National Dam Safety Awareness Day

As construction continues at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project, we take a moment to recognize May 31^st as National Dam Safety Awareness Day. Each year on May 31st, the nation remembers teh devastation that occurred on May 31, 1889 in Johnston, Pennyslvania when the South Fork Dam failed. This tragic event resulted in thousands of deaths and left many homeless. The Johnston disaster was the worst dam failure in the history of the U.S.

National Dam Safety Awareness Day reminds us of the importance of dam safety and preventing future failures. Dams provide many befefits such as water supply and storage, hydropower, recreation, flood prevention and improve wildflife habitats.

 

This also reminds us how critical and important our work is here in Sunol Valley to rebuild the Calaveras Dam. We are currently 66% complete and anticipate final completion of the dam in end of 2018.

The Calaveras Replacement Dam when complete will provide us:

·         The largest drinking water reservoir in the local Bay Area storing 31 billion gallons (96,850 acre ft) of water, providing more than half of the storage capacity for 2.6 million customers

·         A new seismically upgraded dam with a structural height of 220 feet, a crest length of 1210 feet and width of 80 feet at the crest and 1180 feet at the base

·         A new 1550 ft spillway and a new intake/outlet shaft tower which will convey water to and from the reservoir through a pipeline downstream and to our Bay Area customers

 

Aerial Photo of the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project
taken on May 21, 2015

 

 

It’s National Safety Week!

Every year, more than 80,000 workers suffer an injury on construction job sites across the U.S.  Any one incident is one too many. Life is too precious to not make safety the number one focus in the U.S. construction industry. This week from May 3^rd through May 9^th, construction firms nationwide have joined forces to inspire everyone in the industry to be leaders in safety.

Here at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project, the project team had a lot to celebrate. Over 150,000 work hours have been reached with zero safety recordable incidents since October 2014. Given the size of the machinery we are using on the site, the complexity of the work, and the sheer number of activities on site each day, this is truly remarkable. Safety is important to our teams as we build the replacement Calaveras Dam. Every morning this week, the teams had a special safety topic to remind workers the importance of construction safety. The workers got together for a celebratory barbecue to pat ourselves on the back for being vigilant, reminding us to take care of ourselves and each other as we continue with construction.

We are proud of our team and they are on to their next goal to reach another safety milestone!

Calaveras Dam workers listen to the safety milestones reached at the project
at a celebratory lunch provided by the contractor

 

Dragados/Flatiron/Sukut Construction Manager Mike Mullich
congratulates heavy equipment Operator Gary Gatehouse on our safety milestone

 

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