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

Daylight Savings: San Antonio Reservoir at Dawn

Losing that hour of sleep for daylight savings last weekend was brutal.

SFPUC Watershed Keeper Pat Jones reminded us today of one small side benefit: he is out on his rounds before the sun comes up.

He shared this gorgeous photo of the SFPUC's San Antonio Reservoir in the Alameda Creek Watershed at dawn. 









San Antonio, like all of our reservoirs, is a protected, managed watershed that supports many rare and endangered plants and animals. No humans, though, with the notable exception of Pat.

See you around Sunol Valley!

The New Irvington Tunnel is officially in service!

Our teams are excited to announce that the New Irvington Tunnel is officially in service carrying drinking water to our 2.6 million Bay Area customers.

This is a major milestone since the completion of the New Irvington Tunnel Project completes the last three tunnels in the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP), creating a critical water lifeline able to withstand earthquakes on the Hayward, Calaveras, and San Andreas faults.

Located between the Sunol Valley and Fremont, the new seismically-designed tunnel is the last of three tunnels making up this “water lifeline” around the Bay.  The project is part of the agency’s $4.8 billion Water System Improvement Program.

The tunnel was constructed by the joint venture of Southland Tutor Perini who began tunneling in March 2011. It was constructed using conventional mining techniques from four separate headings using road headers and controlled detonation to break up the hard rock.

Tunnel Facts:

• Tunnel Length: 18,660 feet or 3.5 miles
• Location: Parallel to the existing tunnel between Sunol Valley and the City of Fremont 
• Depth: Between 30 feet and 700 feet underground
• Finished internal diameter: 8.5 feet
• More than 7.8 million pounds injected into the tunnel
• The New Irvington Tunnel will carry approximately 120 million gallons of water a day on average during normal operating conditions when both tunnels are in service.
• The maximum amount of water the tunnel can transport per day: approximately 300 million gallons 
• This project provided approximately 42% of total labor hours to SFPUC service territory residents, and nearly half (48%) of total apprentice hours to SFPUC service territory apprentices ensuring our local workers and local residents were able to participate in this unique, once-in-a-lifetime construction opportunity.

What Happens Next?

Now that the tunnel is in service, the construction team will begin restoration of the above ground facilities. The SFPUC will take the existing tunnel out of service for inspection in early March 2015. The entire New Irvington Tunnel Project will be complete in Fall 2015.

1933: Historic photo of  worker at Irvington Portal spherical manifold

Today: New Irvington Tunnel worker at new dishhead at Irvington Portal

Last of the Pipe Installed at New Irvington Tunnel

The crews have reached a major milestone and installed the last of the pipe for the New Irvington Tunnel.  A 35 ft section of steel pipe was prepped and mortar lined at the surface before being lowered into the Vargas Shaft. This officially completes the entire 3.5 mile water transmission tunnel.  Final steps are being made the next week to disinfect the tunnel and bring it into service to provide a seismically designed connection to provide water to our 2.6 million Bay Area customers. 

Construction Advisory: New Irvington Tunnel Neighbors

We are preparing to bring the New Irvington Tunnel into service!
In order to do so, our crews need to fill and disinfect the tunnel and connecting pipelines in preparation for it to carry drinking water. Disinfection is a 24/7 process, and therefore, you will notice nighttime work at the Irvington Portal. Here’s more information:

Completion of Tunnel Cleaning and Installation of Dish-head
The Contractor will need to work inside the tunnel during night hours on Friday, Feb 13^th. They will also install the dish-heads starting this weekend inside the new portal structure located off Mission Blvd. in the City of Fremont.

Disinfection/ Flushing activities start week of February 16, 2015 
Beginning on Tuesday, Feb 17^th we will pump highly chlorinated water through the tunnel to disinfect it. Crews will be running pumps 24 hours a day and will be flushing the pipe for an estimated 5 to 7 days. Adjacent neighbors at Irvington Portal may hear the operations of the equipment. Passersby will notice lights and increased activity in the area. We will be installing sound blankets on the pipes to help minimize the water injection noise located near Mission Blvd entrance.

Future Work: Restoration work at Irvington Portal

After the tunnel is in service, the next step will be to construct a concrete structure around the existing tunnel portal up by the valve houses. Once the major construction work is completed, the Contractor will remove the remaining sound barrier walls. We will give the neighborhood advance notice before taking down the sound walls. Final grading, paving and installation of the wrought iron fence will be installed at the Mission Boulevard entrance by this summer.

Project Background

The New Irvington Tunnel Project is part of the $4.8 billion Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) to repair, replace, and upgrade our system’s aging pipelines, tunnels, and dams. The new 3.5 mile long tunnel will provide a seismically-designed connection between water supplies from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Alameda Watershed to our Bay Area water distribution systems.  We anticipate being completely done in fall 2015. 

Questions / Concerns?

We greatly appreciate your patience. Contact us with any questions by calling our 24 hour answer line at 866-973-1476 or emailing mle@sfwater.org

The Final Stretch: Mortar Lining completed for the New Irvington Tunnel

This week the construction crews completed the final stages of mortar lining in the tunnel. Mortar lining is one of the final stages of constructing a water tunnel before we bring it into service.  

Our workers used specialized equipment that sprays cement on the pipe’s interior to prevent corrosion of the steel pipe and prepare it for water conveyance. This completes a major milestone for the tunnel. The tunnel is anticipated to be in service by the end of this month and will soon deliver water to our 2.6 million customers. We are definitely getting excited for the final stretch!