Alamo Creek Trail- Temporary Closure Notice

Zone 7 Water Agency will close a stretch of the Alamo Creek Trail in Dublin from September 3-10, excluding the weekend, so that crews can conduct maintenance work along the flood control channel.

The trail closure will take place between Dublin Boulevard north to the Iron Horse Trail at the confluence of Alamo Creek and San Ramon Creek. The closure is meant as a safety precaution both for trail users and for work crews using heavy equipment on the channel's maintenance road.

To minimize disruption to regular trail users, the trail will be made available to the public on Saturday and Sunday, September 7 and 8.

Zone 7 owns and maintains 37 miles of flood control channels in its service area, including the cities of Dublin, Livermore and Pleasanton. Zone 7's flood control facilities are integrated into many programs. During storm events, the channels carry flood waters out of the Valley, protecting life and property. During dry periods, the arroyos are used for groundwater recharge, placing high-quality water in the underground reservoir for storage until the community needs it during droughts. The arroyos are also used as riparian habitat. Many of these channels also have maintenance roads that, through Agency agreements with the cities, have been opened up for recreational trail use.

Zone 7 Awarded Local Groundwater Assistance Grant

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has awarded more than $4.7 million in grants to 26 public agencies from the Local Groundwater Assistance Program. Grant funding is provided by Proposition 84, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006.

The program helps local agencies perform groundwater studies, monitoring, and management activities. Funded projects include installation of monitoring wells, groundwater recharge investigations, data gathering and development or update of groundwater models, preparation of groundwater management plans, and other programs to assist local agencies in managing groundwater in California.

The objective of Zone 7's proposed project is to upgrade and improve Zone 7's groundwater model of the Livermore Valley Groundwater Basin for use in evaluating groundwater and salt management strategies and alternatives, as well as for the development of specific project plans that involve groundwater supplies, aquifer storage, and constituent transport. The DWR grant was in the amount of $200,000, 80% of the project's total cost.

Zone 7 is currently updating its Salt and Nutrient Management Plan to meet requirements of the State Water Resources Control Board's Recycled Water Policy, and to include local land and water development plans. The use of a reliable groundwater model would be helpful in predicting the effects of these future plans, and to further develop Zone 7's ongoing and future salt management strategies.