Stevens Creek in the News: Jan 2010
Rain came! While dramatic, Jan Null, a certified meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services, reported to Scott Herhold,
Mercury News columnist, that there have been six other comparable periods of rain since 2000. Officials with the California Department of Water Resources were quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle and other papers as warning that we can’t know whether we’ve had enough precipitation to be out of a drought until the April snow pack measurements. While we may be ahead for January, several more months of precipitation need to accumulate. On the last Friday of the month, the Department of Water Resources announced the second snow survey results of the 2009/2010 winter season and again cautioned that we could have a fourth dry year. January offers some hope, though: “Manual and electronic readings today indicate that water content in California’s mountain snowpack is 115 percent of normal for the date statewide. This time last year, snow water content was 61 percent of normal statewide. …. Electronic sensor readings show northern Sierra snow water equivalents at 129 percent of normal for this date, central Sierra at 101 percent, and southern Sierra at 119 percent. The sensor readings are posted at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snow/DLYSWEQ.”
For the specifics in the Santa Clara Valley watershed, i’ve pulled some reported statistics from the Santa Clara Valley Water District into a few visualizations. More details after the cut.
In the news
In Mountain View Voice’s article Outlook 2010: more tough times ahead, the authors offer more political “glimmers of hope” for the new year. Of interest in their list, the resolution of Hangar One at Moffett Field, extension of Stevens Creek Trail to the Dale-Heatherstone neighborhood, and other trail development along the Permanente Creek riparian corridor.
Moffett Field and Hangar One
The Voice’s Outlook article reports:
The Navy is scheduled to remove the toxic siding from Hangar One at Moffett Field in mid to late 2010, according to Kathryn Stewart, BRAC Environmental Coordinator for Moffett Field.
That means that the clock is ticking for NASA Ames to figure out a way to pay for the historic structure’s restoration with new siding. Stewart said the White House Office of Management and Budget met with the Navy and NASA Ames in December and “made significant progress towards mutual understanding on various points” after negotiations between the Navy and NASA broke down over how to pay for Hangar One’s restoration. She said all three parties intend to meet soon with Eshoo, who says she is ready to push for a bill to fund Hangar One’s restoration.
We predict Congresswoman Anna Eshoo will be asked to find the needed $15 million in federal funding for the project, and that she will succeed.
My favorite resource for reporting on this issue is the Moffett User’s blog. On Tuesday, 13 January, Steve Williams began a post with the news that, “The Navy confirms it may start stripping Hangar One’s siding soon, even if no plan is in place to re-skin the historic landmark. The Navy plans to begin stripping Hangar One in the fall of this year. Demolition of interior structures may begin this spring.” The following Thursday was the Restoration Advisory Board meeting, with only ten minutes on the agenda to discuss specifically Hangar One. You can read Steve William’s live blogging of the discussion in this post.
While Hangar One isn’t on the creek, the questions around the environmental restoration of Moffett Field do address the creek as the creek reach north (downstream) of 101 is bordered on the east by Moffett Field. To point, with little surprise to me, the ten minute hangar update ran long and the five year review report on landfill and groundwater remediation was not discussed. From the slides it appears the Navy finds that the groundwater and environmental issues are generally being addressed. Remaining are some documentation needs to make sure land use is restricted and (at Site 1, along the salt ponds) some concerns regarding ground squirrels breaching barriers. How one “mitigates” ground squirrels is a food chain concern: are poisoned animals available to raptors?
Stevens Creek Trail and Permanente Creek Trail
The Voice’s Outlook article reports on Stevens Creek Trail expectations:
In late spring construction is set to begin on a pedestrian bridge over Highway 85 that will extend the Stevens Creek Trail from the Sleeper Avenue area just south of El Camino Real into the Dale-Heatherstone neighborhood.
and then:
Not long after that, construction may also begin on a pedestrian tunnel under Old Middlefield Way for the Permanente Creek Trail, along with a nearby bridge for the trail over Highway 101, connecting several residential neighborhoods to Shoreline Park and the city’s largest job center in and around Google’s headquarters.
The Los Altos Time Crier expands by noting the following, informed by their interview with Bob Kagiyama, Mountain View city engineer:
- Caltrans is expected to approve designs in late May.
- Construction is expected to be complete in 2011.
- The Stevens Creek trail extension would go from the Sleeper Avenue access point to Dale Avenue and Heatherstone Way on the east side of Highway 85.
- The crossover bridge will include vinyl-clad safety fencing.
- The Permanente Creek extension would go from Shoreline Park across 101 to south of Old Middlefield Way.
- A pedestrian bridge will cross the freeway
- A tunnel will cross under Old Middlefield Way with glass-block skylights on both ends to provide lighting in the tunnel.
- Another possible extension for the Permanente Trail would go from Old Middlefield south to Rock Street.
Stevens and Permanente Creek Watershed Council
Mondy Lariz, SPCWC executive director, was featured in a Member Close-Up in the Loma Prieta Sierra Club Chapter newsletter.
The council set up a discussion forum to talk about the virtual riparian corridor idea, and the initial discussion is about how the idea is not represented in the name. The goal, as stated by Jeffery Caldwell, is “for the residents of the watershed to be mindful of the watershed.”
I would expect the next council meeting to be Wednesday, February 3. Contact the Watershed Council for more information. ETA: Next Council Meeting: Wednesday, February 3 at 4:30 pm; Quinlan Center, Cupertino
Somewhat off topic
* Support game wardens in California with a purchase of a decal. * Tour water management features of the Bay and Delta or the Sacramento River with the Water Education Foundation. * Blog post about USGS interfaces to stream gauges (no gauges on Stevens or Permanente Creek) *
After the cut: watershed details & organization reviews
At the beginning of the month (Jan-04-2010 09:13), SCVWD reported
Reservoir Storage Levels of Note: Total reservoir storage is at 42.0% of capacity at spillway crest. Total reservoir storage is at 53.8% of restricted capacity. Current total storage in comparison to the average (20-year) total storage for December is about 95% All reservoirs are below DSOD restricted levels. All reservoirs are below FMRCs No reservoirs are expected to spill in the 7-day forecast period.
Before the mid-month storms (Jan-15-2010 13:40),
Total reservoir storage is at 41.9% of capacity at spillway crest. Total reservoir storage is at 53.7% of restricted capacity. Current total storage in comparison to the average (20-year) total storage for January is about 87.1%
Between January 17th and 24nd the Santa Clara Valley water District released frequent updates. To gauge rainfall, they report the low to high values of rainfall accumulation in the previous twenty-four hours, split across the upper and lower elevations of the watershed. After a few days of rain, they began reporting the number of thousands of acre feet that have accumulated in the reservoirs.
I’ve plotted both the rainfall and reservoir accumulation below, which makes obvious how it takes several days for the watershed to drain into the reservoirs. You can click on the plot to play with the data yourself or visit this “topic center” at Many Eyes.
On Friday, at the end of the week of storms, SPCWC sent an alert to the Streamkeepers noting, “The Santa Clara Valley Water District has informed me that they are releasing flood flows from the Stevens Creek Reservoir for the next few days. These flows will be about 150 CFS which makes working near the creek dangerous. Please be careful out there. The good news is steelhead may begin to come up.”
At the end of the month
Total reservoir storage is at 61.8% of capacity at spillway crest. Total reservoir storage is at 79.2% of restricted capacity. Current total storage is about 117.4% of the average (20-year) total storage for January.
Reference sites:
- Stevens and Permanente Creek Watershed Council’s blog, last updated 2010-01-27 with news of a steelhead poacher pleading guilty.
- Stevens and Permanente Creek Watershed Council’s meeting agenda, last Meeting was Dec, last agenda is for October
- Friends of Stevens Creek Trail status page, last updated 2009-07-23
- Friends of Stevens Creek Trail blog, last updated 2009-06-16
- Cupertino’s Stevens Creek Corridor project page, last project update: 2009-11-17 (Photos of before and after creek restoration at Blackberry Farm)
- Santa Clara Valley Water District’s Lower Peninsula page
- California Department of Water Resources press page: had latest snowpack survey results.
- California State Water Resources Control Board press page
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Tags: Hangar One, Moffett Field, permanente creek trail, rain, spcwc, Stevens Creek Trail, storm, Watershed
