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!

Two Sunol Valley WSIP Construction Projects Bring Home Awards

In February the Northern California Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA) bestowed high honors on the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project and Fish Passage Facilities Project.  Both projects are part of the $4.8 Billion Water System Improvement Program (WSIP).

The Calaveras Dam Replacement Project received two awards: Structures Award for Projects more than $75 million and the Contractor of the Year award for Dragados, Flatiron, Sukut, Joint Venture.























Sunol Regional Project Manager, Susan Hou and Manuel Morejon, Dragados-USA, Project Manager accept the Calaveras Dam Replacement Award for Projects more that 75 million.





















The Fish Passage Facilities Project received the Environmental Award for Projects $25 million but less than $75 million.


 

Eric Gee, Project Manager and Sam Gambino of AECOM accept the Environmental Award for Projects $25 million but less that $75 million for the Fish Passage Facilities Project.

The APWA was created in 1937. It’s a non-profit professional organization that serves professionals in all aspects of public works.


















APWA’s Awards Program was established to recognize outstanding individuals, groups and chapters representing the best in the public works profession.

In September all three projects will compete at the national level.

Congratulations to both the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project and the Fish Passage Facilities Teams!

See you around the Valley!

Sikorsky 58-JT helicopter at Alameda Creek Diversion Dam

Our teams have used many different kinds of equipment to build a fish ladder and other appurtenances at our Fish Passage Facilities within the Alameda Creek Watershed Project.

This past Monday, July 9, 2018, however, was a first: crews used a Sikorsky 58-JT helicopter. Why? The project site is remote, and the item to be transported was large.

Specifically, the contractor needed to move a 600-pound electrical box to an abutment of the remote Alameda Creek Diversion Dam. The helicopter picked up the electrical box at the staging area, located at the cattle corral and then lifted it to the left abutment of the Diversion Dam, which is located on SFPUC-owned property adjacent to the East Bay Regional Park District's Sunol Regional Wilderness.

A Sikorsky 58-JT  Helicopter makes quick work of transporting a 600 pound electrical box to the Alameda Creek Diversion Dam

The operation took just 20 minutes.

The Fish Passage Project is located in Sunol. The goal of the project is to provide for safe passage of fish around the Alameda Creek Diversion Dam to support the restoration of the Steelhead Trout to the Alameda Creek Watershed. 

The Alameda Creek Diversion Dam is visible in the distance. The electrical control building is located to the left. The project is at 92% completion and is expected to be finished this fall. 

The project is part of the SFPUC’s $4.48 billion Water System Improvement Program.

See you around the Valley!

Attention Sunol Regional Park Users: Camp Ohlone Road will be closed to the pubic Monday, July 16th-Wednesday, July 18th.  Plan on using either Canyon View or Estes Trail  to get to Little Yosemite.

SFPUC Project Team Leads National Discussion about Dams and Ecosystems

In early April members of the Fish Passage Facilities project team went to Miami, Florida to present at the 38th United States Society of Dam’s (USSD) Annual Conference on behalf of SFPUC. This year's conferences theme was A Balancing Act: Dams, Levees and Ecosystems. It focused on the importance of environmentally sustainable water projects within diverse and sometimes fragile ecosystems.

Our Fish Passage Facilities team were selected to present their paper called "Fish Passage Facilities at the Alameda Creek Diversion Dam, Final Design and Construction Update."

The Fish Passage Project is located in Sunol.  The goal  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.  The project is part of the SFPUC's $4.8 billion Water System Improvement Project (WSIP) to repair, and seismically upgrade portion of the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water Sytem. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2018.

Below is a photo of our fabulous four presenters: Eric Gee, Project Manager, Yen Ng, Engineer and Karl Tingwald, (former AECOM) civil engineer and Dan Wade, Director of Water Infrastructure Capital Projects and Programs.

We want to congratulate the Fish Passage team members for a job well done.

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! 

Honoring Construction Safety Week in the Sunol Valley

With so much heavy construction work underway in the Sunol Valley, it is easy to forget that the men and women in the construction industry perform dangerous work often in difficult conditions to upgrade the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System.

It is a good thing that the construction teams working on the two projects in full swing in the Sunol Valley keep safety in mind every single day.  However, this week was a little different. The teams at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project and the Fish Passage Facilities within the Alameda Creek Watershed underwent additional trainings and reminders this week.

Why?

The first week of May is National Construction Safety Week.  Global construction industry leaders, including our contractors, joined together to form industry safety forums and an initiative called ‘Safety Week.’ The mission of Safety week is to raise awareness within the construction industry ensuring “We are Stronger and Safer Together.”

How strong?

Here in the Sunol Valley, the number of recordable workplace incidents is well below the industry average. At our Fish Passage Project, workers have clocked in over 70,000 work hours since April 2016 with zero recordable incidents.  At the Calaveras Dam Project, the largest project in the Water System Improvement Program has worked over 220,000 work hours since July 2016 with zero recordable incidents. 

Working in heat and rain, on large earth-moving equipment or in tight spaces next to a creek, our crews are showing that every week is safety week.

We are proud of our teams out in Sunol Valley! Stay safe out there.

Crews overseeing operations at the future Fish Passage Facilities

Center of photo shows construction crews at Calaveras Dam placing
Clay Core materials in the replacement dam at elevation 567 ft 

Spring Wildflower Festival Draws Crowds to Sunol Regional Wilderness

This past weekend, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) joined an estimated 1,000 attendees at the 2017 Spring Wildflower Festival, hosted by the East Bay Regional Park District.

The beautiful sunshine, wildflower blooms, nature hikes, and live music drew families from all over the Bay Area to Sunol Regional Wilderness. Over 300 kids stopped at the SFPUC resource booth to create their very own personal paw print necklaces while staff shared information to residents about our Sunol Valley projects underway including the Sunol Yard upgrade, construction of the Fish Passage Facilities Project within Alameda Creek Watershed and the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project.

We hope that you were able to experience this awesome event and enjoy the wildflower season as much as our staff did. See you around Sunol Valley!

Join Us at the 2017 Sunol Wildflower Festival

It is wildflower season in the Sunol Valley! Come enjoy the wonderful blooming flowers at the annual Sunol Wildflower Festival hosted by our friends at the East Bay Regional Park District.

When:  Sunday, April 9, 2017 from 11am to 4pm
Where: Sunol Regional Wilderness, 1895 Geary Road, Sunol, CA
Cost:    Free admission ($5 parking)

The festival is a fun family day out.  Learn about watershed animals, wildflowers, and grasslands. Enjoy the beauties of spring in one of the East Bay Regional Park District’s crown jewels at the Sunol Regional Wilderness.

We at the SFPUC are looking forward to it. Stop by and visit us at our booth. Get the latest and greatest information on all of our ongoing projects. Flaunt your Alameda Creek Watershed knowledge and win a prize! Fun crafts for the kids. 

We hope you see you on April 9th where the wildflowers grow!


For more information about the festival, visit ebparks.org.

Photo Friday From the Fish Passage Project on Alameda Creek

Happy Photo Friday, Everyone!

Ever wonder what a fish ladder looks like from the inside?

You are about to find out, courtesy of our Fish Passage Facilities within the Alameda Creek Watershed Project. The project's goal is to support the restoration of steelhead trout to the Southern Alameda Creek Watershed by building a fish ladder around the SFPUC's Alameda Creek Diversion Dam, in addition to other fish-friendly improvements on the structure.  

Construction is expected to be complete in fall 2018.

Workers pouring a concrete slab for the Fish Ladder.

A member of the construction crew examines the rebar to reinforce the fish ladder.

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.

Sunol Valley Construction Updates for the Thanksgiving Weekend

The wild turkeys are out and about at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project. For the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, we wanted to share with you some reminders for our projects:

Calaveras Road Users:

The closed portion of Calaveras Road will be OPEN to the public this Thanksgiving Holiday on November 24, 2016 and the day after Thanksgiving on November 25, 2016. The road will be closed again on Sunday, November 27, 2016 at 11:00 p.m.

Please see more details by visiting www.sfwater.org/calaverasroad

Thank you for your ongoing patience during our road closure.

Calaveras Dam Replacement Project

Constructions crews are off on the Thanksgiving  Holiday on November 24, 2016 and the day after Thanksgiving on November 25, 2016. Regular work will resume on November 28th.

Fish Passage Project within Alameda Creek Watershed

Constructions crews are off this week and there will be no construction activity at the Fish Passage project site located in Sunol Regional Wilderness Park. Regular work will resume on November 28th.

From all of the construction teams, we hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend!

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