Valley Water is committed to reducing the risk of flooding to homes, businesses, and schools and improving the environment by performing work along creeks across Santa Clara County. This work includes removing sediment build-up, managing vegetation, clearing trash and debris and stabilizing banks that have eroded during high water flows.
As part of this commitment, Valley Water will perform bank repairs and rehabilitation work in the City of Cupertino along Calabazas Creek between Miller Avenue and Bollinger Road. Under the Calabazas Creek Bank Rehabilitation Project, Valley Water will repair and stabilize damaged creek bank sections along portions of Calabazas Creek to their as-built or natural condition.
The project is in construction
The repair work along the creek between Miller Avenue and Bollinger Road in the City of Cupertino includes stabilizing banks that have eroded during high water flows, and managing vegetation by removing non-native species, and replacing them with riparian native plantings.
As part of the project, Valley Water will repair and stabilize damaged creek sections at ten locations to their as-built or natural condition. Once completed, the project will:
- Minimize future bank failure and potential damage to nearby properties.
- Minimize impacts on water quality and riparian habitat associated with continued bank erosion.
- Reduce the need for on-going maintenance.
- Maintain the existing level of flood protection.
The project area along Calabazas Creek features steep banks prone to erosion, making nearby properties vulnerable. In 2011, Valley Water completed construction on the Calabazas Creek Flood Protection Project along a 3.7-mile stretch of Calabazas Creek between Miller Avenue in Cupertino and Wardell Road in Saratoga.
During Valley Water inspections, staff observed significant erosion, signs of bank failure and surfaces lacking cover from vegetation. Many of these issues arose from significant winter storms in late 2016 and early 2017. The project aims to address and minimize the re-occurrence of these issues so that flood protection and riparian habitats are maintained.
Project schedule
Environmental laws and regulatory agencies limit work in creeks to specific times throughout the year. The project work will be completed in two construction seasons, with the first phase scheduled from June 1 through October 15, 2022, and the second phase from April 15 through October 15, 2023. Crews will be working Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and as needed on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Crews will access the creek from Miller Avenue onto Creekside Community Park and also from Bollinger Road.
General Information
Studies and Reports
- Final CEQA Mitigated Negative Declaration (July 2021)
- Confirmed Project Plans
- Confirmed Specifications
- CEQA Mitigated Negative Declaration Notice of Intent (September 2020)
- Draft CEQA Mitigated Negative Declaration (September 2020)
- Draft CEQA Mitigated Negative Declaration Appendices (September 2020)
Under the Calabazas Creek Bank Rehabilitation Project, Valley Water will repair and stabilize damaged creek bank sections along portions of Calabazas Creek to their as-built or natural condition. Specifically, the project would repair and stabilize eroding channel banks at ten locations along the creek through either the installation of rock riprap to reconstruct the bank or sheet pile walls. By doing this, this project will help:
- Minimize future bank failure and potential damage to nearby properties.
- Minimize impacts on water quality and riparian habitat associated with continued bank erosion.
- Reduce the need for on-going maintenance.
- Maintain the existing level of flood protection.
This portion of Calabazas Creek features steep banks and several areas with minimal distance between the top of the bank and residential fence lines, which makes it vulnerable to bank erosion issues. In 2011, Valley Water completed construction on the Calabazas Creek Flood Protection Project along a 3.7 mile stretch of Calabazas Creek between Miller Avenue in Cupertino and Wardell Road in Saratoga. As part of that work, Valley Water repaired bank erosion along several sections of the creek that are also located within the current bank rehabilitation project area.
During recent inspections, Valley Water observed erosion, signs of bank failure and surfaces lacking cover from vegetation. Many of these issues were a result of the winter storms that occurred in late 2016 and early 2017. This project will fix these identified issues and their surrounding areas, which may include sites that overlap with the erosion repair sections previously identified in 2011.
