Temporary Closures of Sawyer Camp Trail Mid-Section Start Aug. 1

A mid-section of the Sawyer Camp Trail, from approximately mile 1-1/4 to mile 3-1/2 (by the Jepson Laurel) will be temporarily closed on weekdays for public safety during tree removal in preparation for habitat restoration over the following period:

Monday-Friday, August 1 through October 28, 2016

The trail will be fully open on weekends and holidays. 

Though through use will not be available on weekdays, the trail will still be open on those days for about the first  1-1/4 miles from the south entrance at Crystal Springs Road,  and for 2-1/2 miles from the north entrance at Hillcrest. 

Bicyclists wanting through access should use alternative routes during this period.  

Chalcedon checkerspot butterfly

This work includes the physical removal of approximately 22 acres of non-native invasive trees that have choked out and displaced the original watershed forests.  It is part of a long-term project throughout the watershed to bring back and maintain about 180 acres of native oak woodland and grassland habitats, and the diversity of plant, bird, butterfly, and other wildlife species that depend on them. 

Looking for an alternative?

Check out the San Andreas Trail, just across the paving from the Sawyer Camp north entrance at Hillcrest. The first 0.7-mile southern segment is unpaved and not open to cyclists (who can take  the frontage road just east of I-280). The rest is paved and extends all the way to San Bruno Avenue. You’ll pass through a variety of habitats, from evergreens to coastal scrub and grassland, and the further north you go, the better the vistas of our northernmost reservoir, the San Andreas.  

Questions:  (866) 973-1476; mliapes@sfwater.org; blauppe@sfwater.org

Peninsula Pipeline Project Receives Top Project Award!

San Andreas Pipeline No. 3 installation in San Bruno

Water & Wastes Digest selected the Peninsula Pipeline Seismic Upgrade (PPSU) Project as one of their Top Projects for 2016! Congrats PPSU project team, hopefully this is the first of many awards!

The PPSU project repaired and replaced several sections of water delivery pipelines in northern San Mateo County, to ensure these critical pipelines can withstand a major earthquake. This project completed all WSIP work in February 2016.

For more information about this project, visit www.sfwater.org/PPSU. 

Sawyer Camp Trail Reopens for Weekday Through Use

The mid-section of the Sawyer Camp Trail that has been temporarily closed for habitat restoration activity is open again for daily use through the month of July.

The trail will be open every day, sunrise to sunset. However, pedestrians and cyclists are requested to be on the lookout for trucks on weekdays, when we will be hauling away vegetation. Please make room for them to pass safely during those periods.

When You Go

Watch for crimson-capped Acorn woodpeckers maneuvering and tapping various oak or other hardwood trunks and branches in nearby open areas. Named for the acorns it hoards in multiple tree cavities it drills, the Acorn woodpecker is just one of many native California species sure to flourish in the watershed’s expanded oak woodland habitat.

Future Trail Schedule

The second temporary partial closure (and the last of the long ones for habitat restoration project) is scheduled to begin in August. The same mid-section of the trail, from about mile 1-1/4 to mile 3-1/2 will be closed to through use for public safety, Monday through Friday, for removal of non-native trees until late October. The entire trail will be open all weekends and holidays.  

As during the first closure, the trail will be open for the first 1-1/4 miles from the South Gate at Crystal Springs Road, and for approximately 2-1/2 miles from the North Gate at Hillcrest. 

Happy Fourth of July!

On behalf of all of us here at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, we want to wish you a happy and enjoyable Independence Day!

As you prepare for the holiday weekend, we want to take this opportunity to update you on our holiday schedules for two important construction projects in the Peninsula.

Bioregional Habitat Restoration on the Peninsula:

• Sawyer Camp Trail will be completely open starting the morning of Saturday, July 2 through the entire month of July.  
• The partial trail closure will be back in place starting Monday, August 1 it the same location for ongoing habitat restoration.

Regional Groundwater Storage & Recovery (GSR) Project: 

• No construction activity at any of the sites on Monday, July 4 in honor of the holiday
• Normal construction will resume on Tuesday, July 5

Temporary Weekday Closure of Sawyer Camp Trail Segment Still in Effect

A short section of the southern half of the Sawyer Camp Trail remains temporarily closed to through traffic weekdays, from approximately mile 1-1/4 to mile 3-1/2, Mondays through Fridays.  The closure is in effect up to July 1 for public safety because of large equipment in use to prepare an adjacent area within the Peninsula Watershed for habitat restoration.

Meanwhile the first mile and a quarter from the entrance continues to be well used by midweek
hikers, strollers and cyclists. The trail is fully open on weekends. 

The work is part of a long-term project to bring back, monitor and maintain approximately 180 acres of native oak woodland and grassland.  The historic Peninsula habitats provide essential food and shelter for diversity of native California plant, butterfly, bird, and other wildlife species, some found nowhere else in California. 

This first closure will end by July 1, with a second one scheduled to begin  some time in August or September. A repaving  of the trail’s entire southern half will follow. 

Questions:  (866) 973-1476.

Part of Sawyer Camp Trail Temporarily Closed to Thru Travel M-F, June 13--July1

A section of the southern part of Sawyer Camp Trail will be temporarily closed to thru trail travel on weekdays, from mile 1-1/4 to mile marker 3-1/2 (the Jepson Laurel) on the following dates:

Monday-Friday, June 13–July 1, 2016

The trail will be fully open on weekends.

Large equipment will be in use on the trail to prepare the area for habitat restoration, and it is not safe for trail users. The entire trail will be open on weekends.

Although the trail is closed to thru traffic, it will be open for the first approximately 1.25 miles from the South Gate at Crystal Springs, and for approximately 2.5 miles from the North Gate at Hillcrest for trail users.

Bicyclists wanting thru access should use alternative routes during this period.

Future restoration activity will include the physical removal of invasive vegetation and trees that have choked out the historic oak woodland and grassland habitats that in turn harbor a variety of native plants, butterflies, birds, and other wildlife species—some found nowhere else in California. The removal work will affect the same segment of Sawyer Camp trail.

Future Schedule:

July 5 to July 29, weekday evening closures for off-hauling of vegetation: 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Tentative: August – October 2016: Trail will be closed weekdays to thru traffic for tree removal and off-hauling.

As part of the work, approximately 3 miles of trail will be restored and resurfaced, from the South Gate to the Jepson Laurel.

For more information, please click on the link at the top right of this page.  

Questions or further information:

mliapes@sfwater.org, blauppe@sfwater.org

(866) 973-1476

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!