What do water pipes, water conservation, fossils and dams have in common?

They were all part of the cool topics shared with the Sunol Glen School students last week at their annual Earth/Science Day festivities.  We at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission were honored to be a guest again this year to share information about the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System.

We are always surprised and amazed at the enthusiasm and smarts of these first through eighth graders. Did you know that the California State Flower is the Golden Poppy? They did. Did you know that you could save your shower water in a bucket and water your plants with it? They did. Did you know the Sunol Valley was once a coastline? Many of them knew that, too. They enjoyed looking at the 20 million year old fossils unearthed during the construction of the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project, including a prehistoric shark tooth, seashells and rocks from the site.

We had a blast at Sunol Glen School and can’t wait to be back!

Now, for bonus points, what is the California State Fish? (Sunol Glen students, no telling!)

Water Heroes Unite at the East Bay Regional Park District’s Wildflower Festival

The crew at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) had a blast last Saturday at the East Bay Regional Park District’s Sunol Wildflower Festival at the Sunol Regional Wilderness.  New friends and old dropped by our booth to catch up on the ongoing efforts to upgrade the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System in the Sunol Valley, such as the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project and the New Irvington Tunnel.

Water conservation and the drought were top of mind to all who stopped by. The booth’s youngest visitors also made super hero masks to become Water Saving Superheroes. We were blown away by how much these little guys and their parents knew about how to save water. Check out our event photos, below!

Our WSIP trivia prize wheel

Our water conservation crafts table

Check out this water-saving superhero!

Keep up the good work, water heroes! We are all in this drought together. Learn more about Sunol Valley Water System Improvement Progam projects at sfwater.org/sunolvalley.

See you around the Valley!

SFPUC to exhibit at Spring Wildflower Festival this Saturday

It's time to celebrate the season of birds, bees, flowers and trees at the East Bay Regional Park District’s annual Spring Wildflower Festival at the Sunol Regional Wilderness, located at 1895 Geary Road, Sunol.

Join us on Saturday, April 18, 2015 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for hikes, crafts, music, slideshows and nature activities.

Drop by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s booth to learn the latest and greatest about our ongoing Water System Improvement Program Projects in the Sunol Valley. Learn water conservation tips, test your trivia on our prize wheel, and enjoy crafts with your favorite water saving superheroes!

The SFPUC booth at last year's Spring Wildflower Festival

We look forward to seeing you there! For more information about the festival, check out the East Bay Regional Park District’s website: www.ebparks.org.

Construction Advisory: Town of Sunol Fire Suppression Project

What to Expect:

Thursday, April 9, 2015

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

To Residences and businesses on Main Street on the Sunol Railroad Cafe of the Street:

• Please remove your cars from your driveway before 7:00 a.m. Thursday if you need to exit during 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Once the slurry seal is placed, it will take hours to cure, and you cannot drive over it.
• Please remove your car from the street before 7:00 a.m. on Thursday if you regularly park on the street.
• You will be able to access your driveways again  after 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.
• Pedestrians will be able to cross  the slurry seal safely during the day.

Friday, April 10, 2015

Slurry seal Main Street  Lane 2 (East Lane – on the Post Office Side of the Street ) 

To residences on the Post Office Side of the Street:

• Please remove your cars from your driveway before 7:00 a.m. Friday if you need to exit during 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Once the slurry seal is placed, it will take hours to cure, and you cannot drive over it.
• Please remove your car from the street before 7:00 a.m. on Friday if you regularly park on the street.
• You will be able to access your driveways again  after 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
• Pedestrians will be able to cross  the slurry seal safely during the day.

We will avoid pick up and drop off times at the school.
There will be one lane of traffic flowing through the Town at all times.

Thank you for your patience!
Questions? 24-hour Answering Line:  (866) 973-1476
epowell@sfwater.org
blauppe@sfwater.org
Visit our blog: sfwater.org/sunolvalley

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

 

 

 

Scheduled Nighttime Water Tank Shutdown from March 25-26

Town of Sunol Fire Suppression Project

PROJECT UPDATE 

Nighttime Water Shutdown

As part of the ongoing work on the water tanks on Tank Hill, we will take the tanks out of service at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25 until 6 a.m. on Thursday, March 26. We will be connecting pipeline sections in order to bring the new tank into service.

What to Expect:

• We do not anticipate any interruption in water service to the majority of our customers during this shutdown.
• Some residences might experience low-water pressure during this time period.
• Water service should return to normal Thursday, March 26at 6 a.m.

 

Look ahead

Although the majority of the work in the last two months has focused on Tank Hill, there will be some activity resuming in the Town. Now that the hydrants are live, bollards are installed, and the sidewalk crosswalk in front of the SFPUC- owned corporation yard has been repaired, there are only a few construction activities that remain in the Town before this project is complete.

Pavement Restoration

We will work with Alameda County and the contractor to repair any structural damage to the streets caused by construction.

Slurry Seal of Main Street

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 5 p.m. Please try to avoid the area during those times.

·         There will be no parking on Main Street during this time, and NO Parking signs will be posted prior to the start of this work.

·         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.  

 

 

Storage Tanks

Installation of the first of the two new replacement tanks on Tank Hill continues. Once the first new water storage tank on Tank Hill is placed into service (Spring 2015), the remaining pair of old, smaller water tanks will be demolished, and construction will start on the second replacement tank. Construction on Tank Hill will continue through summer of 2015.

 

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

Visit our blog sfwater.org/sunolvalley for additional information.  

epowell@sfwater.org

blauppe@sfwater.org

Heroes in a Half Shell at Calaveras Dam

We at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project are constantly reminded that our construction area is someone else’s home. Case in point: the Western pond turtles (Actinemys marmorata). Our little heroes in the half shell are coming out of hibernation. A species of special concern in California, Western pond turtles prefer calm water with lots of things to bask on and plants to hide under.  They are opportunistic feeders and will eat pretty much anything they can reach and overpower, including aquatic plants, fishes, aquatic invertebrates and carrion if they can find it. They hibernate nearby in burrows or in upland areas until the temperature is nice, then they come out and head to the water to find food and mates.

Our construction workers spotted the first Western pond turtle of the season roaming on one of our haul roads. Given there are large vehicles (think trucks with wheels that are 9 feet tall), it was important to sweep this girl up and put her in a safe place away from the site. Our biological inspector Aaron Sunshine did just that at a pre-designated release site. On a daily basis, our environmental inspectors work closely with construction staff to identify any wildlife that enter the construction area. Our team works to protect the wildlife in the Watershed ensuring we keep these protected native species safe from harm while we build this important project.  

Maybe it was the luck of the Irish? Or just a good day for our Western pond turtle to be returned to a safe habitat. Aaron and his team will be keeping a sharp eye out! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Peek-a-boo: Western pond turtle (measured at 16 cm carapace length) safely relocated at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project by our project Environmental Monitor

Here is our Western pond turtle being released
safely back into the reservoir shoreline