New Irvington Tunnel Team Presents at CA-NV AWWA

Three New Irvington Tunnel project team members recently presented at the American Water Works Association (AWWA) spring CA-NV section conference. They delivered a dynamic presentation on the project’s integrated approach to working with 33 residential well users in the area where excavation would be taking place for the new tunnel. The presentation focused on the development and implementation of the Groundwater Management Plan (GMP) as well as the need for the GMP, extensive public outreach that was conducted prior to construction, how it is being implemented during construction, and some of the lessons learned by the team along the way.

NIT Team Members David Tsztoo (Project Manager), Betsy Lauppe Rhodes (Public Outreach), Bruce Abelli-Amen (Groundwater Consultant), and special guest “Mikey” at the conference.

Alameda Creek Bridge Crossing - Then and Now

While poking around our archives, we stumbled upon some fun photos. Enjoy!





The Bridge Crossing Alameda Creek in 1953.





The new bridge crossing Alameda Creek constructed by the New Irvington Tunnel Team,

shown here in 2011.

Be A Local Water Hero This April!

In the event of an earthquake, will you have enough drinking water?

The 107th anniversary of the devastating 1906 earthquake is coming up on Thursday, April 18th. 

This April, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) encourages all Bay Area residents and business leaders to take the time to discuss plans, supplies and ideas with your family and community to ready your home or office for an emergency or catastrophic event.

Be a Local Hero Contest!

This April, we want to know your tips for emergency preparedness and any precautions you and your family or office have taken to be prepared for an earthquake or natural disaster.

Tweet us @WSIPInTheNews between April 8 and 12, and let us know what you're doing to be a local water hero by demonstrating (via photo) or sharing your own tips. Participants will receive a pen and certificate. 

We'll retweet some of your tips during the week of April 15, but are encouraging your participation all month long. All cities and residents are eligible for a certificate by tweeting us your tip or showing how your city, home or office is a local hero. 

View Our Short Informational Videos on Emergency Preparedness As It Relates To Water: 

Keep a 3-day water supply just in case

View this video to learn more.

If your supply runs out, you can treat your tap water

View this video to learn more.

Locate the water shutoff valve to your building or residence before an emergency

View this video to learn more. 

For more information and to view our videos, visit sfwater.org/BePrepared or www.sf72.org. 

First Day of Spring at Calaveras Dam

John Rocca, our Field Operations Manager for the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project, stands on the second bench of the existing Calaveras Dam.  Behind John is the where the replacement dam is currently being constructed with targeted completion at the end of 2017.

The left side of the photo shows the stilling basin cut, part of the left abutment of the dam where we are excavating and reinforcing the slope. Shown on the right center of the photo, this hill is referred to as the right abutment where excavations are largely complete. Crews are working on treating the foundation of the future dam.

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

Photo courtesy of Robin Scheswohl, SFPUC Photographer

Local Cavers and the New Irvington Tunnel

They kindly attended one of our meetings, and we, in turn, attended their’ s. We were delighted to meet members of the National Speleological Society’s San Francisco Bay Chapter (SFBC) at one of our quarterly coffees in Fremont a while back.  Much to our surprise, they saw our New Irvington Tunnel (NIT) blog and became interested in the project. They invited us to speak at one of their future meetings about our man-made ‘cave’. Last week Project Manager David Tsztoo and Geologist Rebecca Fusee made a presentation at the SFBC general meeting and  ‘rocked out’ as it were by talking about the NIT Project and the complex geology it passes through.

The members of the SFBC Grotto sure know a thing or two about cave exploration, geology, conservation and organizing caving trips with fellow cavers. It was a great experience for our team to have the opportunity to share knowledge about tunneling with this group. Beautiful photos and rock samples were shown of the geologic features from the tunnel excavation, consisting of primarily sandstone, siltstone, shale, and chert ranging from Miocene to Cretaceous age (dated at 5 to 144 million years old).  Action photos of our road header equipment used in tunneling were featured during the presentation.  We look forward to more talks about rocks with the SFBC!

To learn more about the National Speleological Society San Francisco Bay Chapter, visit their website at www.sfbcgrotto.org

For more information on the New Irvington Tunnel Project, subscribe to our blog, or call our 24 hour answer line at 866-973-1476 or email mle@sfwater.org

New Irvington Tunnel Project Geologist Rebecca Fusee

shares some rock samples from the tunnel with attendees

L to R: John Tinsley, Tom Mathey, NIT Project Geologist Rebecca Fusee, NIT Project Manager David Tsztoo, Alan Chern, Matt Bowers

 

Preparation Work Starting this Week for the Geary Road Bridge Replacement Project

The existing Geary Road Bridge that will be replaced. 

Working closely with the East Bay Regional Park District, the SFPUC will replace the existing unreliable wooden Geary Road Bridge with a new concrete and steel bridge. This will eliminate the need for vehicles driving through Alameda Creek at the low-water crossing. Construction work will be underway this spring to replace the existing bridge with a new one located in the Sunol Regional Wilderness area in the Alameda Watershed. Once complete in December 2013, the new bridge will be able to accommodate all new truck and pedestrian traffic in order to protect the health of Alameda Creek at this location.

Crews will begin preparing the site this week, which will include installing wildlife exclusion fencing and removing some trees. Some trees that will be removed at this location will be transported and utilized at another SFPUC habitat improvement project site within the Alameda Watershed.  Other trees will be used to provide erosion control and stabilization within this project area. 

What To Expect:

• A small crew of up to 10 workers and several pieces of equipment will be working at this location for up to three weeks.
• Regular work hours are Monday through Friday: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be no work conducted on weekends.
• Construction vehicles will off-haul the trees in trucks using the main park road, so park users may experience additional truck traffic.
• The bridge will remain open during this time, but park users should exercise caution at the work location and may experience some delays during this time.
• Park users should stay outside of fencing and other barriers at this work location.

Air Monitoring Program Continues at Calaveras Dam

If you are traveling on Calaveras Road, you may notice what appears like chain link cages along the side of the road. These are our air quality monitoring stations.  These stations have been placed throughout the valley and within the construction boundaries of the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project.  Our teams collect air sampling data throughout the week at the various stations to ensure we are protecting the public and our workers at all times. 

Why are we doing this?

Portions of the approximately 7 million cubic yards of material which is being moved to construct the replacement Calaveras Dam contain rock formations that contain varying levels of Naturally Occurring Asbestos.

Geotechnical explorations in the area of the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project construction revealed that the Sunol Valley contains rock types that are known to contain naturally occurring asbestos and metals.  Serpentinite rock (“California Jade”) is the state rock of California and occurs naturally in at least 44 of California's 58 counties.

The SFPUC has implemented an extensive air monitoring program that is designed to keep dust generation to a minimum while assuring that asbestos-containing dust does not leave the site at levels sufficient to pose unacceptable risks to individuals who may work, recreate, or reside in the vicinity of the site.

For more information about our air quality monitoring and to see the latest air monitoring results, visit our NOA Website by clicking here.  Our results are updated weekly.

Our Staff collecting samples from an air monitoring station

Meet David from our Calaveras Dam Air Monitoring Team
working at one of our air monitoring stations