The Alameda County Water District, which supplies drinking water to more than 320,000 residents, is currently in the midst of a geotechnical review of all its levees and reservoirs. Kleinfelder helped provide certification of levees for various Flood Control Zones, including the Alameda Creek area.

Challenge: The project required development of geotechnical, civil, and hydraulic engineering analyses to document compliance with current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) levee certification standards. Approximately 22 total miles of levees required certification. Extensive coordination with FEMA was a requirement.

Solution: Kleinfelder completed an extensive field exploration and laboratory testing program with preliminary engineering analyses for the subject levees. Based on our findings, we removed nearly 95 percent of the levee reaches from the original certification requirements. The remaining certification work included identifying deficiencies, recommending mitigation alternatives, and assisting with final construction of the selected alternatives. Mitigation strategies implemented include a 2,000-foot soil-bentonite wall extending up to 80 feet in depth and vinyl sheet piles extending up to 40 feet in depth.

Project Results: Kleinfelder helped the client save more than $85 million in mitigation costs. Construction of the planned mitigations was completed in the early winter of 2011. Kleinfelder has also been actively involved in developing grant applications enabling the District to recoup project costs upward of $300,000.