Calabazas Creek Renovation Completed

The Santa Clara Valley Water District celebrated the completion of its flood protection construction for Calabazas Creek Monday morning with a ribbon-cutting ceremony near the corner of Sunnyvale-Saratoga and Prospect Road in Saratoga.

The development, known as the Calabazas Creek Flood Protection Project, will protect more than 400 homes in Cupertino, Saratoga and San Jose and runs along 3.7 miles of the Calabazas Creek from Miller Ave. in Cupertino to Wardell Road in Saratoga.

Some of the key elements of the project include a bridge replacement for a Union Pacific railroad crossing in Saratoga, infrastructure replacement and the development of a detention area along the creek from Prospect to Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road and erosion repair to 14 sites along the creek.

According to district CEO Beau Goldie, the district worked closely with 12 other local, state and utility agencies during the planning and construction period, and completed the construction for $12 million, which was half of the district’s anticipated budget for the project.

Goldie also mentioned that the development helped create 130 local jobs.

“This project helped bring jobs to the community,” he said.

Another element of the construction phase that Goldie prided the district in is the preservation of the creek’s trees and plants, which he said was vital to the district’s commitment to habitat restoration.

The Calabazas Creek renovation is a project under the district’s Clean, Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection Plan, which was approved by the voters of Santa Clara County in November 2000 as a property parcel tax for county residents over 15 years.

Funds generated for the program go toward district projects that involve flood protection, improvement of water quality in the county’s creeks and bays, building wetlands in the county’s watershed and 70 miles of parks and trails in the county’s open space. The Calabazas Creek project is the first of nine flood protection projects under the program.

Also in attendance at Monday’s ceremony were district board members Patrick Kwok and Richard Santos, along with David Ginsborg, who serves as chair of the program’s Independent Monitoring Committee.

Kwok, who represents the area which Calabazas Creek runs through, said that he is pleased with the completion of the development.

“I’m really happy to say that the district explored all the options available, and met all the objectives,” Kwok said. “And it lived up to our commitment.”

According to district officials, Calabazas Creek has a history of flooding, which includes 5 major flood events since 1955. In 2002, the area around Bollinger Road was flooded.