Since 2009, H. T. Harvey & Associates has provided on-call biological consulting services to the Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) under successive Master Biological Services Agreements. Our work, which is ongoing, has entailed more than 120 different task orders to date, covering a range of biological resources issues. While providing these services, H. T. Harvey & Associates has worked closely with Valley Water staff to develop a process to perform these on-call tasks as efficiently, cost-effectively, and thoroughly as possible, essentially serving as an extension of Valley Water staff to perform whatever tasks are required.
Project Contact
Steve Rottenborn
Principal, Wildlife Ecology
Environmental Analysis
As part of our on-call work for Valley Water, we have conducted many environmental analyses, including the following:
South County Water Recycling: Master Plan EIR/EIS
A biotic study that served as the basis for an Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) for the first phase of the project, and which will also serve as the basis for a program-level EIR/EIS for the project as a whole. Coordinating extensively with Valley Water staff and others regarding biological resources issues, we prepared a draft Biological Assessment covering Phase 1 activities.
Sunnyvale East/West Channels Flood Protection Project: Wetland Delineation and Habitat Study A delineation of jurisdictional wetlands and other waters and prepared a habitat/impact assessment for selected sensitive species; we also prepared reports summarizing both efforts. This work applied to a project area that included the Sunnyvale East and West Channels and Pond A4.
Wildlife Ecology
As part of our on-call work for Valley Water, we conduct surveys, monitoring, trapping, and other studies pertaining to wildlife ecology:
Adobe Creek Upper Reach 5: Woodrat Monitoring Year 1 monitoring surveys of San Francisco dusky-footed woodrat nests to evaluate the success of woodrat mitigation measures.
Pond A8/A4 Sediment Disposal Monitoring Monitored salt marsh harvest mice and California Ridgeway’s rail during the district’s disposal of sediment at Ponds A8 and A4.
Coyote Creek Reach 1/Coyote Slough: Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse Trapping Trapping surveys of salt marsh harvest mice in the vicinity of Coyote Creek Reach 1 and Coyote Slough; we evaluated the species’ distribution in creeks and sloughs of the South Bay and made recommendations for future management of Reach 1.
Special-status Species Surveys of Burrows on Valley Water Dams Conducted surveys of mammal burrows on 13 dams at 12 district facilities using fiber-optic equipment and assisted with the filling of burrows after we had cleared them of sensitive species.
Advanced Recycled Water Treatment Facility: Nesting Bird Surveys and Deterrence Conducted surveys of burrowing owls and of the nests of other migratory birds during various phases of the project. From early March through May, conducted an intensive nesting bird deterrence effort to deliver the site to the construction contractor without any nesting bird–related constraints.
Plant Ecology
Stream Maintenance Program/Lower Llagas Creek Riparian Vegetation Mapping Helped perform aerial photo-interpreted vegetation mapping for Valley Water’s Stream Maintenance Program update and for a project along lower Llagas Creek.
Since 2009, H. T. Harvey & Associates has provided on-call biological consulting services to the Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) under successive Master Biological Services Agreements. Our work, which is ongoing, has entailed more than 120 different task orders to date, covering a range of biological resources issues. While providing these services, H. T. Harvey & Associates has worked closely with Valley Water staff to develop a process to perform these on-call tasks as efficiently, cost-effectively, and thoroughly as possible, essentially serving as an extension of Valley Water staff to perform whatever tasks are required.
