Tour: Searsville Dam (limited to 30)
Times: 2:45 – 4:30 PM
Tour Location: Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve
Park and Shuttle: Lawler Ranch Road and Sandhill Road, Portola Valley
You may have heard of the Searsville Dam in the news recently, because much controversy surrounds its future. Many groups have called for it to be removed, and there are issues with sediment mobilization, flood management, and special-status species. Please join BAWWA for a walk onto the crest of the dam, and a discussion of the many issues surrouching the dam, reservoir, and creek with David Freyberg, Stanford professor of hydrology.
Searsville Dam and Reservoir are located in Stanford’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve in the San Francisquito Creek watershed, adjacent to Portola Valley and Woodside, west of Interstate 280. The dam was built in 1892 by the for-profit Spring Valley Water Company and acquired by Stanford University in 1919. Today, sedimentation has reduced the reservoir to less than 10 percent of its original water capacity.
Tour Size: Limited to 30 people by Preserve operating permits.
Time: Arrive at the Park and Shuttle location by 2:45 pm. Full cars (5+ people per car) will depart for the Preserve as they are filled. Tour begins at the Preserve promptly at 3:00 pm and will conclude by 4:30 pm.
Parking: Preserve permit restrictions require tours to use the Park and Shuttle location at Lawler Ranch Road off Sand Hill Road.
Registration: RSVP by Friday, March 1. Tour spots will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING & DINNER
Following the tour of Searsville, head to downtown Menlo Park for our social hour and no-host
bar starting at 5:00 pm at Sultana Restaurant. A buffet dinner, including appetizers,
salad, bread, entrée, and dessert, will be served at 6:00 pm, followed by our dinner speaker.
Location: Sultana Restaurant (1149 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA 94025)
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
5:00 pm No-Host Bar
6:00 pm Buffet Dinner Served
7:00 pm General Meeting and Guest Speaker
Speaker: Victor Smith
Victor will present the ins and outs of the rate setting process for water utilities. Since 2014, he has worked on more than 20 rate studies with Raftelis Financial Consultants. Raftelis staff have assisted more than 1,000 utilities across the U.S., including some of the largest and most complex agencies in the nation. In the past year alone, Raftelis worked on more than 600 financial/organizational/technology consulting projects for more than 400 water, wastewater, and/or stormwater utilities in 40 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada.
Directions: Sultana Restaurant is located at 1149 El Camino Real in downtown Menlo Park.
Public Transit: Sultana Restaurant is a 3-minute walk from the Menlo Park Caltrain Station.
Parking: Sultana has parking behind the restaurant, which is adjacent to Menlo Park Public Parking Lot 1.