Willow Branches Everywhere

Biologist Aaron Sunshine planting Willows

Fully-Grown Arroyo Willow

The recent rains have done wonders for our reservoirs and watersheds. It also happens to be the ideal time for putting plants in the ground for environmental restoration of our Alameda Watershed Lands. 

Of late, our Calaveras Dam Replacement Project biologists have devoted themselves to willows. A total of 36 willows have been planted by the downsteam building of the newly-constructed Replacement Calaveras Dam alongside Calaveras Creek. The types of willows planted were red willows (Salix laevigata), Arroyo Willows (Salix lasiolepis) and Narrowleaf or sandbar willows (Salix exigua). All are native to California and to our watershed. 

There are approximately 400 species of willows worldwide. You don’t have to look far to find them, all you need is a good water source. That’s because willows like their roots to be very wet, and they prefer year-round moisture.

The interesting part of willows is that they are easy to propagate. An entire willow tree can grow from a single branch.

The best time of the year to cut and plant is during the winter, preferably in January. Our Calaveras Dam Replacement Project biologists harvested branches from willows within the watershed and planted them along Calaveras Creek as part of the project's restoration plan.

The willows will be monitored annually for the next five years to ensure that they are growing and thriving. 

Once fully grown, our willow trees will provide good nesting for songbirds such a as the Woodwarblers, Song Sparrows, and the California Towhees. The new trees and will also be a good foraging habitat and cover from predators for many species too.

See you around the valley!





Fully-grown narrow-leaf willow.

What's on Tap in Sunol Valley?

The New Year has brought much needed rainfall to the Sunol Valley. Despite the winter weather, our teams are continuing the important work to seismically upgrade the facilities that deliver drinking water to 2.6 million Bay Area customers. These projects are part of the $4.8 billion Water System Improvement Program (WSIP). The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is the owner and operator of the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System. In addition, other work, such as work on the Alameda Creek Watershed Center and upgrades to our Sunol Yard, are also underway this year. 

Calaveras Dam Replacement Project

Work is still underway to replace the existing dam with a seismically-robust dam in order to restore its historic storage capacity. Rebuilding this dam and filling the reservoir is crucial to the reliable water supply of our customers. Over seven million cubic yards of earth and rock materials have been excavated. We have started to construct the new dam. Crews have constructed a new tower and shaft with five adits which connect outlet pipelines to the reservoir. The new 1550 ft spillway was completed in April 2016. The dam and all the outlet works have been designed to withstand the force of a 7.25 magnitude maximum credible earthquake from the nearby Calaveras Fault. The project is over 78% complete.

Due to recent storm impacts, portions of Calaveras Road remains closed to the public on 7 days a week. Please visit sfwater.org/Calaverasroad for more specific details regarding the closure.

Fish Passage Facilities within the Alameda Creek Watershed

Construction for the Fish Passage Facilities within the Alameda Creek Watershed began earlier in 2016. The Calaveras Reservoir collects water from Alameda Creek by means of the Alameda Creek Diversion Dam (ACDD), a 1.8-mile-long Alameda Creek Diversion Tunnel from other streams that flow directly into the Reservoir.

The project will improve the current facility and develop fish passage facilities within the Alameda Creek Watershed. This important work will support restoration of steelhead trout to the Watershed. The project will construct a fish ladder to facilitate fish passage around the existing Alameda Creek Diversion Dam. The project is approximately 30% complete and project completion is expected in Fall 2018.

Alameda Creek Recapture Project

The proposed project would recapture a certain volume of water that would be released and bypassed at Calaveras Dam and Alameda Creek Diversion Dam. The recaptured water would be pumped from an existing quarry pit (Pit F2) in the Sunol Valley, downstream of the compliance points for the bypasses and releases below the ACDD and Calaveras Dam, respectively.

The project would utilize the natural infiltration of water into the ground in the vicinity of Pit F2, and the recaptured water would be transferred to the SFPUC water system via either the San Antonio Reservoir or the Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant. The recapture operation would be conducted within the SFPUC’s existing pre-1914 appropriative water rights. 

The Draft Environmental Impact Report was released in November 2016. Construction is expected to begin in Fall 2017 and last for approximately 18 months.

Sunol Yard & Alameda Creek Watershed Center

Construction of upgrades to our Sunol Corporation Yard (located on SFPUC lands near the Sunol Water Temple) are expected to begin in February 2017 and last approximately 22 months.  

Please note that the Sunol Water Temple will be closed during construction to protect the safety of members of the public passing through the area. The Sunol AgPark will remain open to farmers during construction.

Alameda Creek Watershed Center in Sunol and work on the Education Master Plan for the Center continues in 2017. The Center design continues to undergo value engineering, and results are expected in early 2017.  Construction of the Native Plant Nursery for the plants that will be in the new Sunol Yard and Watershed Discovery Trail at the Center will also begin in 2017.

Throwback Thursday at the Sunol Water Temple

In honor of Throwback Thursday, we thought we’d share an oldie from our archives.

August 1960. This family is clearly enjoying their picnic at the Sunol Water Temple, which was built in 1910 and restored in 2000. 

Construction on the Alameda Creek Watershed Center near the Temple and the nearby Sunol Corporation Yard will begin later in 2016. Future families will once again enjoy picnics below the temple as early as 2019.

See you around Sunol Valley!