Streamwall project
18 September 2000

Revised 15 April 2013

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Final update
9 October 2000

It was a long couple of weeks, but it's over!

Here's what was accomplished. Compare this to the next picture below ...





What's going on here?
18 September 2000

Last January, the stream finally bit such a big hole in the bank north of our house that we couldn't ignore it any more. The downstream edge of the hole was less than ten feet from the corner of the house. Scary stuff.


Stream flows left to right

For most of this year we've been planning a repair project, and any job big enough to save the house requires full permits. Half-way measures would only increase our jeopardy. There are two adequate repair technologies - rock in wire baskets, and large rock. The baskets rust out in a dozen years. So it comes out large rock - a wall extending 110' north of the house.

The planning was done by Steve Wiesner, a hydro engineer, the head engineer for a small company that specializes in this kind of work. He has done a thoroughly professional job, capped by navigating a bureaucratic maze created by the seven (!) agencies with jurisdiction over the work. This is a sensitive riparian area, home to two threatened species (Red legged frog, Steelhead). The streambed and its inhabitants must be fully protected throughout (no machinery can go into the stream channel; the fish must be removed from the area before the necessary diversion takes place; a hundred more such rules).

The plan: net off the stream, above and below the work site; remove the fish and put them downstream; divert the stream around the work site in a 16" pipe, using a sandbag cofferdam. Meanwhile an excavator crawls down the driveway and into the yard, clears the brush off the bank, and digs itself a work bench somewhat above stream level, running the full length of the work site. From the work bench, it digs a toe trench 3' deep, the footing for a wall of 600 tons of rocks -- 200-300 big rocks, to be dumped by large truck at the top of the driveway, carried by a tractor down to the work area, and placed by the excavator. The wall will come to the top of the bank, which will be backfilled, compacted, contoured, and replanted according to a plan that must be approved by the Dept. of Fish and Game.

This project begins today and will supposedly take 2+ weeks. I will try to keep the pictures on this page up to date.


Daily photo logs

Day 1
Mon 9/18
a Shocking Event

Day 2
Tue 9/19
Godzilla

Day 3
Wed 9/20
Construction Circus

Days 4-5
Thu-Fri 9/21,22
Rocks!!! (New pix 9/24)

Days 6-7
Mon-Tue 9/25-26
Rock placement

Days 8-10
9/27-29
Nearly done!

The aftermath!
10/9




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