May 31st is National Dam Safety Awareness Day

Each year, the nation commemorates May 31^st as National Dam Safety Awareness Day. We have an important dam under construction here in Sunol Valley – the Calaveras Dam. Dams play a critical role in our water supply. 

Why is it important?

• Calaveras Reservoir, impounded by Calaveras Dam, when full provides half of Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System's Bay Area storage
• Upon completion, we will have 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
• It is crucial to the reliability of the water supply of 2.6 million people during emergencies and in times of drought

Today reminds us just how critical our work is here in Sunol Valley to rebuild the Calaveras Dam.

The following organizations have joined forces to commemorate National Dam Safety Awareness Day on May 31 - the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI), Association of State Dam Safety Officials, National Hydropower Association, U.S. Society on Dams and American Society of Civil Engineers. Check out their news:

https://ussdblog.wordpress.com/2016/05/30/national-organizations-commemorate-national-dam-safety-awareness-day-may-31st/

Calaveras Dam under construction today

Sunol Valley Teams Celebrate Memorial Day

In observance of Memorial day, our construction teams will not be working on May 30^th at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project or the Fish Passage Facilities within the Alameda Creek Watershed Project in Sunol Valley.

We hope all of you have a safe and wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Schedule Update for Calaveras Road Closure

To those who drive or ride Calaveras Road between Milpitas and Highway I-680 through the Sunol Valley:

The SFPUC has postponed the start of the closure of Calaveras Road, which was originally planned to begin on June 1, 2016. We will continue to keep you up-to-date on the timing and status of the closure. Calaveras Road is currently open to the public.

It is important to note that there is still truck traffic on Calaveras Road now between I-680 and the entrance to Calaveras Dam. The speed limit is 25 mph on Calaveras Road in construction zones. Please ride and drive safely on the narrow portions of Calaveras Road.

Follow the Calaveras Road closure updates online at sfwater.org/calaverasroad
To receive email notifications, please email mle@sfwater.org

WSIP Update on Repairing and Upgrading Your Water Infrastructure!

https://youtu.be/Fwfnrwvg7h4

It’s Infrastructure Week and here at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) we have been implementing the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP), a $4.8 billion multi-year capital improvement program, to repair and upgrade our regional and local water system infrastructure to ensure the SFPUC can continue to supply reliable water to 2.6 million people in four Bay Area counties, especially after a major earthquake. 

Check out what the WSIP has been up to over the last year. 

Remember #infrastructurematters!

We are Stronger and Safer Together – National Safety Week

This week is National Safety Week. Which means construction contractors across the country emphasize one of the most important factors of the job -- SAFETY. Right here in Sunol Valley, we have over 150 workers working on projects such as building the replacement Calaveras Dam.

At the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project, crews have worked over 140,000 safe working hours since the beginning of the year, without any recordable safety incidents.  A recordable safety incident is when a worker requires medical treatment beyond first aid and there is a loss time on the job. Our last recordable incident was in October 2014. This is well below the industry average.

Why is this record special? Because our construction crews at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project work multiple shifts – both day and night – working with huge machinery, excavating earth and rock, on a very complicated job site in challenging conditions. As we continue work to complete the project, we applaud the joint venture of Dragados USA, Flatiron Construction, and Sukut Construction for making safety a priority here at Calaveras Dam during National Safety Week.

Check out our time lapse capturing excavation work since the beginning of the project:

Before sunrise, the Calaveras Dam crews get together for their daily morning safety tailgate 

What’s New in Sunol Valley?

If you frequent Sunol Regional Wilderness, you may have noticed increased activity in the park. Our crews are kicking off the Fish Passage Facilities within the Alameda Creek Watershed Project. The Alameda Creek Diversion Dam is located on SFPUC lands adjacent to the Sunol Regional Wilderness Park in Sunol and helps collect water in Calaveras Reservoir through a long tunnel. The project will develop fish passage facilities, including a fish ladder and modified screens for steelhead migration into and out of the Alameda Creek Watershed. Alameda Creek has historically supported an impressive diversity of migratory cold water fish, including steelhead trout. This work will help support the restoration of steelhead trout to the Alameda Creek watershed.  Project completion is expected in late 2018.

What to expect during construction:

• Sunol Regional Wilderness remains open during construction
• Park users should anticipate seeing increased construction traffic from the Geary Road entrance and along Camp Ohlone Road, which is the main construction access road
• Temporary Trail Closures will be needed for large vehicle access and for road improvements. Please use alternative trails to Little Yosemite, such as Canyon View Trail, during these times.
• Please pay attention to construction flaggers and park signage
• Construction activity is expected Monday thru Friday from dusk to dawn

Photo of existing Alameda Creek Diversion Dam Facilities

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!