San Pablo Creek Restoration

Orinda, CA

WRECO Construction
Summer2007

Wreco Construction contracted Hanford ARC, on behalf of a private client for this project in Orinda, CA. The creek banks at the project site were severely eroded causing loss of the homeowner’s property. The project excavation required working in very tight conditions and on a steep slope and involved repair of the channel bank with a variety of techniques, including vegetated soil lifts, rock toe protection with live staking, and erosion control seeding on the upper slope.

A 160 foot long gravity bypass dewatering system was utilized to allow work in the creek. The channel follow was diverted downstream and re-entered below the work area. The bank was cut back to enable installation of the erosion control structures and thirty dump truck loads of asphalt and debris were removed in the clearing of the site.

Hanford installed 35 live willow poles into the Rock Toe structure along with 80 tons of rock. Eighteen native Elderberry, 300 Blackberry and two 15-gallon California Bay were planted as well.

Construction of the VSLs consists of creating an envelope of soil with coir fabric keyed in to the bank, staking and installation of live cuttings. Fifty Red Willows were used in the soil lifts. The bank was covered with 4500 square feet of coir fabric, staked into place with 150 live willow stakes and seeded with an erosion control seed mix.