The Sunnyvale Sun
News
Workers clean creeks, find more than weeds
By Stephen Baxter
Despite a dry winter, workers in Sunnyvale are preparing for a flood.
A Santa Clara Valley Water District crew began a 10-day project in mid-June to repair the banks of the Sunnyvale East Channel near the Braly Corners neighborhood.
The project aims to clear sediment and rebuild eroded creek banks to aid water flow and protect homes from a flood.
"You would think that since we didn't have much rain that we wouldn't have a lot of sediment, but there's still is a lot of sediment," said Susan Siravo, spokeswoman for the water district.
The projects are part of the countywide Stream Maintenance Program to restore 6,300 feet of creek banks and remove unwanted plants from 168 miles of streams.
Work in Sunnyvale's dry creek beds has also yielded some surprises.
On the morning of June 19, workers found a gun and some bullets in the creek near Fair Oaks Avenue and Old San Francisco Road, according to Sunnyvale authorities. It is unclear where the gun came from.
On June 25, at least three water district workers used a backhoe to repair 100 feet of eroded creek bed near Ashbourne and Egret drives. There are dried plants shooting out of the virtually waterless creek bed.
A few blocks from Sunnyvale's southern border, at Homestead Road and Swallow Drive, workers also repaired 40 feet of a bank on the Calabazas Creek.
The work will ensure more natural conditions for fish, plants and wildlife, water district officials said.
