The Ogier Ponds-Coyote Creek Separation Project is a fish habitat improvement project under the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program. It is also a component of the critical Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project.
Ogier Ponds includes six large, artificial water bodies in southern San José near Barnhart Avenue and Monterey Road. They are located about four miles downstream from Anderson Reservoir.
Since 2016, Valley Water and the Santa Clara County Department of Parks and Recreation have studied the potential of separating Ogier Ponds from Coyote Creek to improve fish passage. In the current formation, fish get lost and cannot find their way out of the ponds, leaving them vulnerable to non-native predatory fish and to the ponds’ rising temperatures that can impact fish growth and health.
The project would construct a channel that would separate Coyote Creek from Ogier Ponds.
Public meeting held May 31
Valley Water's public meeting at the Morgan Hill Community Center to present plans on the project drew 33 residents, 14 in person and 19 virtually through Zoom. Also present was Justin Tran from the Office of Senator John Laird.
The alternatives will be included in the draft Environmental Impact Report. The Ogier Ponds Feasibility Study can be accessed in the “Reports and Documents” tab of this webpage.
A video of the meeting is available through Valley Water's You Tube link by clicking here.
- Improved steelhead access to spawning areas
- Improved water quality
- Restored Coyote Creek pre-mining channel
Ogier Ponds were former sand and gravel quarry pits from the 1950s through the 1990s and are connected to Coyote Creek. They are primarily owned by the County of Santa Clara and are part of the Coyote Parkway, which includes the Coyote Creek trail.
The ponds are popular with bird-watching enthusiasts. The Coyote Creek Trail is adjacent to the ponds and regularly draws runners, walkers and cyclists. The site contains multi-use pedestrian, bicycle and equestrian trails, access roads, parking areas and a radio-controlled model airplane field.