Program areas at Morro Bay National Estuary Program
The Morro Bay national estuary program is a non-regulatory, non-profit organization that brings together citizens, local governments, non-profits, agencies, and landowners to protect and restore the Morro Bay estuary. Morro Bay national estuary program staff conducts monitoring and research, restores natural habitats, and educates residents and visitors on how to keep Morro Bay clean and healthy.a clean and healthy Morro Bay means a vibrant local economy, healthy residents, and a flourishing natural environment. The estuary program relies on diverse funding sources, as well as many volunteers and businesses that donate their time and services. The program covers the entire Morro Bay estuary's watershed with a population of approximately 30,000 people.
The groundwater assessment and protection program (gap or ccamp-gap) is an integral component of the central coast ambient monitoring program (ccamp). Over eighty percent of the people living on the central coast rely on groundwater for their drinking water and other uses. A regional groundwater monitoring program is essential to identify areas of potentially unsafe drinking water supply, measure individual groundwater basin health, and determine the effectiveness of our efforts to protect and improve groundwater quality. Many local agencies monitor groundwater quality to some degree, or have the potential to do so, and there is a great opportunity for the water board to coordinate and leverage these local efforts into a state-of-the-art groundwater protection program.
The central coast ambient monitoring program (ccamp) is the central coast regional water quality control board's regionally scaled water quality monitoring and evaluation program. The purpose of the program is to provide scientific information to regional board staff and the public, to protect, restore, and enhance the quality of the waters of central region of California. The ccamp mission is to collect, assess, and disseminate water quality information to aide decision makers and the public in maintaining, restoring and enhancing water quality and associated beneficial uses in the central coast region. The central coast region includes: san luis obispo, monterey, santa cruz, santa barbara, san benito, and part of santa clara and ventura counties.
The mission of the central coast low impact development initiative (lidi) is to support the vision of healthy watersheds through the implementation of lid design principles, hydromodification controls, and sustainable development through the central coast region. The central coast region includes: san luis obispo, monterey, santa cruz, santa barbara, san benito, and part of santa clara and ventura countiesin 2009, the central coast water board established a low impact development endowment fund (lid fund) with the Bay Foundation of Morro Bay. This fund provides support for the lidi, which operates in partnership with uc davis extension, land use and natural resources program. Lidi services focus on the planning, design, and implementation of lid projects and programs. This includes training, regulatory compliance, site specific project designs, and large scale, long-tern community level planning. Work is conducted by the program director and by firms and partners selected for their specific expertise related to lid implementation.