Floating Yellow Curtains

If you've seen one of our aerial photos of the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project, you might have noticed what look like yellow lines in the reservoir. Those are turbidity curtains. What's that?

We're glad you asked.  A turbidity curtain, also known as a silt curtain, is a floating barrier that collects suspended solids that are present in the water and allows them to settle in a contained area.

Calaveras Reservoir, and our turbidity curtains, are visible below.



Turbidity curtains are usually placed near areas were we have disturbed soil in or near the reservoir. The turbidity curtains act as a floating filter to protect the water around the outlet tower where we take water out of the reservoir. Although we filter this water at the nearby Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant before we serve it to our customers, these curtains add an additional layer of protection to our water supply from any particulates or sediment from the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project.

The top of the curtain is made from a float from which a skirt hangs down. There are generally two types of turbidity curtains: hanging and standing silt curtains. At the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project we use hanging silt curtains.





Image curiosity of : https://www.landmsupplyco.com/

A close up of our turbidity curtains.

Turbidity curtains are an important part of the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project to continue to protect our our water sources during construction.

See you around the Valley!