We are Building the Dam!

We are rocking out here at Calaveras Dam.  Not so much to the sound of music but to the sweet sound of haul trucks loading and dumping rock fill.  This week marks a big step towards building the new replacement dam. We dug down to the dam foundation back in August 2012 and we are now officially filling in rock material in the foundation for the new replacement dam. The fill material consists of rocks 30 inches in diameter, being moved at approximately 4,500 yards per day. Our bull dozers are equipped with GPS (global positioning system) units which detects the proper thickness levels as the materials are placed.  The first phase of fill material will be completed at approximately 100 feet.

Haul truck places fill material into the Dam Foundation

Bulldozer uses GPS technology to level rock material for the replacement dam

Rendering of New Replacement Dam with first phase of rock fill being placed

(Not to scale)

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

Be Prepared!

Be Prepared! 

The 23rd anniversary of the freeway-flattening Loma Prieta earthquake is coming up on October 17th. In the event of a similar emergency, will you be prepared? Will you have enough drinking water?

Make This October Emergency Preparedness Month!
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) operates the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System, which provides high-quality drinking water to 2.6 million residents and businesses across four Bay Area counties. The SFPUC is making the investment to seismically upgrade regional water facilities, tunnels, and pipelines. However, it is important for you to remember that smaller pipelines leading to your home might be damaged in an earthquake. As a result, water from your tap may be unavailable for up to 72 hours or longer.

To prepare for an emergency:

Keep a 3-day water supply just in case!
• Each family member needs 1 gallon per day
• Store tap water in food-grade plastic containers; replace every 6 months
• Store bottled water in the original sealed containers; replace according to expiration date.

If your supply runs out, you can treat your water!
• Boil it for 3 minutes, or disinfect it by adding regular household bleach
• Add 8 drops of bleach per gallon of water
• Shake or stir then let it stand for 30 minutes

For more tips, view our emergency preparedness videos and website: http://www.sfwater.org/beprepared or follow @WSIPInTheNews.

First Flight at the Irvington Portal

The Ohlone Humane Society Wildlife Rehabilitation Center cares for injured, ill and sick wildlife found in the Bay Area. The center’s dedicated team of staff and volunteers was our first call when an injured immature red-tailed hawk was found during the construction of the New Irvington Tunnel (NIT).

Irv needed some help so the NIT team called the Ohlone Humane Society Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

“Irv” was found with what appeared to be a broken wing (see image) by miners at the start of their morning shift. The crew promptly called our environmental team to determine the appropriate course of action with “Irv.” NIT’s environmental inspectors kept an eye on “Irv” and made sure construction and heavy equipment stayed away until the staff from the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center were able to arrive at the site.

Rehabilitating wildlife requires a lot of time and “Irv” spent two months in rehab. Staff and volunteers made sure “Irv” received both the medical attention and training he needed to survive in the wild. The red-tailed hawk is a bird of prey. So, in addition to learning how to fly again, “Irv” had to work on his hunting skills (particularly since he just recently fledged).

The NIT team and Mikey pay a visit to the Ohlone Wildlife Rehabilitation Center NIT Team (L to R): David Tsztoo (Project Manager), Carrie Dovzak (Environmental Inspector), Michael Bumgardner (Project Biologist) and Mikey Ohlone Staff: Sandra and Dave

 “Irv” was released this week near the location where he was found (given that it is probably the area he knows best). The NIT team paid him a visit, said their final goodbyes, and watched as he flew away. Check out “Irv’s” first flight back in the wild:

Irv had a short first flight. After surveying the area for a half hour he took off over the Irvington Portal and headed east. 

We wish “Irv” a happy journey and are thankful to the volunteers and staff at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center for helping “Irv” get back into the wild as free-ranging hawk.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Ohlone Humane Society Wildlife Rehabilitation Center visit www.ohlonehumanesociety.org. In the meantime, meet Wesley - a barn owl who was guest at the center and is now a non-releasable, permanent resident of the Sulphur Creek Nature Center in Hayward.

Post #6: 72 hours, 2 tunnels, 3 time zones and countless new friends.

New Irvington Tunnel Project Manager David Tsztoo and Construction Manager Dan McMaster have been invited on a prestigious tunneling information and technical exchange with their tunneling counterparts in Europe. Since they are on their own time, they invited our Mikey to join them…. When last we left them they were in Switzerland.

Friday, Sept. 28: 

Guten Morgen! Or is it Buon Giorno?! You can understand David, Dan and Mikey’s early morning confusion. Crisscrossing Europe can have that effect and the boys had to wake up early to catch two impressive Italian tunnels.

At the twin bore Galleria Sparvo Tunnel near Bologna, Italy, the trio was greeted by a 15.6 meter (51-foot) Herrenknecht-manufactured tunnel boring machine (TBM) – the largest TBM in the world. It’s the equivalent of 51 Mikeys tall!

Most impressive sight? Watching what’s best described as a hovercraft move the 2,500-ton Sparvo TBM. Mikey wasn’t the only one that liked that!

Down the road was the Galleria Val di Sambro Tunnel. Unlike Sparvo, crews used fiber glass pre-excavation face supports and a giant hole-ram to mine the 50-foot diameter tunnel full face. Pre-fabricated steel and shotcrete were installed to support the ground after excavation.

Now for you foodies, dinner was at the rustic Antica Trattoria La Grotta tucked into the hills surrounding Bologna. This fourth-generation family restaurant served our intrepid travelers a multi-course meal that featured slow-cooked braised pork.

Saturday Sept. 29th: 

David, Dan and Mikey’s final day was a mix of technical presentations, sightseeing and fond goodbyes.

In the morning, the trio spent some time with the project managers of the Sparvo and Sambro tunnels and received briefings on current and upcoming tunnel projects in the United States.

The three spent the afternoon on a cultural tour of the historical center of Bologna and shopping for souvenirs. Mikey loved seeing how many old buildings were converted into shops, residential homes, and museums.

Finally, David, Dan, Mikey and tunneling experts from around the world gathered one final time over cheese, pasta and pork tenderloin. It was an evening of sharing stories, exchanging business cards and saying goodbyes to new friends.

Sunday, Sept. 30th:

The journey home started with a 4:00 AM wake up call. With their bags packed and passports in their pockets, David, Dan and Mikey boarded the early morning flight from Bologna. After layovers in Frankfort and London they made the trip back to San Francisco. Twenty-three hours later a very tired David, Dan and Mikey were back home.

Au Revoir. Auf Wiedersehen. Addio. It’s good to be home.

Want go back to where this adventure began?  Check out: Mikey Likes It!

Post #5 David, Dan & Mikey: Having a Blast in Switzerland!

New Irvington Tunnel Project Manager David Tsztoo and Construction Manager Dan McMaster have been invited on a prestigious tunneling information and technical exchange with their tunneling counterparts in Europe. Since they are on their own time, they invited our Mikey to join them…. When last we left them they were in Strasbourg, France.

Thurs. Sept. 27th:

Most travelers to Sigirno leisurely browse through the cultural and natural attractions of this classically Swiss village…world class art museum, the Autumn Festival, or cruising Lake Lugano.

If you’re David, Dan and Mikey you might be looking for a little more action… maybe even explosive!

When our tunnel travelers visited the Alp Transit Gotthard Ceneri Base Tunnel near Sigirno, they weren’t going to find a single tunnel boring machine or road header on site. Instead the railway tunnel is driven in four headings simultaneously using mechanized drill and blast!

Workers prepare for a controlled detonation

Mikey in around the Ceneri Base Tunnel with some new friends

Deep underground a large rapid drilling machine is used to drill about a hundred holes in the tunnel face, and the holes are packed with explosives. When everything is set the detonations blast away several meters of rock off the face, crews remove the blasted rock, and the process repeats for the next round. David and Dan were certainly impressed and well Mikey… he likes it!

After all the excitement the three boarded a bus for the six hour drive to Bologna, Italy. David and Dan took this time to catch up on sleep. Not Mikey, though. He was his fun, energetic self, as usual.

What’s next for the crew? Two twin bore tunnels and a night in downtown Bologna.

Auf wiedersehen!

Before blasting in Switzerland Mikey huddled with the world's premier tunneling experts!

Calaveras Dam Replacement Project Celebrates 1 Year

This week marks a full year since  the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project Team broke ground in September 2011.   Over the past year, the Project Team achieved many milestones.

• They moved more than 1 million cubic yards of excavated materials,
• dug down far enough to reach the dam foundation,
• completed an active water treatment system on site,
• constructed the foundation of a supporting dike under a disposal site,
• erected a soldier pile wall for the right abutment of the future dam,
• began construction of a new intake shaft and
• connected adits and tunnels to the system.

Through this major work, our team has faced many challenges and discovered unforeseen findings along the way due to the complex nature of the project site.  As the team continues to meet the many challenges with their shared sense of teamwork and joint efforts at problem solving, the team took a moment to celebrate the first year of construction. In the coming months, we will share more construction updates with you.



Calaveras Dam Replacement Project Team Managers L:R (Shawn Golden of Dragados USA /Flatiron/Sukut Joint Venture, Alberto Benlloch of Dragados USA /Flatiron/Sukut Joint Venture, Dan Wade of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Terry  King of the Construction Management Team, Jordan Sukut of Dragados USA /Flatiron/Sukut Joint Venture) celebrate one year of construction.

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

Mikey's Travels: Post #4, PowerPoint, Bar Charts and an Exclusive Look at the World’s Premier Tunnel Equipment Plant

September 25 & 26: Strasbourg Tunnel Seminar and the Herrenknect Plant

New Irvington Tunnel Project Manager David Tsztoo and Construction Manager Dan McMaster have been invited on a prestigious tunneling information and technical exchange with their tunneling counterparts in Europe. Since they are on their own time, they invited our Mikey to join them…. We join them in Strasbourg.

Mikey couldn't wait for the presentations to start!

Dave and Dan enjoy presentations from their tunneling colleagues but you haven’t met anyone more excited about a day-long tunnel seminar than Mikey! 

A presentation on the Port of Miami Tunnel?  Forget about breakfast this is what gets Mikey going in the morning!

An overview on the successful use of shielded TBMs on a New York City subway project? Mikey likes it! He really likes it!

An in-depth technical discussion on how designers can specify large cross section final lining forming system performance using a new DIN standard for form performance requirements?!?! 

Okay, this one flew over Mikey’s head. But after Dave and Dan explained it to him…Mikey was in awe.

Dave, Dan and Mikey also had dinner with Dr. Martin Herrenknect who delighted them with stories from his life and how the Herrenknecht Group became the premier TBM manufacturer in the world! For the foodies out there, Dr. Herrenknect treated his guests to veal shoulder steak with vegetables and spatzle, pate, salad and snatpz.

The next day our tunnel adventurers departed for the much anticipated tour of the Herrenknecht Plant where all sorts of TBM's are being designed and manufactured.  After welcoming remarks by Dr. Herrenknecht we divided up into groups and saw the plant in action.   Mikey marveled as he watched large tunnel boring machines being assembled and steel segment moulds in fabrication. David and Dan were equally impressed as they watched shop engineers and technicians pre-assemble the full scale TBM's on the grounds to check for quality control.  

Up next? Serpiano, Switzerland - to a railway tunnel using mechanized drill and blast from four different headings!

Before Strasbourg David, Dan and Mikey were checking out Tunneling in Saverne, France.