Fish Passage Facilities Project Reaches a Big Milestone

The team working on the Fish Passage Facilities in the Alameda Creek Watershed Project had reason to celebrate this last week.

The goal of the project is to support the restoration of Steelhead trout to the watershed by providing safe passage around the Alameda Creek Diversion Dam.

Last week the project reached substantial completion. The fish ladder is in full operation and now allows fish to bypass the dam.   So, in honor of all their hard work, the team celebrated with a good old fashioned barbecue.

The team celebrating this accomplishment.

Members of the Watershed Division, Brian Sak and Scott Chenue helped move the project forward and will be managing parts of the project once it's completed. 

The Fish Passage Project even made the news. In case you missed the coverage:

KCBS Radio

KPIX Television 

Thank you to our team and our partners for helping move this project forward.

See you around the Valley!

Photo Friday in Sunol Valley

This week we wanted to share a snapshot of construction underway at the Fish Passage Facilities in the Alameda Creek Watershed located adjacent to the East Bay Regional Park District's Sunol Regional Wilderness.

The photo below shows the construction of the intake structure were the fish screens are being constructed.  This particular intake structure will have a total of 4 fish screens (high tech contraptions that will prevent fish from being drawn into the intake structure).

The goal of the project is to provide for safe passage of fish around the Alameda Creek Diversion Dam to support the restoration of Steelhead trout to the Alameda Creek Watershed. 

This project is part of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's $4.8 billion Water System Improvement Program to repair, replace, and seismically upgrade portion of the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System.

Construction is expected to be complete in fall 2018.

Happy Friday! 

Holiday Construction Schedule and Calaveras Road Closure for Sunol Valley

Happy Holidays, Sunol Valley!

Here’s a schedule of where we’ll be working over the holiday season.

Calaveras Road Closure Holiday Schedule:

The portion of Calaveras Road Currently Closed to the public on weekdays will be:

• Thursday, December 22, 2016 at 8:00 PM through Monday, December 26, 2016   OPEN to the public 
• Tuesday, December 27, 2016 at 4:00 a.m. through  Friday, December 30, 2016:  CLOSED
• Saturday, December 31, 2016 at 5:00 AM through Monday, January 2, 2017: OPEN to the public
• Tuesday, January 3, 2017 at 4:00 a.m. – Friday, January 6, 2017: CLOSED

Prior to the road opening to the public, the road will be swept of debris.

Weekday closures will continue as planned Monday- Friday through December 31, 2017

Fish Passage Facilities Project within the Alameda Creek
Located in Sunol Regional Wilderness:

The project team will NOT be working:

December 24, 2016  to December 26, 2016

December 31, 2016 to January 2, 2017

As always please don’t hesitate to contact us at 866-973-1476, or mle@sfwater.org or blauppe@sfwater.org with any questions.

Fish Passage Facilities Project Celebrates Milestone for the Season

This week, the construction teams for the Fish Passage Facilities within Alameda Creek Watershed Project celebrated a few milestones. In preparation for the winter, much work must be completed within the stream. They have completed critical in-water work within the stream bed for the season. This work included completion of the conveyance structure. We also completed a concrete slab for the intake structure. The new intake structure will be constructed next year. All of this was work was completed while maintaining a safety record with zero recordable incidents this year.

View of conveyance structure completed with the Alameda Creek Diversion Dam in the background. The stream channel was also backfilled with river rock to winterize the site.

The construction teams took a break for a photo today

to celebrate maintaing a safety record for the project

Photo Friday in Sunol Valley

This week we wanted to share a snapshot of construction underway at the
Fish Passage Facilities in Sunol Valley. The photo below shows the new intake structure and conveyance tunnels under construction upstream of the Alameda Creek Diversion Dam. The Fish Passage Facilities Project is located on SFPUC property adjacent to the Sunol Regional Wilderness. Completion of the project will support the restoration of steelhead trout to the Alameda Creek watershed. Happy Friday!

Safety Milestone for the Fish Passage Facilities Project

Since construction began in April 2016, the Fish Passage Facilities Project within the Alameda Creek Watershed celebrated an important safety milestone this month.  As of August 6^th, the construction crews have worked a total of 24,447 hours with no recordable injuries, modified duty or days away from work and the injury rate is well below the national average. 

Major work has included concrete demolition, excavation and drilling work at the site. The Alameda Creek Diversion Dam is located on SFPUC lands adjacent to the Sunol Regional Wilderness Park in Sunol. The project will allow the SFPUC to improve the current facility and to develop fish passage facilities within the Alameda Creek Watershed. This important work will support restoration of steelhead trout to the Alameda Creek watershed. As we continue work to complete the project in late 2018, we applaud Shimmick Construction for making safety a priority every day.

Early morning safety tailgate with the crews 

Work underway at the Fish Passage Facilities Project 

Photo Friday in Sunol Valley: Fish Passage Facilities Underway

Construction on a project that helps fish in Alameda Creek is underway! The Fish Passage Facilities Project within the Alameda Creek Watershed is located on SFPUC property, but accessed through the Sunol Regional Wilderness Park.

Construction crews have been busy preparing the site and shown here constructing a retaining wall.

The project is part of the SFPUC’s $4.8 billion Water System Improvement Program to repair, replace, and seismically upgrade the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System.  This important work will support restoration of steelhead trout to the Alameda Creek watershed.

Sunol Valley Teams Celebrate Memorial Day

In observance of Memorial day, our construction teams will not be working on May 30^th at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project or the Fish Passage Facilities within the Alameda Creek Watershed Project in Sunol Valley.

We hope all of you have a safe and wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Schedule Update for Calaveras Road Closure

To those who drive or ride Calaveras Road between Milpitas and Highway I-680 through the Sunol Valley:

The SFPUC has postponed the start of the closure of Calaveras Road, which was originally planned to begin on June 1, 2016. We will continue to keep you up-to-date on the timing and status of the closure. Calaveras Road is currently open to the public.

It is important to note that there is still truck traffic on Calaveras Road now between I-680 and the entrance to Calaveras Dam. The speed limit is 25 mph on Calaveras Road in construction zones. Please ride and drive safely on the narrow portions of Calaveras Road.

Follow the Calaveras Road closure updates online at sfwater.org/calaverasroad
To receive email notifications, please email mle@sfwater.org

What’s New in Sunol Valley?

If you frequent Sunol Regional Wilderness, you may have noticed increased activity in the park. Our crews are kicking off the Fish Passage Facilities within the Alameda Creek Watershed Project. The Alameda Creek Diversion Dam is located on SFPUC lands adjacent to the Sunol Regional Wilderness Park in Sunol and helps collect water in Calaveras Reservoir through a long tunnel. The project will develop fish passage facilities, including a fish ladder and modified screens for steelhead migration into and out of the Alameda Creek Watershed. Alameda Creek has historically supported an impressive diversity of migratory cold water fish, including steelhead trout. This work will help support the restoration of steelhead trout to the Alameda Creek watershed.  Project completion is expected in late 2018.

What to expect during construction:

• Sunol Regional Wilderness remains open during construction
• Park users should anticipate seeing increased construction traffic from the Geary Road entrance and along Camp Ohlone Road, which is the main construction access road
• Temporary Trail Closures will be needed for large vehicle access and for road improvements. Please use alternative trails to Little Yosemite, such as Canyon View Trail, during these times.
• Please pay attention to construction flaggers and park signage
• Construction activity is expected Monday thru Friday from dusk to dawn

Photo of existing Alameda Creek Diversion Dam Facilities

What’s on Tap for Sunol Valley and the Greater East Bay for 2016?

Our SFPUC teams in the East Bay are looking forward to a busy 2016. The $4.8 billion Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) might be more than 90% complete, but the majority of the work left to be done is right here.  We look forward to continuing on our old projects and starting new ones in the New Year. Here are a few highlights.

Calaveras Dam Replacement Project Rolls Onward.

The project is more than 70% complete. We will complete the Dam spillway, and will begin heavy hauling of materials for the dam starting in the middle of this year. Please subscribe to our blog at sfwater.org/sunolvalley for Calaveras Road Updates.  

 Calaveras Construction crew working on the outlet pipe at Calaveras Dam. The existing dam is in the distance. Look for increased construction traffic on Calaveras Road this year.

Alameda Creek Fish Passage Project Starts.

Construction on a project at our Alameda Creek Diversion Dam is set to start in February or March of 2016. The project entails partial demolition of the existing Alameda Creek Diversion Tunnel’s intake structure, and construction of a fish ladder to facilitate fish passage around the existing Alameda Creek Diversion Dam. Users of East Bay Regional Park’s Sunol Regional Wilderness might see increased construction traffic on Geary and Camp Ohlone Road starting in Spring. Construction is scheduled to end in sometime in late 2017 / 2018. 

Ice Age Fossils on Display.

Ice Age Fossils that were found in Fremont at a WSIP Project in Fremont are expected to go on display in May. More than 50 specimens were found on the construction site of the Seismic Upgrade of Bay Division Pipelines 3 and 4 at the Hayward Fault Crossing in Fremont Project in 2013. Crews found the bones of at least 2 bison, horse, camel, elk, rabbit, gophers and more. Those fossils have a new home at the Fremont Children's Natural History Museum, and will go on display in May. 

Dr. Joyce Blueford, Director of the Fremont Children's Natural History Museum, and staff paleontologist Jim Walker look over the Ice Age fossils found at the SFPUC construction site.

Alameda Creek Watershed Center / Sunol Yard Upgrade Begins Construction.

In August of 2016, construction to upgrade the SFPUC’s corporation yard at the corner of Paloma Way and Highway 84 will begin. Construction of the new Alameda Creek Watershed Center is also part of this same project, but will begin approximately 9 months after the Sunol Corporation Yard project starts. For more information, visit Sfwater.org/sunolvalley.  Construction is expected to be complete at the end of 2018.

The new Alameda Creek Watershed Center will be located adjacent to the Sunol Water Temple. Construction activities will start this year.

Subscribe to our blog to keep up to date sfwater.org/sunolvalley.

 Or follow us on twitter: @WSIPInTheNews.