Oh #SFBay, you so dirty! ❤ this news! San Francisco Bay turns brown after nonstop storms https://t.co/9U26n7ACLR via @SFGate @bayareamoms

— Erica Maharg (@BackwardGraham) February 15, 2017

Sediment sent into the San Francisco Bay by this winter's seemingly endless wave of stormy weather has turned its waters an unappealing shade of brown and has prompted the US Coast Guard into issuing a debris warning for local boaters.

SF Gate reports that the Bay, which is typically "emerald green," has been turned brown by "fine sediment washed by back-to-back storms from the slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the soils of the Central Valley and into rivers" which then "carry the fine silt into the Bay where it's dumped along with surges of fresh water and is further stirred up by wind, tides and wave action."

Jeffrey Mount, a senior fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California, tells the Gate that photos like the comparison ones from NASA that you see above "are great because you're seeing this once-a-decade kind of event when we get very large flows on the two main rivers of the Central Valley — the Sacramento and the San Joaquin...When these flows are high, they carry high amounts of very fine clay sized particles. That's what you're seeing."

Though it looks less photogenic than the water's typical coloration, the sediment influx is actually good because they "help build up the mud flats and marshes at the Bay's edges," both areas that preserve wildlife and protect against rising sea levels.

According to James Cloern, a senior scientist with the USGS who spoke with the Gate, "If we took away the sediment, those mud flats would disappear. Those mud flats are important habitat for birds that migrate along the Pacific Flyway. They either stay in San Francisco Bay or use it as a resting area. There are about a million shorebirds that come to the Bay during spring migration. They feed on small shrimp and fish."

But this stormy upheaval isn't all upside for the Bay, as ABC 7 reports that the "Coast Guard will be issuing a warning Wednesday to anyone on or near the San Francisco Bay--beware of debris."

That's because "debris is floating down through the San Pablo Bay from the Sacramento Delta after big storms and high water," leading to "an endless train of garbage from the Richmond-San Rafael bridge."

ABC 7 claims that a "giant floating blob of debris washed up on the water at Pier 27 in San Francisco," and that similar issues have struck the Berkeley Marina, a boat launch on Mare Island, and even a navigational buoy near Antioch.

A Berkeley boat owner characterizes the Bay's sudden junk problem as "very unusual" and says she's seeing "logs in the water, even pieces of wood from a dwelling maybe."

"Be on the lookout," Coast Guard Lieutenant Megan Mervar warns boaters on the Bay. "Know that when you go out. These hazards exist."

BART trains temporarily stopped service Friday afternoon after a ship's anchor allegedly struck the Transbay Tube. A frightening thought, indeed.

"At 8:45 a.m., a ship lost propulsion in the bay, so to prevent drifting, it dropped anchor near Berth 35," reports Oakland Tribune. "Just before noon the Coast Guard decided as a precautionary measure to contact BART officials so they could halt trains."

According to KRON 4, "Crews inspected the tube and determined it was not damaged."

Trains began running again at 12:30. Expect systemwide delays.

[Oakland Tribune]

A pair of windsurfers and a boat commuter (!) banded together Monday evening to rescue a dog found paddling frantically in the middle of the Bay. The pup, a labrador mix or mastiff, was spotted by real estate investor Ed Coyne and attorney John Newman, who were windsurfing in the cold waters off Treasure Island.

"At first, we couldn't tell whether it was a baby seal or what," Newman told the Chronicle. "Then we saw it was a dog."

Coyne paddled over to the struggling pooch and lifted her by the scruff of the neck onto his board, where she appeared grateful to be rescued. They flagged down Adam Cohen, an engineer who commutes across the Bay in an inflatable boat, who then took her home to Berkeley with him to recuperate.

No word yet on how the puppy ended up stranded or whether Larry Ellison is behind the incident. So far, no one has come forward as the dog's owner, and vets couldn't find an ID chip to identify her. If you have any information on the dog's owners, call Katie Corrigan at 510-225-4545.

For now, the pup is safe at the home of Cohen and wife Lisa Grodin. "The dog follows me everywhere," she told the Chronicle. "She is so sweet. She's lovely."

Previously: Billionaire Yachtsman's Cheating Team Ordered To Return America's Cup Trophies

[SFGate]

Alas. it was another great day in the city.

We're a sucker for the Mission Creek houseboats. So delicate. So quaint. So... floaty. Like real houses, almost. If you want to check them out, we suggest taking a stroll in the late afternoon or early morning along Mission Creek Park.

Due to the refreshingly gorgeous weather we're having -- from the windows outside SFist headquarters on busy Third Street, it seems that many of you took the day off; it's practically barren outside! -- many folks took to boating in the Bay over the weekend. One incident in particular resulted in a family's boat being capsized. You see, during a Father's Day cruise in the water on Sunday, a father and his two kids had to be "rescued 500 yards south of Ballena Bay in Alameda when their 19-foot aluminum boat capsized before 11:40 a.m."

Luckily, the family were treated and released with minor injuries.

The second scary moment happened in Stinson Beach. KTVU reports: "Father’s Day outings to the waters of Stinson Beach were interrupted Sunday when a patrolling U.S. Coast Guard helicopter spotted an 8-to-10 foot great white shark swimming toward the shore, authorities said."

The great white measured "between 8 and 10 feet" and it was traveling south. Beware.

The Oakland Tribune (via Mercury News) reports on a tragic story of a 57-year-old man who drowned in the bay in Alameda on Monday after wading chest-high in the water fully clothed for nearly an hour before rescuers could reach him.

Witnesses told the Tribune that police and fire crews responded quickly to the scene, but because the Alameda Fire Department is not certified in land-based water rescues, they had to wait for the United States Coast Guard to arrive.

The Coast Guard reportedly responded within 20 minutes with a rescue boat, but because the man was in fairly shallow water, they had to wait for a helicopter instead. The helicopter took 65 minutes to arrive because it had been out on another mission and needed to refuel.

In the mean time, a woman in her late 20s who's trained as a water rescue nurse, was able to pull the man out when he was about 50 yards from shore. Unfortunately, rescuers were unable to revive him, and he was later pronounced dead at Alameda Hospital.

Naturally, commenters at both Oakland Tribune and Mercury News are outraged that the city of Alameda, which is surrounded by water, isn't equipped with water-rescue personnel.

According to the Chronicle, "A barge got mired today in the shallow waters near the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco and is leaking some fuel into the bay." The sand transportation barge, measuring around 230-feet, "was being pushed by a tugboat when it ran aground at about 7:30 a.m."

Also, it "may be carrying" somewhere around 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Yikes.

[Chron]

If you're one of those types who enjoy the glacial waters along the bayside in San Francisco (e.g., surfing, kayaking, fishing, clam foraging, wind surfing, or swimming), please take the SFPUC survey at once! It will help them learn how much these places are used and in turn help them better serve you. It also has something to do with sewage overlap, so brace yourselves.

Refreshing transportation news, readers! San Francisco is set to get water taxi service. The San Francisco Port Commission just approved a five-year agreement with John Scannell, who runs those duck boats for tourists via Bay Quackers, "and plans to launch the taxi service within the next two to three months." Service will depart from Pier 1½ or the Hyde Street Pier. "A one-way fare from San Francisco to Oakland will cost about $18." [Mercury News]

Oh jeez. A cargo ship at the Port of Oakland hit a whale this morning. Researches aren't sure yet if the whale was already dead before the collision. ABC 7 grimly notes that "the whale carcass is still attached to that vessel." If you must, they even have footage of its lifeless body. RIP, big fella.

A U.S. Coast Guard search is underway after a woman sent out a distress call on Monday night just off the coast of Tiburon. "Minutes before 10 p.m., Coast Guard Chief Donald Newton said personnel heard the potentially distressed female over a marine radio channel," reports BCN (via SF Appeal) "There was a female saying 'Listen to me, listen to me,' followed by a pause, then 'hello,' another pause, and '10-4, I have mayday.'" Two Coast Guard vessels are still out in the waters looking for the unidentified female.