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.

Come Out to the Sunol Wildflower Festival and Learn How to Protect Our Wildlife!

Sunol Valley is teeming with life from wildflowers to wildlife this spring! As stewards of 36,000 acres in this part of the watershed, we want to share ways that you can protect the plants and animals that call Sunol Valley home. Stop by our booth at the thirteenth annual spring Sunol Wildflower Festival this Saturday, April 9, 2016 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sunol Regional Wilderness.

Come by our booth to spin the prize wheel and test your Sunol Valley watershed knowledge

In addition to stopping by our booth, make sure to check out the scheduled nature hikes, crafts, live music and nature activities. There will be a variety of other organizations exhibiting nature-themed booths. The festival itself is a production of the East Bay Regional Park District. For more information about the festival, visit their website www.ebparks.org. We hope to see you there!

What’s on Tap for the Sunol Valley in 2014?

A few weeks into the New Year, our Sunol Valley Project teams are already very busy with the important work to seismically upgrade facilities which deliver drinking water to 2.6 million Bay Area customers as part of the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) and other ongoing projects. Here’s a quick snapshot of the anticipated activities of the year to come. Please visit us often on our blog to stay up to date and learn more!

New Irvington Tunnel
In October 2013, we completed excavation of the new tunnel.  Recently, the project team began installing the inner lining for the tunnel. These are 50-foot-long, 8½ foot in diameter steel pipes that are inserted into the tunnel on a special train. Once in place, these pipe segments are welded together from the inside.  On average, seven pipe sections are installed daily.  Project completion is anticipated for 2015.

50 ft. pipe being prepared for installation at New Irvington Tunnel

Calaveras Dam Replacement Project

The largest project in the Sunol Valley continues with ongoing major excavation as well as drill and blast activities to stockpile materials in preparation for the construction of the replacement dam.  We are still clearing out loose soil and rock materials in the area to make room for the new dam. In the coming weeks, the project will begin construction of the new 1,550-foot-longspillway, all the while dealing with the continuing challenges of the site’s complex geology. Grouting work on the left abutment of the new dam will also begin soon.  As construction progresses, the environmental team continues to find and catalogue interesting fossils at the site. Projected completion is anticipated in 2017.

Aerial view of upper Left Abutment for Replacement Dam
(left side of valley when looking downstream)

San Antonio Backup Pipeline

Construction of the San Antonio Backup Pipeline, which will add operational flexibility to our Sunol Valley Water transmission system, has been moving forward towards completion in March of 2015.  The majority of the new pipeline has been installed and is in the ground.  The new slurry wall was also completed last year.  This year the project team will focus on construction of the small above-ground structures and discharge pumps at the quarry storage pond at the north end of the site.

Workers excavating and shaping the hillside in preparation
for the outfall structure that will be going into Pond F3-east

Town of Sunol Fire Suppression System Project

2014 will see the start of construction of this important public safety project in the Town of Sunol.  The SFPUC will upgrade the water distribution system for the Town of Sunol since the current system is inadequate.  The SFPUC will add additional fire hydrants in commercial and residential areas of the Town of Sunol, replace pipelines on County roads to improve the flows from the fire hydrants, and also replace two to four of the Town's existing water storage tanks on the hill.  Construction for this project is anticipated to start spring/summer of this year.

Alameda Creek Watershed Center and Sunol Yard Upgrade

Plans are underway to design and construct the Alameda Creek Watershed Center located near the Sunol Water Temple, as part of its efforts to improve the existing facilities in the Sunol Yard. The proposed Watershed Center would provide a place for people to gather and learn about the Alameda Creek Watershed, its natural resources and its role as part of the SFPUC water supply system as well as connect with the history of the Sunol Valley.  This project is in its early planning and design stages with construction anticipated to begin in 2015. 

Bioregional Habitat Restoration
Construction activities for the Bioregional Habitat Restoration (BHR) program will start winding down this year. We will, however, continue to monitor the success of these projects through 2024. The projects that are nearly completed within the Sunol Valley  -- Goldfish Pond Restoration at the southern end of Calaveras Road, San Antonio Creek Restoration, Sheep Camp Creek and Goat Rock – have restored or enhanced a combined total greater than 1,500 acres of sycamore and oak riparian woodland, oak woodland and savannah, and serpentine and annual grasslands.

This project includes restoring 5,000 feet of the existing Sheep Camp Creek.

Completed Projects

As we start 2014, we can also continue to celebrate the completion of the Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant Expansion and Treated Water Reservoir project in September 2013. This water treatment plant now enables us to filter and provide 160 million gallons of water per day to our Bay Area customers for up to two months should our Hetch Hetchy Reservoir supplies become unavailable due to an earthquake or other emergency.

We look forward to working with you this year and all the good things to come to Sunol Valley!

Our Resident Bald Eagles

The land that we own in the Southern Alameda Creek Watershed has been protected for over a century.  By controlling the activities on our watershed lands, we ensure top water quality for our customers and preserve prime habitat for rare and endangered species. The 36,000 acres the SFPUC owns have become an oasis.

These lands are home to all sorts of plants, insects, and critters, including the Most Beautiful Jewel Flower, Callippe Silverspot Butterfly, California Tiger Salamander, California Red-Legged Frog, Alameda Whipsnake, Golden Eagles, and not one, but two nesting pairs of Bald Eagles.

Interestingly, both eagle pairs nest not far from our ongoing construction projects at Calaveras Dam and at the habitat restoration project at San Antonio Reservoir.

Our environmental teams monitor the eagles’ success annually and establish a wide “No Disturbance” boundary around the eagle nests, in coordination with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife, to avoid aggravating nesting bald eagles. During nesting season, teams closely monitor the eagles’ activity around both reservoirs to ensure our construction work does not affect nesting birds. We go to great lengths to ensure that these special animals continue to thrive.

 

We are proud to announce that the eaglets (two at Calaveras and two at San Antonio) of both eagle pairs are very close to fledging!  The young eagles will continue to receive care from the parents for a while before exploring new territories on their own.  The parents – soon to be “empty nesters”  – will likely stay in the neighborhood to take advantage of the plentiful food source and relative isolation and protection the southern Alameda Creek watershed provides.

Calaveras Reservoir Bald Eagles
Photo permission courtesy of Tam Phan

Calaveras Reservoir Eaglet takes flight
Photo courtesy of Bill Stagnaro, Environmental Inspector

Environmental Compliance Manager Cullen Wilkerson and Specialty Environmental  Monitor Aaron Sunshine survey our Bald Eagles

Calaveras Reservoir Eaglet soars through Sunol Valley
Photo courtesy of Bill Stagnaro, Environmental Inspector

For more project information, contact us at our 24 hour answer line at (866) 973-1476 or email mle@sfwater.org