Fish Passage Facilities Project Reaches a Big Milestone

The team working on the Fish Passage Facilities in the Alameda Creek Watershed Project had reason to celebrate this last week.

The goal of the project is to support the restoration of Steelhead trout to the watershed by providing safe passage around the Alameda Creek Diversion Dam.

Last week the project reached substantial completion. The fish ladder is in full operation and now allows fish to bypass the dam.   So, in honor of all their hard work, the team celebrated with a good old fashioned barbecue.

The team celebrating this accomplishment.

Members of the Watershed Division, Brian Sak and Scott Chenue helped move the project forward and will be managing parts of the project once it's completed. 

The Fish Passage Project even made the news. In case you missed the coverage:

KCBS Radio

KPIX Television 

Thank you to our team and our partners for helping move this project forward.

See you around the Valley!

Join Us at the Wildflower Festival April 14th!

The flowers are blooming all over Sunol Valley and the East Bay. That's right, it's time for the Wildflower Festival at the Sunol Regional Wilderness.

Hosted by the East Bay Regional Park District, the Wildflower Festival features:

• Guided hikes for all ability levels
• Activity stations
• Educational Booths
• Free Make and Take Crafts
• Live Music
• And so much more!

Sunday, April 14, 2019, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Sunol Regional Wilderness, 1895 Geary Road, Sunol

Overflow parking available along Calaveras Road.

For more information, check out the East Bay Regional Park District’s website, or call

510-544-3249.

Visit us at the SFPUC booth. Make crafts and test your watershed knowledge for prizes!

 We hope to you there!

Women's History Month With Iesha Morris

March is National Women’s History month. In honor of the contribution of hard-working women everywhere, we want to highlight our field laborer, Ieisha Morris. Ieisha has been an integral part of the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project Team for over 3 years.  You can’t miss her at the site.  She’s always on the job site with her Kawasaki mule.

The Calaveras Dam Replacement Project is her first construction job. She came to the project through the Cypress Mandela Training Center.  The Cypress Mandela Training Center is a community based organization that provides pre-apprentice construction and life skills programs. The SFPUC’s Office of Labor Relations works together with the Mandela Cypress Center to help place graduating students of the program at construction jobs. 

Ieisha starts her day early in the morning. She does everything from cleaning up equipment and  managing the garbage and recycling to keeping the onsite water treatment system working and escorting trucks to the job site. In other words, she does just about everything to keep the busy project moving.    

She says the she really enjoys working outdoors. “I learn something new every day on the job site and it has been fascinating to see the dam go from plans on paper to an actual tangible project.”



Ieisha hopes to continue to work in the construction industry after her job is complete at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project.  When she is not busy working, she likes to hike and spend  quality time with her two sons and her extended family.

On behalf of the Calaveras Team we want to thank Iesha and all the field laborers for all of their incredible work to make the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project a success.

For more information on the Cypress Mandela Training Program: http://cypressmandela.org/

See you around the Valley!

Photo Friday: Sunol Long Term Improvements Project

Happy Photo Friday from the Sunol Long Term Improvements Project.

Construction on a new corporation yard, administration building, and shops buildings for the SFPUC Water operations staff in the East Bay began in February of 2017.  

Crews have made quite a lot of progress since then. 

The new administration building.

New shop buildings at the Corporation Yard.

View from inside the new Administration Building.

SFPUC staff have been temporarily housed at the former Sunol Valley Golf Course property. They hope to be able to move into their new digs sometime in late spring. 

See you around the Valley!

Two Sunol Valley WSIP Construction Projects Bring Home Awards

In February the Northern California Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA) bestowed high honors on the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project and Fish Passage Facilities Project.  Both projects are part of the $4.8 Billion Water System Improvement Program (WSIP).

The Calaveras Dam Replacement Project received two awards: Structures Award for Projects more than $75 million and the Contractor of the Year award for Dragados, Flatiron, Sukut, Joint Venture.























Sunol Regional Project Manager, Susan Hou and Manuel Morejon, Dragados-USA, Project Manager accept the Calaveras Dam Replacement Award for Projects more that 75 million.





















The Fish Passage Facilities Project received the Environmental Award for Projects $25 million but less than $75 million.


 

Eric Gee, Project Manager and Sam Gambino of AECOM accept the Environmental Award for Projects $25 million but less that $75 million for the Fish Passage Facilities Project.

The APWA was created in 1937. It’s a non-profit professional organization that serves professionals in all aspects of public works.


















APWA’s Awards Program was established to recognize outstanding individuals, groups and chapters representing the best in the public works profession.

In September all three projects will compete at the national level.

Congratulations to both the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project and the Fish Passage Facilities Teams!

See you around the Valley!

Photo Friday: Calaveras Reservoir

Mother Nature has given the Bay Area a serious drenching during the last couple of weeks.

So much in fact that Calaveras Reservoir has started to fill. The SFPUC lowered the water level in Calaveras Reservoir because of seismic concerns about the old Calaveras Dam.

The SFPUC built a new dam, which reached its full height in September. This means we are ready to allow the reservoir to start filling with local Alameda Creek Watershed runoff.

And fill it did.


This photo was taken in January 2019. The remnants of the old dam are seen on the right, where the reservoir begins to fill. The new dam is on the left.



This photo was taken last week. The reservoir has filled the entire space between the old and new dams.

Calaveras Reservoir helps supply drinking water to 2.7 million residents in four Bay Area counties.

The Calaveras Dam Replacement Project is 98 percent and is scheduled to be completed in spring 2019.

See you around the Valley!

Willow Branches Everywhere

Biologist Aaron Sunshine planting Willows

Fully-Grown Arroyo Willow

The recent rains have done wonders for our reservoirs and watersheds. It also happens to be the ideal time for putting plants in the ground for environmental restoration of our Alameda Watershed Lands. 

Of late, our Calaveras Dam Replacement Project biologists have devoted themselves to willows. A total of 36 willows have been planted by the downsteam building of the newly-constructed Replacement Calaveras Dam alongside Calaveras Creek. The types of willows planted were red willows (Salix laevigata), Arroyo Willows (Salix lasiolepis) and Narrowleaf or sandbar willows (Salix exigua). All are native to California and to our watershed. 

There are approximately 400 species of willows worldwide. You don’t have to look far to find them, all you need is a good water source. That’s because willows like their roots to be very wet, and they prefer year-round moisture.

The interesting part of willows is that they are easy to propagate. An entire willow tree can grow from a single branch.

The best time of the year to cut and plant is during the winter, preferably in January. Our Calaveras Dam Replacement Project biologists harvested branches from willows within the watershed and planted them along Calaveras Creek as part of the project's restoration plan.

The willows will be monitored annually for the next five years to ensure that they are growing and thriving. 

Once fully grown, our willow trees will provide good nesting for songbirds such a as the Woodwarblers, Song Sparrows, and the California Towhees. The new trees and will also be a good foraging habitat and cover from predators for many species too.

See you around the valley!





Fully-grown narrow-leaf willow.