Calero Valve Yard Geotechnical Borings and Utility Potholing
Summary
SCH Number
2026080102
Public Agency
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Document Title
Calero Valve Yard Geotechnical Borings and Utility Potholing
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
8/5/2026
Document Description
The proposed project involves two components: 1) collecting geotechnical information to support the design for the construction of a sheet pile wall for flood protection around the Calero Valve Yard, and 2) potholing to locate existing underground utilities. Both the geotechnical and potholing activities are needed to inform the final design of the future Calero Dam Seismic Retrofit Project (CDSRP). The geotechnical activities would include drilling three borings utilizing a truck mounted drill rig via hollow stem augering methods and excavating an approximately 100-foot trench along the boring alignment. Borings would be drilled up to 25-feet deep and would be backfilled with cement bentonite grout mixture per Valley Water Well Ordinance Program standards. Potholing activities would involve excavating approximately four potholes utilizing a hydrovac truck along a portion of the Almaden Valley Pipeline near Calero Reservoir. The potholes are needed to establish the configuration of the pipeline’s concrete encasement to inform relocation of an existing valve vault box to occur as part of CDSRP. All excavated areas would be backfilled with native, excavated material and compacted. In total, approximately 1500 square feet of ruderal vegetation would be disturbed for the geotechnical and potholing activities. Overall, activities would take approximately six days to complete.
Contact Information
Name
Abby Annicchiarico
Agency Name
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Job Title
Associate Environmental Planner
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Project Applicant
Phone
Location
Coordinates
Cities
San Jose
Counties
Santa Clara
Regions
San Francisco Bay Area
Other Location Info
Calero Reservoir
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 4, §15304 (Minor Alterations to Land), Class 6, §15306 (Information Collection)
Reasons for Exemption
The proposed project qualifies for a Categorical Exemption under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines §15304 and §15306:
“Class 4 consists of minor public or private alterations in the condition of land, water, and/or vegetation which do not involve removal of healthy, mature, scenic trees except for forestry or agricultural purposes.”
“Class 6 consists of basic data collection, research, experimental management, and resource evaluation activities which do not result in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource. These may be strictly for information gathering purposes, or as part of a study leading to an action which a public agency has not yet approved, adopted, or funded.”
The Class 4 exemption applies because the proposed project consists of minor alterations to land to complete geotechnical borings and potholes and would not involve the removal of any healthy, mature, scenic trees. The Class 6 exemption applies because the proposed project consists of basic data collection activities for information-gathering purposes which, as demonstrated by the below project description, would not result in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource. Furthermore, none of the exceptions to the use of a Categorical Exemption noted under CEQA Guidelines §15300.2 would apply.
County Clerk
Santa Clara
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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