South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Project
$4,439,406 in 2018, $57,026,673 in 2019 to be allocated over 5 years
Community of Alviso and adjacent ponds and waterways, between Alviso Slough and Coyote Creek, northern San José, Santa Clara County, Southern Region
Planning; Permitting; Design; Construction/Implementation
Vital Fish, Bird and Wildlife Habitat Program; Integrated Flood Protection Program; Shoreline Public Access Program
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California State Coastal Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
2024 Tour of South Bay Salt Ponds Project and South San Francisco Shoreline Project
San Jose Spotlight: Valley Water breaks ground on North San Jose flood control project
KRON: South Bay flood protection project breaks ground
KPIX: Project to Ease South Bay Flooding Breaks Ground in San Jose
KneeDeepTimes: A South Bay Levee Breaks Ground, And Records
South Bay Shoreline Project Website
2023 UPDATE: Construction continued on the Reaches 1-3 levee, primarily focused on Reach 1. Reach 1-3 construction is estimated to be completed in summer 2025. The State Coastal Conservancy awarded a grant to the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory to revitalize the Don Edwards Refuge's headquarters nursery to grow the native plants for the levee. Work under that grant is underway. The Coastal Conservancy also awarded a grant to the Santa Clara Transportation Authority to design and permit bringing in tunnel muck material from the BART extension project to raise pond bottoms slated for restoration as a part of the Shoreline project.
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2022 UPDATE: Construction of Reaches 1-3 of the flood risk management levee in the City of San Jose began in December 2021 by the US Army Corps of Engineers and is slated for completion in early 2024. Reach 1 extends from Alviso Marina to Union Pacific Railroad and Reaches 2 and 3 stretch from the Union Pacific Railroad to Artesian Slough. Reaches 4-5 of the levee, which extend from the Artesian Slough East to Coyote Creek, are in the design phase. The project will ultimately include a four-mile levee and 3,000 acres of restored wetlands, as well as trails and public access amenities.
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The Authority has approved funding for the South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Project (Shoreline Project) twice, once in 2018 for $4,439,406 and again in 2019 for $57,026,673 over a five-year period, both to the Santa Clara Valley Water District for design and implementation of the project.
The Shoreline Project is an effort to provide flood protection, restore 2,900 acres of former salt evaporation ponds, and improve public access in the Alviso area of South San Francisco Bay. It will address the need for tidal wetland restoration, flood protection, and improved recreation connections in the South Bay. Ultimately, the project will restore 2,900 acres of managed open water ponds to tidal marsh.
The Project aims to restore original tidal action and baylands habitat; provide 1-percent coastal flood risk management including improved shoreline resilience against projected sea level rise; and provide recreational enhancement opportunities and San Francisco Bay Trail connections.
