2014-028 - Approving General Plan Amendement No. 2014-01

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CW of Santa Ana -Park View at Town and Country Manor and Water Quality Draft ElR Existing Water Quality Standards The ultimate goal of the CWA is to protect the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the waters of the United States. Along with regulatory programs for storm water and non -storm water discharges generated from pollutant sources, the CWA also required States to adopt water quality standards for receiving waterways and water bodies to achieve this goal. Water quality standards are based on a water body's designated beneficial use, along with its water quality criteria based upon these uses. To further elaborate, beneficial uses of water bodies describe the appropriate uses of a particular water body based on current and historical use of it, such as contact recreation or drinking water uses. Its associated water quality criteria are expressed either as numeric concentrations, levels of constituents, or as narrative summaries that represent the quality of water that support the designated beneficial use. 303(d) List of Limited Water Quality Segments Under Section 303(d) of the CWA, States are required to identify water bodies that do not meet their water quality standards. Once a water body has been listed as impaired, a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the constituent of concern (pollutant) must be developed for that water body. A TMDL is an estimate of the daily load of pollutants that a water body may receive from point sources, non -point sources, and natural background conditions (including an appropriate margin of safety) without exceeding its water quality standard. Those facilities and activities that are discharging into the water body, collectively, must not exceed the TMDL. As opposed to the NPDES programs, which focus on reducing or eliminating non -storm water discharges and reducing the discharge of pollutants to the maximum extent practicable, TMDLs provide an analytical basis for planning and implementing pollution controls, land management practices, and restoration projects needed to protect water quality. The Santa Ana River serves as the main tributary to the existing watershed, with Santiago Creek being the river's largest tributary in Orange County. According to the 2006 CWA Section 303(d) List of Water Quality Limited Segments Requiring TMDLs and the project Preliminary WQMP, the Santa Ana River, Reach 4, is listed as impaired by pathogen. Additionally, Santiago Creek, located just south of Memory Lane in Santiago Park, Reach 4, is listed as impaired by salinity, Total Dissolved Solids (IDS), and chlorides. Santiago Creek The 1995 Water Quality Control Plan, which established water quality objectives for surface and ground waters for the Santa Ana River Basin (Region 8), was updated in February 2008. The designated beneficial uses of Santiago Creek, which is the receiving water body for the proposed project, are: • MUN - municipal and domestic supply • GWR - groundwater recharge 4.3-4 Michael Bmndman Associates H\Cl t(PN -Rn) 327b327W3MME 3270030 Sec 3Hyd bUadWat Wity.d