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Stanford Favors a Flood-Control Fish-Passage for Searsville Dam

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Photoshop mashup of Searsville Dam and the Pope-Chaucer Bridge culvert. Searsville photo by  Matt Stoecker . Culvert photo from  The Other Side of Pope-Chaucer . Stanford announced that it has preliminarily chosen to cut a culvert at the bottom of Searsville dam as its preferred option for allowing steelhead to travel past the dam.  If the flows exceed the capacity of the culvert, the dam will begin to back up water and reduce flood levels downstream. Searsville water contributes almost half of San Francisquito Creek's flow. "The key question is whether – and how – the sediment can be moved downstream," McCown said. "The possibility of releasing the sediment downstream presents a unique challenge that we must continue studying to ensure that we do the right thing, especially for the communities located downstream of the dam. "Our preferred approach does not preclude the possibility of someday removing the dam. But we have to be confident we don't ...
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The Original Pope/Chaucer Bridge

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The original Pope/Chaucer Bridge was a graceful arch over the creek with plenty of capacity. Unfortunately, it was undermined and needed repairs. The 1946 repair retained some of the existing bridge but reduced capacity. The Bear Gulch Bridge on  Mountain Home Road (over Bear Gulch Creek , a major tributary to San Francisquito Creek)   has a arch similar to the original   Pope/Chaucer Bridge .
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Pope/Chaucer Painted For The Creeks and Rivers of Silicon Valley Series

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Painter Donald Neff has added the beautiful and historic Pope/Chaucer Bridge to his  Creeks and Rivers of Silicon Valley series of en plein air paintings.  You can view all of Donald's series on Pinterest  and a map of all the Silicon Valley locations on a custom Google Map .
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A Beautiful Concrete Arch Bridge

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Elliptical  arch concrete bridge with stone veneer Assuming that the Pope/Chaucer Bridge must be replaced, what kind of bridge would both function good and look good? One alternative to be considered is an elipitical arch bridge. The SCVWD's initially proposed design is functional for moving cars, but concerns have been raised about trees catching on the supports in the creek bed. Nobody says the SCVWD's initially proposed design looks good.  Typical SCVWD bridge design SCVWD's initially proposed Pope/Chaucer bridge design Existing Pope/Chaucer bridge Original Pope/Chaucer bridge Existing Pope/Chaucer culvert bridge design vs. original elliptical arch bridge design Oct 6, 2014 Construction has been completed on the innovative "Bridge in a Backpack" in Fairfield, VT. This bridge is one of only a few in the world to utilize Advanced Infrastructure Technology . 
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Palo Alto Golf Course Wide Flood Channel Design

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Palo Alto citizens originally proposed a wide flood channel design on the Golf Course with a  gradual slope the levee upwards on the south side, so that its crest is some distance south of the current location. They said " This will create a more interesting landscape for the golf course, without detracting from the playability of the fairways."  The current SCVWD design is much narrower and has been an issue delaying construction permits. From: "San Francisquito Creek Flood Control Long-term Options…"  Prepared by Prof. Stephen Monismith ,  Tom Rindfleisch , Steve Bisset , Art Kraemer,  Stan Smith, and Xenia Hammer: "We keep the left (north) levee in its current location, except that it is lowered or shortened in the final stretch toward the bay.   Some height is added as required closer to 101 to ensure capacity to the 100-year level. We keep the right (south) levee in the same location from 101 to where it meets the golf course, adding a l...
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Between a Rock and a Hard Place

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All along the urban reaches of  lower  San Francisquito creek, the  San Francisquito Creek  JPA is between a rock and a hard place. At the mouth of the creek, the rock is the Faber Marsh with laws protecting endangered species and the hard place is interests trying to maximize use of the Palo Alto Golf Course, driving range,  playing fields and airport. Just upstream, the rock is homes in East Palo Alto built right below high levies and the hard place is an private international school and industrial buildings built right up against the creek in Palo Alto. Edgewood home value estimates from Zillow  Upstream of the Highway 101 bridge, the rock is multi-million dollar private homes along Edgewood Avenue in Palo Alto's elite Crescent Park Neighborhood ( where Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg   and football great Steve Young live  across from homes backing up to the creek) and the hard place is the current and planned eight-...
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Creek Ecology and Permits

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Maximize protect the golf course or the ecosystem? Floodwalls or trees? In August of 2014, The Bay Area Regional Water Board accepted public input on the JPA's 2nd request to permit the downstream of 101 project. The current City of Palo Alto, SCVWD and SFCJPA plan takes the  absolute  minimum  from the golf course. The Regional Water Board is pushing to maximize the protection of natural ecosystems and endangered species, including the endangered California clapper rail. Supporting the Water Board's protection of the natural marsh ecosystem downstream of 101 will reinforce the Water Board's future support for  the natural creek bank ecosystem upstream of 101.  The  San Francisquito Creek Flood Reduction, Ecosystem Restoration, and Recreation Project  Application can be found at http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/ sanfranciscobay/public_ notices/#section401 .  
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