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RECENT PROJECTS

San Lorenzo Creek Wall Construction

San Lorenzo Creek meanders behind homes in San Lorenzo, San Leandro, Hayward, and Castro Valley. Much of the creek east of Foothill Boulevard is a scenic natural creek on privately owned properties, but the earthen embankments are susceptible to erosion and slumping. For the portion of the creek within District properties behind Wingate Way, the District needed to build a wall to hold up the steep slopes to protect homes.

Construction was completed in 2022 and included planting of native vegetation like willow, live oak, and California buckeye.

During the winter storms of 2023, trees upstream of the new wall fell into the creek, blocking and redirecting the water towards District-owned bank slope, and undercutting the retaining wall exposing the wall foundation. Homes and properties along Wingate Way could have been significantly damaged without the retaining wall. However, the District now needs to permanently repair and restore the natural creek bank per regulatory permit requirements – one of many projects needed to recover from the Winter 2023 storms.

Should the proposed benefit assessment increase in Zones 2, 4, and 9 pass, the District will have additional funds to invest in important infrastructure projects to fortify District waterways and prevent flooding.

Stabilizing Concrete Walls on Estudillo Canal

In October 2021, the aging concrete sidewall of Estudillo Canal (Zone 2, Line A) collapsed into the creek. Thankfully, there were no injuries, and property damage was minimal. The District responded quickly with temporary measures to hold the embankment in place and build a temporary wall, giving the District time to design a permanent replacement wall, obtain environmental permits, and procure a contractor. Construction began in July 2022 and was completed in November 2022, providing a new, thicker wall that was designed to current engineering standards.

During New Years Eve 2022, water levels were near the top of the canal and additional portions of the wall tumbled into the creek downstream of the initial failure location. Using the same replacement wall design, the District was able to expedite the permitting and contracting process. Construction began in May 2023 and work was completed by November 2023.

Estudillo Canal’s walls are old and need to be replaced but have not been due to a lack of funding. The Estudillo Canal also was not designed to handle a 100-year storm and a large number of homes are in a FEMA designated floodplain. Some walls near the repair site are already leaning and as a temporary fix, the District has installed braces every five feet (a total of 323 braces!) between Fargo Avenue and the I-880 Freeway, to prop up the vertical walls.

If the proposed benefit assessment increase passes and provides the District with more funding, the District has plans in place to increase the canal’s capacity, which will reduce flood risk and allow nearby homeowners to avoid costly flood insurance.

Evaluating Flood Risk at Creek Outlets

Climate change is bringing more extreme and intense storms to California and is also causing sea level rise and extreme tides. In 2022, the District completed its draft Coastal and Riverine Flood Assessment study to evaluate the combined effect of very large storms, very high tides, and sea level rise.

The District studied 16 “outfalls” or “outlets” where a creek meets the Bay. Through sophisticated computer modeling, the District evaluated combinations of tides and creek flows to see which outfalls are at greatest risk of causing flooding to nearby property.

From this work, the District has determined that the outfalls in Zone 2 most susceptible to flooding are:

• • San Lorenzo Creek outfall in San Lorenzo
  • Bockman Canal outfall in San Lorenzo
  • Sulphur Creek outfall in Hayward near the Hayward Airport

The study also includes conceptual measures – such as tide gates, levees, floodwalls, and pump stations – to help reduce flood risk. Zone 2, which encompass parts of San Lorenzo and parts of San Leandro, lacks the funds needed to make these and other improvements.