TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Jon Cicirelli
SUBJECT: See Below DATE: July 28, 2025
Approved
Date:
8/4/25
COUNCIL DISTRICT: Citywide
SUBJECT: Status Report on the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project, Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project, and Collaborative Encampment Outreach and Cleanup
RECOMMENDATION
Valley Water District Board and the City of San José Mayor and City Council receive the status report on the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project, Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project, and collaborative encampment outreach and cleanup.
SUMMARY AND OUTCOME
This memorandum is focused on the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project (ADSRP) and associated Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project (CCFPP) efforts, major infrastructure initiatives led by the Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) and the City of San José (City) to address seismic safety concerns and flood risks. The ADSRP, currently in final design with construction set to begin in 2027, will restore full reservoir capacity and meet state and federal safety standards. The Anderson Dam Tunnel Project precedes this, is currently underway and near completion. It will provide a critical diversion system for dam inflows. The Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project (CCFPP) has completed phase one of a broader flood protection effort to reduce immediate flood risks. Phase Two of the CCFPP is scheduled to start in 2026.
Collaborative encampment outreach and enforcement programs have been implemented along Coyote Creek to ensure safe construction and environmental compliance.
JOINT CC/VW AGENDA: 8/19/25
FILE:
ITEM:
25-820
6.1 HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
July 28, 2025
Subject: Status Report on the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project, Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project and Collaborative Encampment Outreach and Cleanup
The City Council and Board will be informed of the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project and the Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project in Fiscal Year 2024-2025 and collaborative encampment outreach and cleanup.
BACKGROUND
The ADSRP will correct dam seismic deficiencies and meet all current Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and California Department of Water Resources, Division of Safety of Dams dam safety design standards. The full reservoir capacity will be restored upon completion of the project.
Throughout 2019 to early 2020, project staff and consultants had been progressing with preparation of the 90% design plans and specifications and supporting environmental and permitting documents. On February 20, 2020, Valley Water received a letter order from the FERC to immediately implement interim risk reduction measures at Anderson Dam to protect the public from dam failure due to seismic activity.
Valley Water is undertaking the Anderson Dam FERC Order Compliance Project (FOCP) to comply with the February 20, 2020. The construction improvements necessary to complete the FOCP have been grouped into five sub-projects to be completed before the ADSRP construction:
1. FOCP Anderson Dam Tunnel, Reservoir and Creek Modifications
2. FOCP Coyote Percolation Dam Replacement
3. FOCP Cross Valley Pipeline Extension
4. FOCP Coyote Creek Flood Management Measures
5. FOCP Coyote Creek Stream Augmentation Fish Protection Measure
Updates for two of these projects, the Anderson Dam Tunnel Project and the Coyote Creek Flood Management Measures Project, are provided below. In addition, there are several other non-construction measures which are being implemented as part of the FOCP including maintaining the reservoir at the lowest level possible, known as deadpool.
The Valley Water Board of Directors certified the final Environmental Impact Report for ADSRP on February 25, 2025. State and federal permits for various construction authorizations are currently in progress. The ADSRP team has prepared the 100% level design plans which will be used to advertise for construction bids. ADSRP construction bidding is anticipated to start in 2025 using a best-value model. The contractor will be selected in mid-2026 and the construction activities will take place from 2027 to 2033.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
July 28, 2025
Subject: Status Report on the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project, Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project and Collaborative Encampment Outreach and Cleanup
ANALYSIS
Anderson Dam Tunnel Project
The Anderson Dam Tunnel Project (ADTP) is currently being constructed and includes building a diversion system to augment the existing outlet, consisting of a new diversion tunnel, an outlet structure, a micro-tunnel lake tap, and modifications to Coyote Creek just downstream of the base of the dam. Once completed, the ADTP will serve as the Stage 1 Diversion System to divert inflows from the reservoir to Coyote Creek during the beginning of the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project (ADSRP). All the ADTP elements, except for the micro-tunnel lake tap portion, will be incorporated into the final configuration of the ADSRP.
On April 27, 2021, the Valley Water’s Board of Directors awarded the construction contract for the ADTP to the top-ranked best-value proposer, Flatiron West, Inc., in the sum of $161,140,321 and approved a contingency amount of $40,000,000 (25% of the contract price).
On January 28, 2025, the Valley Water Board of Directors approved an increase of $40,000,000 to the construction contract contingency sum, bringing the total construction contract contingency to $80,000,000.
Below are several elements of the ADTP construction that have been completed to date.
1) Tunnel Excavation and Initial Lining
Tunnel excavation and initial lining of the tunnel were completed in April 2024. Flatiron West, Inc. used conventional mining methods, including drilling and blasting the rock to complete the excavation. The initial lining installed to support the excavation consists of an eight-inch-thick layer of fiber-reinforced shotcrete (spray-applied concrete) and steel support arches spaced every three to five feet.
2) Micro-tunnel and Lake Tap
Conclusion of tunneling and tapping into the reservoir was completed in August 2024. A micro-tunnel boring machine drilled through the last 350 feet of tunnel into the reservoir about 30 feet under the water surface. Sections of 8-foot diameter steel pipe were driven into the ground behind the micro-tunnel boring machine in this portion of the tunnel.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
July 28, 2025
Subject: Status Report on the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project, Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project and Collaborative Encampment Outreach and Cleanup
3) Diversion Outlet Structure (DOS) Construction
Construction of the DOS outside the downstream tunnel portal was completed in June 2024. The DOS will be used to house the two large fixed-cone valves that control flows through the tunnel and dissipate the energy of the releases by reducing the velocity of the water. The foundation, walls, and roof of the structure are made of thick, reinforced concrete sections that were placed in multiple stages.
4) North Channel Extension
Work to reopen the North Channel was completed in November 2024. The work included excavation, grading, and rock placement for over 1,600 linear feet starting outside the DOS to reconnect this historic creek channel back to Coyote Creek. A concrete labyrinth weir was also installed in the channel to dissipate the energy and control high flows to be released from Anderson Reservoir.
Below are the remaining major construction elements to be completed by the end of 2026:
5) South Channel Weir Construction
Improvement of the South Channel by constructing a new concrete weir, with a notch for low-flow passage. This weir will work in conjunction with the North Channel Weir to control flow releases from Anderson Reservoir in this reach of Coyote Creek.
6) Final Tunnel Lining Installation
Construction of the final tunnel lining. There are three distinct structural systems that will be used for the final tunnel lining:
• Continuous Reinforced Concrete – a 24-inch thick, horseshoe-shaped arch, walls, and floor.
• Articulating Joint Concrete Sections – a similar 24-inch-thick reinforced concrete structure with heavier reinforcement and gaps between sections every five or ten feet designed to independently displace if ground movements occur. • Steel Pipe with Concrete Backfill – about 450 linear feet of 13-foot diameter steel pipe will be installed at the downstream end of the tunnel that exits the portal.
The annular space will be backfilled with concrete.
7) DOS Large Diameter Pipe and Valve Installation
Installation of the large diameter steel pipes and valves in the DOS. As the 13-foot diameter steel pipe exits the tunnel, it bifurcates into two 11-foot diameter steel pipes.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
July 28, 2025
Subject: Status Report on the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project, Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project and Collaborative Encampment Outreach and Cleanup
Each of the 11-foot diameter pipes has a butterfly valve and fixed cone valve to control flow releases and dissipate energy into the DOS.
Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project
Before the FERC order in 2020, Valley Water worked on the planning and design of a project to provide flood protection against a 20-year flood event along Coyote Creek; this project was referred to as the original Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project (CCFPP). To comply with the February 20, 2020 FERC order that Valley Water must include measures to protect residents and properties downstream of the dam during implementation of FOCP, Valley Water accelerated a portion of the original CCFPP elements and included them as part of FOCP; these prioritized elements are now referred to as the Coyote Creek Flood Management Measures Project (CCFMMP), which is described in more details below. The CCFMMP and CCFPP, collectively referred to as “Project”, represent phase one and phase two, respectively, of a nine-mile flood protection project along Coyote Creek between Montague Expressway and Tully Road in the City of San José.
Phase one, CCFMMP, is an expedited portion of the Project in response to the FOCP, which are a set of interim risk reduction measures required prior to construction and operation of the ADTP. The immediate objective of phase one, CCFMMP, is to reduce the risk of flooding in San José as a result of water releases from Valley Water’s Anderson Dam that may occur after construction of ADTP. The scope of phase one, CCFMMP, includes construction of seven floodwalls in a total of three reaches along Coyote Creek.
Construction of phase one, CCFMMP, began in Summer 2023 and has recently completed construction. Phase two, CCFPP, will construct all the remaining Coyote Creek flood protection elements, including steel sheet pile floodwalls, concrete T-walls, flood gates and flood doors, and passive barriers, within the Project geographic area that are necessary to convey flows similar to those that occurred during the February 2017 flood event and any additional flows from the new Anderson Dam stage 2 diversion tunnel, which will be part of the ADSRP. The Valley Water Board of Directors certified the final EIR for CCFPP on March 11, 2025. Regulatory permits for various construction authorizations are currently in progress. Phase two, CCFPP, is in the final stages of design and is anticipated to begin construction in Summer 2026.
Encampment Outreach and Cleanup for Coyote Creek Flood Management Measures Project
To facilitate the construction of CCFMMP, on April 21, 2023, Valley Water and the City executed an agreement to relocate encampments of unsheltered people who had been located in the project footprint and staging areas. Per the agreement, Valley Water provided funding to the City for specific targeted services to safely relocate the
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
July 28, 2025
Subject: Status Report on the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project, Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project and Collaborative Encampment Outreach and Cleanup
encampments out of the construction zone. Rather than displacing the unsheltered individuals without providing support, Valley Water and the City sought to ensure that these individuals would receive outreach and targeted services to connect them with emergency or temporary housing. Of 204 individuals living in the CCFMMP project areas, 178 received City outreach services and 120 accepted and moved into shelter or interim housing pursuant to this agreement.
The City has introduced No Encampment Zones (see Attachment map) along the Coyote Creek and other waterways to protect the environment, neighborhoods, and comply with stormwater permit regulations. These zones are designed to prevent new encampments from forming through proactive enforcement and subject encampments to immediate abatement. They include permanent signage, outreach, monitoring and action through a team of City employees that includes BeautifySJ staff for monitoring and general outreach, Housing Department staff for housing-specific outreach, and a newly formed San José Police Department Neighborhood Quality of Life team of police officers for enforcement.
At the time of this memorandum, 14.7 miles of waterways along Coyote Creek have been cleared of encampments. Of this, 9.21 miles of Coyote Creek have been established as No Encampment Zones. Permanent signage, monitoring and enforcement along the CCFMMP area exist along the Coyote Creek, adjacent parks and open space from Yerba Buena Road downstream to Capitol Expressway, from Tully Road downstream to Keyes Street/ Story Road, from I-280 downstream to Roosevelt Park, and from Watson Park downstream to Berryessa Road. Nineteen escalated actions including warnings and follow-up abatements have occurred within the No Encampment Zones since they were established. Additional No Encampment Zones will be established on Coyote Creek from Capitol Expressway downstream to Tully Road and from Berryessa Road downstream to Old Oakland Road by October 2025 and between Keyes Street/Story Road and I-280 by summer 2026.
Conclusion
The Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project and the Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project represent a comprehensive, multi-phased effort to enhance dam safety and reduce flood risk for the community. Progress continues on major construction components such as the Anderson Dam Tunnel Project and interim flood protection measures through the Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project. These efforts are being implemented in compliance with federal safety directives and in coordination with environmental and community considerations, including the successful relocation of unsheltered individuals and the establishment of No Encampment Zones. With final designs complete and permitting underway, full construction for the seismic retrofit and long-term flood protection phases is on track to begin in 2026, marking a significant milestone in public safety, infrastructure resilience, and environmental stewardship.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
July 28, 2025
Subject: Status Report on the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project, Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project and Collaborative Encampment Outreach and Cleanup
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW UP
T
he City of San José and Valley Water will provide key program updates through joint reporting at the Valley Water Board and San José City Council meetings.
COORDINATION
This memorandum was coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office, the City Manager’s Budget Office, and Valley Water.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
T
his memorandum will be posted on the City’s Agenda website for the August 19, 2025 Joint City Council and Valley Water Board Joint meeting.
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION AND INPUT
N
o commission recommendation or input is associated with this action.
CEQA
N
ot a Project, File No. PP17-009, Staff Reports, Assessments, Annual Reports, and Informational Memorandums that involve no approvals of any City action.
PUBLIC SUBSIDY REPORTING
T
his item does not include a public subsidy as defined in section 53083 or 53083.1 of the California Government Code or the City’s Open Government Resolution. /
s/
Jon Cicirelli
Director of Parks, Recreation and
Neighborhood Services
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
July 28, 2025
Subject: Status Report on the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project, Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project and Collaborative Encampment Outreach and Cleanup
For questions about encampment cleanup, please contact Olympia Williams, Deputy Director, Community Services Division of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, at [email protected] or (408) 535-3571.
The principal author of this memorandum’s encampment cleanup content is Paul Pereira, Interim BeautifySJ Division Manager, in the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department. For questions, please contact [email protected]
.
ATTACHMENT:
No Encampment Zones Map
ATTACHMENT
No Encampment Zones Map