Meet One of Our Operators

Please allow us to introduce an indispensable member of our SFPUC staff – Tony Scott. Tony is the Acting Chief Stationary Engineer at the Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant, which is our East Bay drinking water filter plant. Tony and his staff oversee the treatment of drinking water from San Antonio and Calaveras Reservoirs before it reaches you, our customer.

                                     Tony stands proudly in front of the facility he has worked at for 18 years.
When Tony walks around the Plant his eyes are constantly on alert, inspecting everything around him. He checks in with staff to make sure all is running smoothly and that there are no surprises. “One of my mentors told me that every day you come to work here – our water treatment certification is on the line,” says Tony. “It is our responsibility to perform well. That always keeps me in a state of readiness.”

Tony has worked at the Plant for 18 years, and during that time he has pulled his fair share of holiday duty. Providing drinking water is a 24/7 operation, so a small team is always at the Plant, rain or shine, holiday or not. They monitor the quality of the water coming into the Plant to make adjustments in the treatment process if need be. Those on the night shift take advantage of the lower water demand on the Plant in order to check the instrumentation, do preventative maintenance on plant equipment, and fill out the extensive reports required by our regulators. Tony says that working at night and over the holidays can take some getting used to. But, he says, “The operating staff knows that this is part of their job.  They understand they need to get the job done.” Each holiday shift usually pulls together for a holiday potluck for dinner or a breakfast at the end of the shift.

 

Tony and his staff work 24/7 so we all can enjoy these special holiday times with family and friends and never have to worry about our drinking water. So, thank you, Tony and the staff at the Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant!

Happy Holidays to you and yours, and here’s hoping that the Plant staff have a lovely holiday meal in the Plant’s tiny kitchen!

Late Night Visitors

First thing in the morning, our team of biologists head out to the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project construction site to inspect for animals that may have wandered onto the construction site overnight. The inspectors help to ensure that none of the rare and endangered species in the area end up in the path of the day’s construction activities. 

Sometimes they find critters that need to be taken off site to a safe place. In fact, to date, our environmental inspectors have relocated western pond turtles, Alameda whipsnakes, California tiger salamanders, and many other species to a nearby, safe habitat away from construction.

Other times they find evidence that something passed through, but didn't stick around. This last week, our inspectors found the paw print of a mountain lion at the edge of a water holding pond. Also known as a cougar, puma, or panther, mountain lions are solitary predators of other large mammals, such as deer and elk.  Males can weigh up to 200 pounds, while females could reach 140.

Glimpses of these creatures have been seen by project personnel, but thankfully, none of our biologists have encountered the feline while making their rounds. But it serves as a reminder that we are not alone out here in the watershed, and we must continue our vigilance to help protect the animals and plants in the Southern Alameda Creek Watershed while we continue with construction of this important water reliability project. 

Calaveras Dam Replacement Project reaches 70,000 Safe working hours

Today was not just a typical work day at Calaveras Dam.  It was a day to acknowledge safe working practices since the project reached over 70,000 safe working craft hours since May 2013.  

Rebuilding the dam continues to be a challenging project with the complex geology and location of the Calaveras Dam nestled in the pristine Alameda Creek watershed.  Our laborers have been working diligently to seismically upgrade the dam since construction began.  To date, they have much to be proud of including completion of major adits and tunnels to the new intake structure, completion of grouting operations on the right abutment, and moving over 4 million cubic yards of materials for dam construction.  Most importantly, the team focuses on performing all of this work safely.

A joint venture of Dragados USA / Flatiron Construction / Sukut Construction serves as the contractor for the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project.  The  Calaveras Dam Replacement Project is part of the Water System Improvement Program which provides drinking water to 2.6 million Bay Area customers.

New Irvington Tunnel Roadheaders Get Well-Deserved Break

They worked an average of 20 hours a day, 5 days a week for two and a half years; grinding away at rock hundreds  of feet underground. And now, they’re finally getting the rest they deserve.

The three road headers that helped excavate the New Irvington Tunnel were removed from the tunnel last month after we holed through from tunnel headings and they are now out in the fresh air and resting after completing the excavation of the three and half mile-long tunnel.  The largest of the group is a Mitsui Miike which weighs in at 57 tons. The two Antraquip roadheaders each weigh 36 tons. 

What lies ahead for our three tunnel veterans? All three machines could be refurbished for use at future jobs. 

While the workhorses await their future fate, work continues to complete the New Irvington Tunnel. Crews will begin installing the steel lining soon. The entire project is expected to be complete in 2015.

Join Us at the Sunol Cowboy Hootenanny Folk Festival this Saturday

This past weekend, for the second year in a row, the Sunol Regional Outreach Team participated in the East Bay Regional Park District’s Sunol Cowboy Hootenanny Folk Festival at the Sunol-Ohlone Regional Wilderness Park! The event celebrates folk and pioneer history in the Sunol Valley with live music, vintage arts and crafts, square dancing, horse rides, food and more.

We really enjoyed sharing photos of our agency’s long history in the Sunol Valley. A clear favorite among booth visitors was a display of 20 million year-old fossils unearthed during construction of the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project. Many visitors already knew a great deal about our current efforts to upgrade the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System for future generations and about the Alameda Creek Watershed. Let’s see how much you know!

Below is a sampling of questions to test your own knowledge. Don’t peek at the answers!

1. What did the average house cost when the San Antonio Pump Station was built in 1965?

2. Who was the original designer of the first Calaveras Dam?

3. Currently, miners in the New Irvington Tunnel use a handheld gas detector encased in rubberized armor with ultra-bright LED alarms to detect dangerous gases. What did miners use in the existing Irvington Tunnel?

At the festival we tested attendees’ knowledge of local water system history along with some historical trivia.

Answers:

1. Answer: $14,000. We recently completed work to upgrade it and make it more reliable in case of an earthquake, because it is the literal and figurative heart of our water conveyance system in the Sunol Valley.

2. Answer: The original Calaveras Dam was built by California’s most famous water engineer, William Mulholland. In 1913 Mulholland supervised construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which brought the water from Owens Valley that enabled Los Angeles to grow into the nation’s second-largest metropolis.

3. Answer: A Canary. Canaries were once regularly used in tunneling and mining as an
early warning system. The phrase "canary in a coal mine" is frequently used to refer to a person or thing which serves as an early warning of a coming crisis.

 

View of the Sunol Water Temple from 1922.

New Geary Road Bridge Installed in Sunol Ohlone Regional Wilderness Park

The bridge, the very same as in the project’s title - Geary Road Bridge Project -- is here! Using a large crane, the contractor carefully lowered 50-foot-long bridge sections down onto the concrete piers that were already secured at both ends of the bridge. Now crews will focus on completing the bridge deck, the roadway approaching the bridge on both ends and installing all the bridge guardrails. The bridge is scheduled to be open to the public at the end of October.

This new concrete and steel bridge will further protect Alameda Creek at this location by eliminating the need for vehicles to drive through Alameda Creek at the low-water crossing. This project is taking place within East Bay Regional Park District’s Sunol Ohlone Regional Wilderness, and the area surrounding the bridge will be restored after construction is complete later this fall. 

Quenching Thirst at the 2013 Sunol Glen Walk-a-Thon

Run, walk, and fill-up on water. Quenching the thirst of more than 250 children, ranging from pre-school to eighth grade, became the main focus during the 2013 Sunol Glen School Walk-a-Thon a few weeks ago.  Not only were the kids thirsty for water, but also thirsty for information and asked questions like, “Where does this water come from?” or “Is this really Hetch Hetchy water?”.

With several large Water System Improvement Program projects under construction just a few miles away from the Town of Sunol, the Sunol Regional Outreach team is always looking for opportunities like this to be involved with the community and the walk-a-thon was a perfect way to do just that.  We also provide drinking water to more than 160 residences in the Town of Sunol.

Again this year, our volunteers from the Water Supply and Treatment Division provided the famous ‘Got Water?’ truck and staff joined us to help distribute water to the walkers. Aside from a few mud splatters here and there, the system was a big hit and the kids loved refilling their own water bottles from the spigots. A special thanks to Dean Tdosa and Mike Ishman from the Water Supply and Treatment Division who were there to help keep the students hydrated.

The Sunol Glen Walk-a-Thon 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!

Photos:

   SFPUC Team members helped distribute water and even some of the youngest participants enjoyed drinking Hetch Hetchy water. 

                                                                          Unique water spouts helped quickly distribute water to thirsty walkers.