Habitat Restoration Project Wrapping Up

These recent  acorn plantings near the Lower Crystal Springs Dam are some of the last under the watershed’s Bioregional Habitat Program’s vegetation removal project. 

Each of the protective Tubex tree shelters houses one Coastal live oak acorn apiece. The tubes will help foster strong, straight trunks and safeguard the young saplings from rodents and other greenery predators. We’ll be nurturing the new trees for the next few years

Still to come is one final series of acorn plantings on land adjacent to part of the Sawyer Camp Trail that we cleared of nonnative invasive trees, mostly black acacias, in 2016. We’ll be doing that  planting as soon as we’re confident we’ve eliminated potential resprouting of the destructive acacias.  

In all, the restoration program is restoring about 180 acres of native grassland, Coastal live oak forest and wetlands at different locales within the watershed.  The historic California habitats foster a rich diversity of native plant, insect, bird and animal life. 

Endangered Mission blue butterfly. 

The 23,000-acre watershed is also a California State Fish and Game Refuge, and home to the highest concentration of rare, threatened and endangered species in the nine-county Bay Area.  More on some of THOSE in future blogs. 

Spring Out along Watershed Ridge Trail

Spring is an ideal time to explore the Peninsula Watershed via the Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail, currently open by reservation on certain scheduled days.

Bright green ridges and meadows are coming to life with wildflowers while the trail’s more sheltered, woodsy stretches take you through evergreen groves of old-growth fir.  There are deer on the ground, hawks overhead, nesting birds in song, and long vistas in every direction.  

The 13-mile trail offers public access to the interior of the 23,000-acre watershed that’s otherwise restricted to safeguard the water supply and surrounding natural resources. The scheduled hikes, bike rides, and occasional horseback rides are led by trained volunteer trail leaders on selected Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Group size is limited, with events ranging from cardio workouts to nature rambles. “Whatever you choose,” says Peninsula Watershed Manager Joe Naras, “the experience is unique. The place gives you the impression that no one else is there.”

For more information, and to make a reservation, visit here.   

AND, if you want to tailor an event to your interest or pace, consider joining our corps of trained volunteer trail leaders.  To apply, go here, and then scroll down to the Ridge Trail Volunteer Form link at the bottom of the page. Or contact Ridge Trail Program Manager John Fournet, jfournet@sfwater.org, for more information on these and other opportunities.  

We’re also expanding our educational and public access programs on the watershed.  A key project is the SFPUC Bay Area Ridge Trail Southern Extension, with design development and the mandatory environmental review currently under way.

THE WAY IT WAS: Great April 1906 ‘Quake Wipes Out City's First Peninsula Drinking Water Pipeline

April 18, 1906—The Peninsula Watershed had been a vital drinking water source for the young flourishing City of San Francisco since the 1860s, starting with the construction of the Pilarcitos Dam and the first pipeline (also named Pilarcitos) from watershed to city. 

By 1906, the Peninsula was home to two other lines into the City--San Andreas and Crystal Springs.That year, early in the morning of April 18, the Great Earthquake put all three out of commission.The San Andreas was back in service by the end of the month, and the Crystal Springs several weeks later. But the Pilarcitos—which happened to lie directly along the fault line—was beyond repair. It never operated again.

Earthquake Anniversary Reminder: Are you ready for the next one? Be sure to have enough drinking water for everyone in the household—one gallon per person per day for three days, plus a supply for every pet. For more information, visit the County of San Mateo Emergency Preparedness website hsd.smcsheriff.com, or  www.sf72.org.   

Weeding Our Way through the Right of Way

Spring has sprung and so have the weeds and grasses!  Property owners who live near the SFPUC Right of Way (ROW) have begun asking when the ROW will be mowed. Given this year’s late rains and warmer days, the vegetation along the pipeline corridors will grow very quickly now.

The SFPUC routinely begins the task of weed abatement in the spring – when the ground has dried out sufficiently to support the large tractor mower.  Along with the mower, crews use string trimmers along all fence lines and around appurtenances. It is a very labor intensive process, given some 75 miles of ROW land in three counties that must be addressed.  The first pass is usually completed by mid June, and a second is done in late summer to deal with different late season weeds.

The process begins in the southern and eastern reaches of the Regional Water System (Alameda and Santa Clara counties) where temperatures are higher and vegetation dries out more quickly.  The crews also have to pick up any illegal dumping that may have occurred in the last year before the mowing can be done.

"It’s a big job but we always finish by July 1 every year, and often much sooner," says SFPUC forester Jane Herman.  "This year looks different, given the late rains, but the goal is the same."

Temporary Closure of San Andreas Trail Extended through April 13

  
The San Andreas Trail temporary closure, from Larkspur Drive to San Bruno Avenue, is being extended through Friday afternoon, April 13, for public safety, owing to complications from the pipeline leak.   Cyclists, please use alternate routes during this period. 

We apologize for any inconvenience, and thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. 

The two-mile paved trail bordering the San Andreas Reservoir is the northernmost part of the three-segment Crystal Springs Regional Trail. For more information on the present trail and plans for future additions, please visit:  https://parks.smcgov.org/crystal-springs-regional-trail




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Arborists Finish Tree Cutting above Key Water Pipeline in Junipero Serra County Park

Our arborists have finished clearing the trees from above a major drinking water pipeline that runs through Junipero Serra County Park in San Bruno. The effects should not be particularly noticeable to park users or nearby residents.

The trees had sprouted naturally over the decades along the pipeline corridor, and their removal was in preparation for pending essential repairs to 90-year-old San Andreas Pipeline #2. The work was largely confined to the pipeline corridor, with trees left in place on either side so that most of the cleared area is screened from view. 

Since large trees and their roots can damage a pipeline and prevent our crews from accessing it for future repair or maintenance, we will not be planting replacement trees on the same corridor. Instead, we’ll hydroseed the disturbed areas and, plant native shrubs for additional screening if needed. New replacement trees will be planted elsewhere in the park at the Park Department’s direction after the pipeline work is completed.

The aging 54-inch pipeline serves approximately a million people in northern San Mateo County and the city of San Francisco. 

And Here's How It Used To Be

Here’s what the area looked like in 1928, when the San Andreas Pipeline #2 began operation. The small temple-style building is the pipeline valve house, now located inside the 1972 Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant just west of Junipero Serra Park.  

Life on the Watershed: March Mushrooms

Thanks to the March rains, wild mushrooms are out on the watershed. Our Habitat Restoration Project manager Mauli Vora sent blogspot pictures of a couple of the species that are there these days. Mushrooms aren't plants, but fruits of fungi underground that sprout in wet weather. And those fungi are vital to forest health and diversity. 

They are robust, wide-ranging underground webs of long thread-like tubes that connect with the fine tips of partner tree rootlets. Different fungi species have ongoing, mutually beneficial interactions with particular partner trees, like the watershed’s native Coastal live oaks. 

The fungi tubes conduct sugars and other compounds from tree to mushroom, while they continually relay minerals and water from  soil to rootlets, invigorating the whole root system and boosting tree nutrition and health.  Fungi can even penetrate and extract water from rocks for a partner tree during a drought, 

Their fruit will be forage for deer, squirrels, banana slugs, insects and other woodland dwellers. Mushrooms continue through the rain months, but the fungal network below sustains partner trees with water and nutrients all year. 

The Habitat Restoration Program is bringing back more Coastal live oak forests, along with native grasses and marshland, througout the watershed. The historic habitats provide essential food and shelter for a multitude of insect, bird, and animal species--some found nowhere else in California