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!

ALERT: FULL CLOSURE OF CALAVERAS ROAD DUE TO STORM DAMAGE

FULL CLOSURE OF CALAVERAS ROAD DUE TO STORM DAMAGE

EFFECTIVE THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017

CLOSURE IN EFFECT 7 DAYS A WEEK, 24 HOURS A DAY 

What:

Effective January 12, 2017, a full closure of Calaveras Road to all types of thru traffic 7 days a week, 24 hours a day between Geary Road and Oakridge Road – near the Alameda/Santa Clara County line. 
This is due to storm damage along this stretch of road. Under normal conditions and the construction schedule, Calaveras Road would be open to thru traffic on weekends and holidays. However, this is no longer the case, and the road will remain closed every day to all traffic until further notice. 

Please avoid this area and use alternative routes.

Where:

The portion of Calaveras Road just south of Geary Road (location of entrance to Sunol Regional Wilderness) to Oakridge Road – near the Alameda/Santa Clara County line.

When:

The closure will take place 7 days a week starting on January 12, 2017 and will remain in place until further notice. We are working with local responding agencies on this issue, and will keep you informed as we get additional information.

Please note: the entrance to East Bay Regional Park District’s Sunol Regional Wilderness will be open at all times from the north.

If you have any further questions, feel free to call our toll-free 24 hour answer line at
(866) 973-1476.

Email mle@sfwater.org or blauppe@sfwater.org

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!

Town of Sunol Fire Suppression Project: Slurry Seal of Main Street to Begin April 6, 2015

Week of April 6, 2015  and end the Week of April 24, 2015

7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday - Friday

As promised, we will install a new slurry seal on Main Street, between Bond and Kilkare Road. This work is scheduled to begin during the week of April 6. It will take approximately three weeks to complete this work.

What to Expect:

·         Work hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. - Monday - Friday

·         There will be no parking on Main Street during these times – to prepare the road, slurry seal, and allow the seal to properly cure before traffic can safely drive on it again.

·         To avoid potential damage to your car from our operations, as well as potential towing a car left on Main Street, please obey the no parking signs.

·         One lane of Main Street will remain open to traffic, but please allow extra time to pass through the area.

·         The equipment and trucks related to this work will generate noise and dust.

 

Sequence of work:

o   Crews will grind down the existing street striping to prepare the road for its new slurry seal. This will take an estimated one-two days for each side of the street starting on Monday, April 6, 2015.

o   Slurry Seal Main Street Lane 1 (West Lane – on the Bosco’s and Railroad Café side of the street)

§  When the street is prepared for the slurry seal, crews will begin work on the West lane (Rail Road Café side) of Main Street.

§  Crews will slurry seal that side of the street starting at Kilkare Road and finish near Sunol Glen School at the end of the day.

o   Slurry seal lane 2 (East Lane – on the same side of the street as the Post Office)

§  Crews will start at the south side of Main Street and move back towards the Kilkare Road intersection on the eastern lane of traffic. 

§  Crews will be sure that cars can exit and enter the school for pick up and drop off times. 

o   Once the new slurry seal has properly dried, new street striping will be installed.

o   Curing should take a week or so.

We will work with the school and businesses located on Main Street to minimize any impacts because of this work.

Thank you for your patience!

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns.
24-hour Answering Line: (866) 973-1476

epowell@sfwater.org

blauppe@sfwater.org

 

 

 

Update on the Town of Sunol Fire Suppression Project for the weeks of November 24 and December 1, 2014

The majority of the work within the Town has been completed. However, there is some work left to be done.

Construction Currently Underway or Planned for the Next 2 weeks

Pipeline connections at Sunol Glen School

Pipeline connections will be made between the new and old systems at the Sunol Glen School Parking lot the week of December 1st.  We will minimize any impacts to the school. The water supply to the town and school will not be affected. 

Service Connection Upgrades

As part of this project, SFPUC crews, together with our contractor, will inspect selected service connections of SFPUC customers. The service connection consists of the section of pipe between the water meter box and the street main which is maintained by the SFPUC. Should the inspection show the connection needing an upgrade, we will schedule a replacement and notify the property owner.

The connections on Main Street will be first, with inspections starting the week of Thanksgiving. 

Installation of bollards around fire hydrants

In order to protect some of the newly installed hydrants from accidental damage from vehicles, we will install bollards around the more exposed hydrants after the week of December 8th.  These bollards will conform with Alameda County Fire Specifications.

Installation of one of the two replacement tanks on tank hill continues. Work on the tanks on the hill will continue through next summer.

Pavement Restoration 

Once all the construction work within town is complete, we will work with Alameda County inspectors, repair street structural damage caused by the construction, and slurry seal Main Street.

The Jack and Bore work to lay pipe underneath the Union Pacific Railroad on Main Street was

recently completed.

What has been completed to date:

• Installation of approximately 2 miles of transmission mains on Main St, Bond St, Foothill East and West and Kilkare Road.
• Placement of all of the 26 planned fire hydrants.
• Placing pipe across three bridges: Bond, Foothill, and Kilkare
• Removal of two water tanks on Tank Hill.
• Pipeline tie in work at Kilkare Road
• Jack and Bore Crossing of Alameda County Railroad at the intersection of Main Street, Kilkare Road, and West Foothill Road.
• Jack and Bore crossing under the Union Pacific Railroad on Main Street.
• Pipeline Tie in work on Main Street near Bond

What is coming:

• The new hydrants will be charged and ready for use.
• The new water storage tank on Tank Hill will be placed in service during the next 3 months.
• Thereafter, a pair of older water storage tanks will be demolished
• and construction will start on the second water storage tank.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns.

24-hour Answering Line: 
(866) 973-1476

epowell@sfwater.org
blauppe@sfwater.org

Thank you for your patience!

Sunol Valley: Getting Prepared

This week we acknowledge the 25^th Anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake. On October 17, 1989 at 5:04 p.m, the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the “World Series Quake,” lasted 15 seconds causing an estimated $6-10 billion in property loss in the Bay Area. The anniversary is a reminder to all of us to make efforts to be prepared for the next major earthquake.

Here’s a quick snapshot of what’s been done in the Sunol Valley to better prepare us:

San Antonio Pump Station – Completed

The San Antonio Pump Station is one of the key facilities in the Sunol Valley which pumps Hetch Hetchy water through a transmission pipeline to the San Antonio Reservoir to the Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant. It serves as a critical seismic upgrade project which provides a reliable water supply to our Bay Area customers after a major earthquake.

Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant – Completed
If the Hetch Hetchy water supplies become unavailable for any reason, this plant enables us to supply the minimum demand of water to our customers, especially those in the East Bay and South Bay. The plant can now provide 160 million gallons of water per day for up to two months in case of an emergency. Previously, that level of service would run out after only a matter of days.

Alameda Siphon No. 4 – Completed
This project will ensure the water system performs properly, and water can be delivered to customers after an earthquake. The Alameda Siphon No. 4 Project extends approximately 3,000 feet from the Alameda East Portal across both the Calaveras Fault and Alameda Creek to the Alameda West Portal. It consists of a seismically-designed thicker-walled pipe in the fault rupture zone, and a tunnel crossing under Alameda Creek. 

Town of Sunol Fire Suppression Project Update

Kilkare Road, here we come!

Construction has begun to improve the water distribution system and fire hydrants in the Town of Sunol. The project includes constructing two miles of new pipelines on County roads, installation of approximately 26 new fire hydrants, and replacing the existing water tanks that serve the Town of Sunol.

Here’s an update, hot off the presses as of August 8, 2014

• What we’ve completed to date: Construction Crews have installed new pipeline on Main Street, Bond Street, Foothill Road West and East of Kilkare Road, and at Sunol Glen School. Hydrant locations have also been staked in these areas as well.
• What’s next: Starting the week of August 11, 2014, our crews will next start pipeline installation on Kilkare Road, starting at the intersection with Foothill Road, and moving all the way up to the ‘600 block’ of Kilkare Road. Pipeline installation on Kilkare should be completed by Labor Day.
• Hydrant Installation: Hydrants will be installed at marked locations   during this time period as the contractor’s schedule allows. 

What will come after that? Construction Look-ahead for September 2014:

• Jack and Bore Crossing underneath Alameda County Railway at the intersection of Main Street, Kilkare Road, and Foothill Road.
• Jack and Bore Crossing underneath Union Pacific Railroad on Main Street is scheduled to start at the end of September.

What to Expect during Construction:

- One-lane traffic through construction zones during work hours. This will  cause some delays, so please plan ahead.

- Work Hours: 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

- Limited Work on Saturdays for a small crew to install hydrants.

- Night work will be necessary during pipeline/tank shutdowns. We will minimize noise. 

- Access to private driveways and around streets will be available at all times.

Stay in Touch:

24-hour Answering Line:

(866) 973-1476

epowell@sfwater.org

blauppe@sfwater.org

Visit our blog sfwater.org/sunolvalley

Thank you so much for your patience and kind consideration during construction!

Construction for the Town of Sunol Fire Suppression Project is Starting

We are getting started on construction to improve the water distribution system and construct approximately 26 fire hydrants in the Town of Sunol. 

Please join us for a project groundbreaking on Friday, July 11, at 10:30 a.m. at the parking lot (intersection of Main Street, Kilkare Road, and Foothill Road) in Sunol, California.
We will enjoy light refreshments at the park afterwards.

Where is construction right now?

During the Weeks of July 7—July 21, 2014

Pipeline installation will occur at:

• Sunol Glen School
• Main Street up to the Railroad Crossing
• Bond Street

In August, we plan:

• Pipeline Installation on East Foothill Road to  the Kilkare Road intersection
• Jack and Bore crossing underneath Alameda County Railway at the intersection of Main Street, Kilkare Road, and Foothill Road.

o   We will cross under the railroads using a jack and bore method. The contractor will dig two large pits on each side of the crossing, insert pipeline casing into the pits and move the pipe beneath the railroad crossings. Each jack and bore crossing will take approximately 30 days.

What to Expect during Construction:

• One-lane traffic through construction zones during work hours. This will cause some delays, so please plan ahead.
• Possible Work Hours: 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Weekend work might be necessary, but we will provide advanced notice.
• Night work will be necessary during pipeline/tank shutdowns. We will minimize noise.  Some residents will have nighttime water outages with advance notice.
• Access to private driveways and around streets will be available at all times.

Stay in touch

Visit us  online here

Call us 24/7 at (866) 973-1476.
blauppe@sfwater.org
epowell@sfwater.org

See you around the Sunol Valley!

The New Geary Road Bridge to Open on Feb. 7

We are excited to announce that the new Geary Road Bridge will be ready for use on Friday, Feb. 7th! The new 150-foot-long concrete and weathered-steel bridge has replaced an old bridge that was unable to support the weight of the large vehicles that use it regularly. It crosses Alameda Creek downstream of Calaveras and Alameda Creek Diversion Dams, and is located within the East Bay Regional Park District’s Sunol Ohlone Wilderness Park leased lands. This new bridge will protect Alameda Creek at this location by eliminating the need for large vehicles to drive through the creek’s low-water crossing. Planting and restoration of the site are underway. 

Thanks to the East Bay Regional Park District staff, park visitors, private landowners, lease holders and all members of the public in the area for their patience during construction. To see how the new Geary Road Bridge was constructed , take a few moments to check out our project video:

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!

What are We Building along Calaveras Road?

Those who frequently travel on Calaveras Road in the Sunol Valley will likely notice increased activity along the west side of Calaveras Road, south of Interstate 680 (I-680). It is, in fact, the latest Water System Improvement Program Project to begin construction in the Sunol Valley - the San Antonio Backup Pipeline Project. Construction officially began in April, and the contractor, Ranger Pipelines Inc., has begun mobilization activities.

What are we building?

• Approximately 1.3 miles of 5 ½ foot diameter pipeline
• New chemical storage, feed, and equipment facilities
• A new cut-off wall around one of the quarry pits located just south of I-680.
• The contractor will also complete upgrades to the water delivery pipeline that serves the Town of Sunol.

What to Expect

• Trucks entering and exiting the project driveway site, along Calaveras Road approximately 1/3 of a mile south of I-680 along Calaveras Road.
• Intermittent delays are possible during construction on Calaveras Road.
• Please proceed with caution when travelling through construction zones.
• Additional construction activity on the west side of Calaveras Road.
• All construction activities will occur on SFPUC-owned property.

Project Location Map

Alignment for San Antonio Backup Pipeline is in red.

Work Hours

• Monday – Friday: 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• No planned work on weekends or holidays.

Why are we building this?

Two-way traffic is better, at least in the case of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC) San Antonio Pipeline. The existing San Antonio Pipeline acts as a water transmission pathway in the Sunol Valley. This pipeline allows us to discharge Hetch Hetchy water to San Antonio Reservoir for storage and send reservoir water to the Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant for treatment before distribution to customers. The problem is that there is currently only one pipeline, so water can only move in one direction at a time.

When complete in 2015, the San Antonio Backup Pipeline will enable the SFPUC to discharge Hetch Hetchy water to a nearby quarry pit during emergency events while at the same transporting San Antonio Reservoir Water to the Treatment Plant at the same time. This adds operational flexibility to the system and minimizes the risk of service disruption to 2.6 million customers.

See you around the Sunol Valley!

Where the Wild Things Are

“And the wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws.”
― Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are

We don’t have any creatures like that at the New Irvington Tunnel… unless you’re talking about this 55-ton guy:

Our wild things are a bit friendlier and we take great care to keep them safe. Measures like wildlife exclusion fencing and regular monitoring are among the numerous measures to ensure that environmental impacts are kept to a minimum. Project Biologist and Wildlife Photographer Michael Bumgardner introduces us to some of creatures we protect during construction.

The Mourning Dove is one the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds.

The Mule Deer is indigenous to western North America and known for its large mule-life ears.

The Red-winged Blackbird is found in North and much of Central America. Males are all black with a red shoulder and yellow wing bar. Females are a nondescript brown.

Wild Turkeys are native to North America and are omnivorous, foraging on the ground or climbing shrubs and small trees to feed.

The Yellow-billed Magpie is a large bird in the crow family found only in California.

To view these and more wildlife and nature photos by Mike Bumgardner, visit www.bumgardnerphotography.com

The SFPUC and the Town of Sunol Celebrate the Holidays

Pizza, cider and rock samples! The SFPUC’s Holiday Open House at the Sunol Event Center was the place to be last Thursday night!

Sunol residents mingled with their neighbors and engaged in lively conversations about the history of the valley with SFPUC staff. Guests played with rock samples from the Calaveras Dam, marveled at construction photos of the New Irvington Tunnel and enthusiastically shared their vision for the proposed Alameda Creek Watershed Center.


Residents also had the opportunity to learn about other ongoing projects in the area including: the San Antonio Backup Pipeline; San Antonio Pump Station; Alameda Siphon #4; Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant; Town of Sunol Fire Suppression System; and the Watershed and Environmental Improvement Program and Bioregional Habitat Restoration Program.


The smell of homemade banana bread and hot apple cider filled the air as guests enjoyed freshly baked artisan pizzas topped with locally grown vegetables from Fred Hemple and Jill Shepard’s Baia Nicchia Organic Farm. Our youngest guests decorated their own ornaments and bookmarks.

Thank you to those who were able to attend our holiday event.

To all of our neighbors in the Sunol Valley and folks we’ve had the pleasure of working with this year, we want to wish everyone a very happy holiday season!