Calaveras Dam Team participates in the US Society on Dams Conference

Some of our Sunol Valley Project team members are visiting Colorado this week. And they are not visiting to see the snow, but taking part in the United States Society on Dams (USSD) 2016 Annual Conference representing the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project.

As you know, the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project is the largest project of the $4.8 billion Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) to repair, replace, and seismically upgrade key components of the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System. 

Our WSIP Director Dan Wade and Calaveras Dam Project Manager Susan Hou were joined by the members of our SFPUC Engineering Management Bureau at the conference to present on the construction and challenges with the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project.

The completion of the project is important to the water supply for the Bay Area. Calaveras Reservoir, when full, represents nearly half of all the water storage in the Bay Area for the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System that serves 2.6 million customers. Calaveras Reservoir is a crucial source of water supply during times of drought and when Hetch Hetchy Reservoir supplies are unavailable for any reason. 

Our project construction continues and we have moved over 7 million cubic yards of earth and rock materials to make room for the new dam. We plan to start constructing the replacement dam later this year. The project is over 70% complete.

From L to R: SFPUC Engineering Staff Carman Ng, Tedman Lee, Alisha Reinhardt, USSD President John Wolfhope, Former USSD Executive Director Larry Stephens, SFPUC WSIP Director Dan Wade and Calaveras Dam Project Manager Susan Hou

Come Out to the Sunol Wildflower Festival and Learn How to Protect Our Wildlife!

Sunol Valley is teeming with life from wildflowers to wildlife this spring! As stewards of 36,000 acres in this part of the watershed, we want to share ways that you can protect the plants and animals that call Sunol Valley home. Stop by our booth at the thirteenth annual spring Sunol Wildflower Festival this Saturday, April 9, 2016 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sunol Regional Wilderness.

Come by our booth to spin the prize wheel and test your Sunol Valley watershed knowledge

In addition to stopping by our booth, make sure to check out the scheduled nature hikes, crafts, live music and nature activities. There will be a variety of other organizations exhibiting nature-themed booths. The festival itself is a production of the East Bay Regional Park District. For more information about the festival, visit their website www.ebparks.org. We hope to see you there!

Calaveras Road Traffic Advisory - Increased Haul Truck Traffic Starting April 4th

Please expect increased truck traffic on Calaveras Road beginning April 4, 2016 through April 29, 2016 during daytime hours. The project will haul materials from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. Night hauling also continues through June 1st which begins approximately from 6:00 pm to 4:00 am, Monday through Friday.

This affects the portion of Calaveras Road between the I-680 entrance in Sunol to the entrance of the construction site for the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project located south of Geary Road. Commuters may experience periodic delays. Cyclists: please try to avoid this area if at all possible to remain safe.

 

• Calaveras Road remains open to the public
• Increase in haul trucks expected between the hours of 6:00 a.m to 4:00 a.m Monday thru Friday
• Please drive and ride safely on the narrow portions of Calaveras Road and expect delays
• Speed limit is 25mph in construction zones

 

March 2016 Aerial of Calaveras Dam Replacement Project 

24 hour- Answer Line: 866-973-1476
mle@sfwater.org or blauppe@sfwater.org

Throwback Thursday at the Sunol Water Temple

In honor of Throwback Thursday, we thought we’d share an oldie from our archives.

August 1960. This family is clearly enjoying their picnic at the Sunol Water Temple, which was built in 1910 and restored in 2000. 

Construction on the Alameda Creek Watershed Center near the Temple and the nearby Sunol Corporation Yard will begin later in 2016. Future families will once again enjoy picnics below the temple as early as 2019.

See you around Sunol Valley!

Women in Construction

March is Women’s History Month and across the nation we pay tribute to the generations of women whose commitment to improving the world around them have proven invaluable to society. Right here at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project, there are some outstanding women who are not only excelling in the construction profession, but are helping to protect the water supply of 2.6 million customers of the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System through their extraordinary efforts. 

Project Manager Susan Hou, P.E.
Susan Hou is our fearless leader here at the Calaveras Dam Project. As the Senior Project Manager, she oversees all aspects of the largest project in the $4.8 billion of Water System Improvement Program (WSIP). She has over 20 years of experience in the water and wastewater industry including leading multi-disciplinary teams of engineers, environmental professionals and construction managers in the planning, design, environmental permitting, and construction of dams, reservoirs, treatment facilities, fish passage facilities, tunnels, pipelines, and pump stations.  Her attention to detail has helped steer her team through some challenging issues.

Collette Frawley – Maintaining Quality Assurance

We are fortunate to have Collette Frawley as part of the Construction Management team. Collette is a registered Civil Engineer with Kleinfelder. Collette’s primary responsibilities at Calaveras Dam are to ensure every step of construction for the replacement dam is in compliance with the design and technical specifications. She oversees quality assurance staff who inspect and monitor construction activity on a daily basis. During her spare time, Collette serves as an engineering mentor for a local high school as part of the Architecture Construction Engineering (ACE) Mentor program and as the Practitioner Advisor for the San Jose State University American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). 

Shary Truong, Dragados / Sukut/ Flatiron Joint Venture

Shary Truong has served as the Field Engineer at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project since January 2012 for the General Contractor (DFSJV). Shary recently coordinated and managed the construction of the new Spillway Bridge for the project. On a daily basis, Shary performs quality control on work that is completed, maintains a construction schedule with over 4,000 activities, reviews inspection reports for accuracy and completeness, and develops mitigation cost and time impacts due to any unforeseen conditions at the project. Shary reviews and verifies construction plans to ensure they are in compliance with project contract specifications. Shary also plays an important role at the on-site concrete batch plant, where she helped develop the concrete mix design for structural work at the dam. Shary hopes to inspire future women engineers in the Construction Industry and to help build a better community overall.

Shary Truong (far left), Susan Hou (center), and Collette Frawley (far right)
tour guests at the Calaveras Dam Project

Time to Spring Forward!

It is starting to look a lot like spring in the Sunol Valley. One of our team members snapped this picture of some Golden Poppies from the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project construction site. In addition, it is time to spring forward with Daylight savings time starting this Sunday, March 13, 2016. Don’t forget to turn your clocks forward one hour for more light in the evening and a later sunrise! Hello Spring!

Capturing Construction in Photos

To our construction teams, Robin is a familiar face who frequently visits the active construction sites to shoot some candid photos of construction and our hard workers. Little did we  know that Robin not only works to document the construction progress but she gains much deserved national recognition while she is at it. Right here in Sunol Valley, Robin’s photo of the New Irvington Tunnel Project made the Top Ten for the Engineering News Record (ENR) 2015 Year in Construction Photo Contest. This is a prestigious international construction photography competition, and we are extremely proud that Robin’s photo of our own tunnel was a winner!

About Robin

Robin Scheswohl moved to the Bay Area in 2003 from Philadelphia, PA where she studied photography and later worked with corporate and wedding photographers. She’s been with the SFPUC since 2007, working in the Construction Management Bureau and the Engineering Archives. She is responsible for cataloging and preserving thousands of historic images dating back to the 19th century, as well as documenting the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) construction projects. SFPUC Engineering Archives Photography has curated public exhibits at City Hall, at the San Francisco International Airport, and the SF American Institute of Architects (AIA) Headquarters. The images are used extensively by the SFPUC and appear in books, periodicals, environmental and engineering studies.

Here is Robin filming at the Bay Tunnel, which is the first tunnel constructed under San Francisco Bay.  Congratulations, Robin!