Meet the CAT-773

Our work at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project wouldn’t be possible without the help of heavy equipment. Heavy equipment helps our team complete big tasks like moving 12 million cubic yards of rock and earth. Because of the size and scope of our project, we have the privilege of working with some big and cool heavy equipment on our job site.

On any given day we could have approximately 20 pieces of heavy equipment operating. Today I would like to introduce you to the CAT-773

Here is a picture of some of our equipment.

With a full load it can carry 100 tons of dirt or 200,000 pounds of material. This machine can climb steep roads and is very comfortable for the operator. It has a 12-cylinder engine that can reach 42 miles an hour.

John Rocca, Field Operations Manager in front of a CAT-773.

It’s a real life Tonka truck. We have a total of 10 CAT-773’s on site hauling material and getting the job done.

 This equipment belongs to our Joint Venture (Dragados, Sukut and Flatiron), our partners on this project.

See you around the Valley!

Meet Glen Gorski, Lead Quality Assurance Inspector

As the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project starts to wind down, we'd like to focus on some of the key people that have played a crucial role in the construction of the replacement Dam. 

This week we'd like to introduce you to Glen Gorski. He is the Lead Quality Assurance Inspector for the project. A big part of his job is to ensure that the project is being built correctly. 

He and his team are tasked with observing and reporting that quality control measures are effective, so that the entire dam project is being constructed to the expectation of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.  He is a wealth of information and insight and he knows every detail of the dam's construction. If you have a question, Glen will always have the correct answer.
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Here is Glen with his team.

Glen has over 40 years of experience in the construction industry. He has quite a resume with two Bachelor of Science degrees in Engineering and Geology from the University of Notre Dame and one Masters of Science in Civil Engineering from Notre Dame and a Masters of Science in Business Administration from the University of Indiana. He started his career as a geotechnical engineer for the Scilts Graves & Associates. 

He says that the biggest lesson learned in his career is the importance of "paying attention to the contract." Paying attention to the contract will save you plenty of headaches in the long run. Out of the plethora of projects he's worked on throughout his career he says that the most interesting one is his work at Snoqualmie Falls where he was refurbishing a hydro electric power plant built in 1895.

When he is not working at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project, you can find him volunteering at his local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) group, golfing, leading a Boy Scout troop, or spending time with his grandchildren.



Glen enjoying the great outdoors.

The team at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project would like to thank Glen for his commitment to excellence. 

See you around the valley!

Photo Friday - Calaveras

Happy Photo Friday

Here are a couple of shots from the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project taken this week.

The dam itself is growing higher and higher on the lower left. A portion of the existing dam is shrinking lower and lower on the center right as crews excavate the approach channels. 

On the new dam itself, crews use large equipment to transport and compact the materials for the earth and rock fill dam, as well do hand work, such as vacuuming the foundation of clay core of the new dam. Why vacuum? To ensure a solid connection between the core and the bedrock and protect the integrity of the new dam.


Have a great weekend, everyone! And see you around the Valley!

Sikorsky 58-JT helicopter at Alameda Creek Diversion Dam

Our teams have used many different kinds of equipment to build a fish ladder and other appurtenances at our Fish Passage Facilities within the Alameda Creek Watershed Project.

This past Monday, July 9, 2018, however, was a first: crews used a Sikorsky 58-JT helicopter. Why? The project site is remote, and the item to be transported was large.

Specifically, the contractor needed to move a 600-pound electrical box to an abutment of the remote Alameda Creek Diversion Dam. The helicopter picked up the electrical box at the staging area, located at the cattle corral and then lifted it to the left abutment of the Diversion Dam, which is located on SFPUC-owned property adjacent to the East Bay Regional Park District's Sunol Regional Wilderness.

A Sikorsky 58-JT  Helicopter makes quick work of transporting a 600 pound electrical box to the Alameda Creek Diversion Dam

The operation took just 20 minutes.

The Fish Passage Project is located in Sunol. The goal of the project is to provide for safe passage of fish around the Alameda Creek Diversion Dam to support the restoration of the Steelhead Trout to the Alameda Creek Watershed. 

The Alameda Creek Diversion Dam is visible in the distance. The electrical control building is located to the left. The project is at 92% completion and is expected to be finished this fall. 

The project is part of the SFPUC’s $4.48 billion Water System Improvement Program.

See you around the Valley!

Attention Sunol Regional Park Users: Camp Ohlone Road will be closed to the pubic Monday, July 16th-Wednesday, July 18th.  Plan on using either Canyon View or Estes Trail  to get to Little Yosemite.

Meet Manny Yeboah

Meet Emmanuel (Manny) Yeboah. Manny has been an employee of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) for over 10 years. He started his career with the SFPUC's Bureau of Environmental Management preparing categorical exemptions and mitigation monitoring reports. Currently, Manny is an Office Engineer for the Fish Passage/ACDD project and a Project Construction Manager for the Sunol Nursery Project. As a Project Construction Manager, Manny ensures that the project is running on time, on budget and that the Contractor’s operations comply with the contract specifications, drawings and permits.

He and his team are responsible for constructing the first nursery project of its kind for SFPUC. The Sunol Nursery Project is a $2.2 million dollar project located within the Sunol Temple yard. The new Sunol Nursery encompasses 1-acre and includes construction of new water storage tanks, garage, office building, shade house and a state of the art greenhouse structure with a cooling pad system. The purpose of this project is to propagate plants for the Alameda Creek Watershed Center, Sunol Yard and other SFPUC projects. The project is scheduled to be completed by October 2018.

Manny enjoys his role as a Project Construction Manager. When asked about his role as a Project Construction Manager he stated, "It’s a huge accomplishment to be in this position, I’ve worked hard throughout the years and now my goals are coming into fruition with me running an innovative project for the SFPUC."

Manny is no stranger to construction projects. He has worked as an office engineer for over 6 years and has a degree in Urban Studies Regional Planning from Cal State Northridge. When he is not working, Manny enjoys going to new restaurants, working out, and spending time with family.

If you ever see him around the valley, don't hesitate to say hello.

What's the Big Deal about an Approach Channel?

We are building a new earth and rock fill Calaveras Dam right next to the existing 93 year-old dam (directly downstream of the existing dam as they say in the dam industry.)  As many of our previous blog posts have been tracking, we have been busy building the new dam, foot by foot, from the bottom up like a layer cake. A very large layer cake.

Our Calaveras cake is high enough now to allow us to begin to excavate out the approach channel to the new dam this week.

"What is an approach channel?" you ask. An approach channel is a breaching of an existing dam in order for its adjacent reservoir to come in contact with it. We will remove a portion of the existing dam (500,000 cubic yards of it to be exact) to allow reservoir water to eventually fill in the space between the old dam and the new dam. The old dam will look like a peninsula in the reservoir when the project is done. 

"Why not remove the old dam in its entirety?" We don't have to. Complete removal would be expensive, environmentally difficult, and not necessary to operate the reservoir. 

The start of excavation of the approach channel means that we have reached a high enough elevation with the new dam to safely begin carving out a huge chunk of the existing dam. It's a coming of age for the new dam, if you will. A significant milestone. 

Here is what the approach channel looked like at the beginning of last week.



And, here is what it looks like this week.




The channel will be lined with large rocks called rip rap to protect it from erosion so the channel will be ready when we start to refill the reservoir this fall.

Approach channels may not seem exciting at first glance, but we at the SFPUC are thrilled!

See you around the valley!

Photo Friday at the Bay Division Pipelines

Happy Photo Friday!

We've been neglecting the Bay Division Pipelines in our East Bay Photo Series. So we thought we'd celebrate this Photo Friday with a couple of construction shots - from 1966.

Five Bay Division Pipelines transmit Hetch Hetchy and East Bay supplies through our two Irvington Tunnels to our 2.7 million Bay Area Customers.  Bay Division Pipelines 1,2, and the newest addition - 5 connect to a brand new water tunnel under San Francisco Bay on their way to the Peninsula.

Pipelines 3 and 4 pass through the South Bay overland on their way to the Peninsula. 

As you can tell, these are large pipelines. They are also crucial to our water transmission system.

We can't blame those kids. We think they're pretty cool, too!

See you around the Valley!