Firefighters and watershed keepers are passionate about preventing the SFPUC’s lands from being devastated by a catastrophe like a wildfire. Year after year they work together to stage controlled burns to keep the face of earthen dams from accumulating dried vegetation that could contribute fuel to turn a small burn into a devastating fire. Just…
Category: Watershed
Construction Work Begins on New Alameda Creek Watershed Center in Sunol
Construction work has begun on the SFPUC’s Alameda Creek Watershed Center in Sunol, which will raise awareness of the natural and cultural history of the Alameda Creek Watershed and the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System. Located next to the Sunol Water Temple in the East Bay at the historic confluence of two creeks, the Alameda…
Construction on the Alameda Creek Watershed Center in Sunol Resumes
The SFPUC has resumed construction on an interpretive center on our watershed lands in unincorporated Alameda County. Located adjacent to the Sunol Water Temple in the East Bay at the historic confluence of two creeks, the Alameda Creek Watershed Center will explore the confluence of people and nature and the significance of water in sustaining…
Pulgas Water Temple and Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail Close to Prevent Spread of COVID-19
The SFPUC closed two of its San Mateo County public attractions on March 24, 2020 in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus. On Monday, March 16, 2020 Mayor London Breed and the San Francisco Department of Public Health issued a public health order requiring residents to remain at home with the only exception…
Thriving with Nature: Meet Watershed Keeper Supervisor Sarah Lenz
When your office is literally in nature, seeing wild animals can be a daily occurrence. Sarah Lenz, watershed keeper supervisor in the Peninsula Watershed, is part of a small team of dedicated people in the SFPUC’s Natural Resources and Lands Management Division who patrol and protect the agency’s 23,000-acre watershed on the Peninsula. Lenz loves…
A Look Back in History: Sawyer Camp Cottage Blueprints
Watershed Keepers are responsible for inspecting, maintaining, protecting and patrolling watershed lands and trails in all types of weather conditions. They monitor watershed lands for security, contamination, trespass activity and clean-up. On any given day they may collect water samples for analysis, record data from gauges, measure reservoir levels, water releases, and precipitation, operate valves,…