Porter-Cologne Act, the State Water Board and the Regional Water Boards have been entrusted with broad duties and powers to preserve and enhance all beneficial uses of

2401-627: Was gradually filled in over the years. In 1909, the City built a municipal wharf at the foot of University Avenue which was used primarily for freight. Starting in 1926, the Golden Gate Ferry Company began construction of the Berkeley Pier . It was built out from the foot of University Avenue about 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) into the Bay (measured from the original shoreline). On June 16, 1927, auto ferry service began. between

#182817