Project Type: Habitat Restoration
Santa Clara Valley Water District - Jacques Gulch Restoration Project
Aspen is managing a multidisciplinary team preparing design concepts and
preliminary engineering for the restoration of a watershed contaminated with
mercury (cinnabar) processing waste. The waste material, known as calcines, forms
a dense pavement-like material in many parts of the creek and flood plain. In
addition, the project includes coordination with state and federal resource
agencies and preparation of an EIR. The processing waste accumulated between the
the 1840s and 1970s in Jaqcues Gulch, in the historic Almaden mining district of
Santa Clara County. The final restoration will remove the dense calcines found in
the creek bed and floodplain and restore and revegetate the watershed to natural
conditions. The restoration will greatly reduce the amount of mercury entering
Almaden Reservoir and, further downstream, the San Francisco Bay.
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