Providing Water for Our Sunol Neighbors

Sunol Glen School and its 250 kindergarten through eighth-grade students form the heart of the Town of Sunol Community.So it was with much excitement that members of the community joined local Alameda County Supervisors at the school to officially break in the school’s new track with the school’s largest fundraiser – the Walk-a-thon.

With several large Water System Improvement Projects currently under construction just a few miles away from the town, the Sunol Regional Outreach team is always looking for ways to be involved with the community. This was the perfect opportunity, especially since the SFPUC is the local water provider for the school.

Our very own Justin Lyman and Dean Tolosa from the Water Supply and Treatment Division were kind enough to spend a few hours in the hot sun in October to provide much needed hydration to the walkers.

The event happens every year in October, and students have earned more than $350,000 for their school since the Walk-a-thon started 20 years ago. We look forward to being part of this Sunol Glen School tradition for years to come!

 

Justin and Dean from Water Supply and Treatment doled out more than 80 gallons of water to students and teachers alike in less than two hours.

 

The walkers, school staff and Eagle school mascot were all extremely grateful for the cool Hetch Hetchy water!

Ready for the Rain

The rainy season is here! While we welcome the rain we also have to prepare for it.  Why? If left unchecked, rain water will travel through constructions sites (that uncover large amounts of dirt for their work) and pickup dirt and small rocks and anything else that is on the ground surface along the way.  The runoff then goes into storm drains and flows into the local water system causing harm to the Bay.

At the New Irvington Tunnel Project, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission uses a series of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to minimize the effects of storm water runoff.  Our prevention methods include:

Erosion Control: Planting vegetation is an effective way to stabilize the soil by reducing exposure to erosion.  Stabilization prevents soil particles from detaching and becoming transported in storm water runoff. 

 Erosion control measures in place at the Vargas Shaft

Earth Dikes & Drainage Swales:  Earth dikes are temporary berms of compacted soil and drainage swales with shallow slopped channels. These easily installed measures divert storm water runoff away from soil that is prone to erosion and into controlled areas.

This drainage swale channels storm water away from erosion sensitive areas

Sediment Basins: Control areas such as gravel basins trap and collect sediment from storm water runoff before it enters our local water systems.

A gravel basin at the Irvington Portal

The SFPUC and our contractor, Southland Tutor Perini Joint Venture, work together to make sure stormwater runoff does not make its way into the local water system.  As a team we keep a constant eye to ensure the appropriate measures are in place and are effective. 

New Irvington Tunnel Project Open House

Please Join Us for Coffee at the

New Irvington Tunnel

Project Open House

Thursday December 6, 2012

4:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Mission Coffee

151 Washington Blvd

Fremont, CA

Please stop by and check in on the progress of the new tunnel.  Our project team is available to answer your questions and listen to your comments.  

Project Update
Over 12,593 feet (out of 18,660) has been tunneled to date.  Workers completed the installation of 102-inch diameter steel pipe at the Irvington Portal that will eventually carry drinking water from the Hetch Hetchy system to 2.6 million Bay Area customers. 

Installation of the waterline connection to the new tunnel at Irvington Portal near Mission Boulevard continues.  We expect the connection fully installed by January 11, 2013.

The New Year will also begin the countdown to the completion of tunneling.  Excavation is scheduled for completion mid-2013.  The steel pipe liner will go into the last sections of the tunnel by the Fall of 2013.

We look forward to seeing you at the open house!

Please call 866-973-1476 or email fzamora@sfwater.org for

more information. You can also visit www.sfwater.org/nit or

www.sfwater.org/sunolvalley for project updates.

We are Building a “Mini-Dam”...for the California Tiger Salamanders!

Prior to and during construction, the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project implements measures to avoid and minimize impacts to wildlife located in the Alameda Creek Watershed. 

Our Environmental team has taken proactive steps to protect and relocate the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) species since the start of the project.  The California tiger salamander (CTS) is an amphibian native to Northern California growing up to 8 inches long.  CTS have started to migrate at night from upland habitats to aquatic breeding sites, especially during the first major rainfall events of fall and early winter.

 California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense)

Wildlife exclusion fencing is strategically located along the boundaries of the construction work limits to deter wildlife from entering.  Also, water moistened buckets are placed in trenches between silt fences to catch the critters, which are later relocated to nearby ponds.

Just this week our approved biologist monitored berm repairs performed on a relocation pond for CTS.  The berm serves as a barrier which is positioned on the top of the pond, to reduce turbidity and maintain suitable conditions in the pond.  Permission was given by the California Department of Fish and Game to relocate 50 CTS to this location. 

As of today, 78 California tiger salamanders have been trapped and relocated to safer habitats away from project construction. With the repaired pond, we will be able to provide them a suitable and safe environment for breeding.

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

Repair work on Pond for California tiger salamander

Repair work on Pond for California tiger salamander

Photo of pond after work completed

Then & Now: Tunnel Lining

The existing Irvington Tunnel was built in the early 20th century and can no longer be taken out of service for repairs or maintenance without impacting the water supply to customers. The last time the old tunnel was inspected for maintenance was in 1966. Completion of the New Irvington Tunnel will allow us take the existing tunnel out of service for much needed maintenance. The new tunnel is designed to provide a seismically-strengthened or reinforced connection between water supplies from the Alameda Watershed to Bay Area customers

Here’s a quick look at tunnel construction then and now:

Then: In 1933, the existing Irvington Tunnel was lined with cast-in-place concrete. The average cost of house was $5,750, IT’S-IT Ice Cream was gaining popularity at San Francisco’s Playland-at-the-Beach, and baseball by the Bay was played at Seals Stadium. 

Now:  The New Tunnel will be lined with a total 18,660 feet of welded steel pipe..  After the pipe is installed, the pipe will be lined with cement mortar finish to protect the steel pipe from rusting, so the tunnel will serve drinking water for future generations.

At 102-inches (8.5 feet) in diameter, the pipes are the final liner of the new tunnel, through which the pristine drinking water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and our East Bay Watershed will flow to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Just in case you’re curious about how things compare in 2012:  The average price of a home is $295,300, Playland-at-the-Beach is gone but IT’S-IT is found at your local grocer, and the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants play at AT&T Park! 

Check out the previous entries in NIT’s Then & Now series:

Then &Now: Mining Methods

Then & Now: Alameda West Portal

Calaveras Road: Increased Truck Traffic 11/13 thru 11/16

The Calaveras Dam Replacement Project will be expecting heavy truck traffic from November 13th through November 16th on Calaveras Road just south of Interstate 680 to the project site approximately 4 miles past Geary Road.  Dates subject to change dependent on weather conditions.

• Calaveras Road remains open to the public
• Haul trucks are expected from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Please drive safely on the narrow portions of Calaveras Road and please share the road
• Speed limit is 25 mph in construction zones

For more information:

24 hour-Answer Line 866-973-1476

Email us:

mle@sfwater.org or blauppe@sfwater.org

Follow us online at: www.sfwater.org/sunolvalley