The work is part of the flood-protection efforts of the Santa Clara Water Valley District. The two waterways are Wildcat Creek at Fruitvale Avenue and Calabazas Creek at Comer Drive.

"We do flood-prevention work whenever it is necessary," said Anthony Lopez of the media relations department at the Santa Clara Water Valley District.

"We do some proactive work. What that means is we clean up the sediment before the winter rains," said Lopez.

As the rainwater flows through the creek, it brings the sediment and raises the creek bed. With removal of the sediment, the creek can be restored to its full capacity. The work is usually done during the summer, the driest season.

"A lot of sediment has built up under these bridges in the last two years," said Lopez.

On Fruitvale Avenue, the debris will be removed from a culvert below the road. Once the sediment is removed, no runoff is expected when it rains, and water will be able to pass under the road without flooding nearby homes.

There will be some lane closures on Fruitvale Avenue when equipment is hauled on or off the road.

The flood-protection work along Calabazas Creek at Comer Drive involves removing sediment under the Comer Drive bridge.

This part of the project is expected to start on July 8. No road or lane closures are expected in this area.

The district is also looking at the water flow through the Calabazas Creek and how it has changed over the years.

"A debris basin was built on Comer Drive in the '60s to capture all the sediments. There used to be a quarry up the creek," said Gerry Unaka, public information representative for the Santa Clara Valley Water District. "The heavy rains would wash all the gravel down. Once the quarry stopped working, we stopped cleaning the basin also. After the work at the quarry stopped, it changed the way the water flows through the creek."

It will take several years before the water district decides what to do with the basin.

In 1998, when it rained heavily, water backed up and overflowed over the Comer bridge. The district is now working to ensure that the same thing doesn't happen again.