Sun Returns To Pleasanton As Ninth Atmospheric River Passes

PLEASANTON, CA — After a whopping three weeks of almost nonstop rain that dumped a total of 14.33 inches on Livermore and 23.8 inches on Dublin and San Ramon, the storms have finally cleared for the foreseeable future. Tuesday was 53 and sunny in Pleasanton. Wednesday is expected to be cloudy and gusty, with a 25 percent chance of precipitation in the afternoon, but none is expected to accumulate. Mild rain may also fall Thursday afternoon.

The ninth atmospheric river to hit Pleasanton was not as powerful or destructive as earlier storms. Still, six trees fell between Saturday and Monday, including a tree that fell on a light pole in the Pleasanton Tennis and Community Park, according to the City of Pleasanton. Both the tree and the light pole were safely removed early Tuesday. The tennis courts will remain in operation while the light pole is replaced, the city said.

A number of streets were closed due to flooding. Foothill Road was closed from Foothill Knolls to South Muirwood Drive for about three hours Saturday morning and afternoon following reports of flooding on Foothill Road and Puri Court. The city arranged for vacuum/jetting trucks to clear storm lines in the area on Sunday.

On Monday, Sycamore Road from Pleasanton/Sunol Road to Sycamore Creek Way was closed for several hours due to flooding.

Niles Canyon Road was also shut down again Saturday after reopening Thursday due to mudslides and flooding. On Tuesday morning, an ACE train was stalled due to a 100-foot mudslide along Niles Canyon, resulting in evacuation for the train’s 220 passengers.

Flooding in some portions of Livermore was also so intense that some residents reportedly used paddle boards to float around. Some residents living near Bluebell Drive and Galloway Street reported about six inches in their homes, KTVU reported.

In Livermore, two local roads were closed due to flooding, and several county roads leading in and out of the city remain closed as of Tuesday afternoon:

• Marina Avenue from Wente Street to Arroyo Road
• Patterson Pass Road from Greenville Road to I-580
• Corral Hollow from County Line to I-580

Del Valle Regional Park, Sycamore Grove Park, and the Arroyo Mocho Trail from Robertson Park to Stanley Boulevard all remain closed.

City crews will spend the next few weeks cleaning drains and ditches and repairing trails. Residents are asked to respect closure signs and continue to stay away from arroyos and adjacent trails.

CLOSED PARKS

Several East Bay regional parks remain closed due to storm damage:

• Del Valle Regional Park
• Anthony Chabot
• Sunol Wilderness
• Ohlone Wilderness

Other parks are now open, but with certain roads closed:

• The Bollinger Canyon Road access to Las Trampas
• The main entrance of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve
• The Lafayette staging area of Briones Regional Park
• The entrance Road of Coyote Hills is closed to cars
• Meyers Garden at Dry Creek
• The west shore trail and Redwood Canyon Golf Course at Lake Chabot
• The main entrance at Morgan Territory
• The main gate of Reinhardt Redwood
• The Alameda Creek Trail
• The Niles Staging Area
• The Beard staging area

WHAT DID YOU SEE?

Patch wants to hear from residents how they weathered this unprecedented deluge. If you would like to share your experience in words and photos, please email michael.wittner@patch.com. The information will be used to add to this story.

24 TRILLION GALLONS SPILLED, AT LEAST 19 DEAD, WETTEST 3 WEEKS IN 161 YEARS

The final storm over the weekend was the ninth atmospheric river to hit California since Dec. 26. Since then, an estimated 24.5 trillion gallons of water have fallen on the state, according to calculations based on methods from the Farmer’s Almanac and information from the National Weather Prediction Center.

The storms also killed at least 19 people, more than the number of confirmed fatalities of California wildfires in 2021 and 2022, according to the East Bay Times.

Over the weekend, rains put eight million people in coastal California on a Flood Watch that remained in effect until Monday night. Flood warnings were issued in Marin, Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties, as well as parts of San Mateo, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Merced counties.

Though the storm was not as powerful as earlier ones, flooding and landslide risks remained acute since the ground is so saturated with water.

26,000 customers in California lost power Saturday night, according to poweroutage.us. This is a far cry from a week ago, when up to 100,00 customers in the Bay Area alone lost power.

BIDEN TO VISIT CENTRAL COAST

President Joe Biden announced Monday that he will travel to the central coast Thursday to visit areas most affected by the storms. The White House said Monday that the president will meet with first responders and local officials, assess recovery efforts, and determine how much federal support is needed.

Last Wednesday Biden declared a major disaster in California, which made federal funding available to Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties. The funding will go toward temporary housing, emergency work, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and more.

EAST BAY RESERVOIRS REPLENISHED

Despite all the damage and disruption, the rain did bring some good news: drought relief. On Dec. 1, 85 percent of California was classified as being in a stage of “severe drought,” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Last Thursday, that number dropped to 46 percent.

The East Bay Municipal Utility District reported Thursday that the seven reservoirs it operates were 86 percent full, up 68 percent from September. The Pardee Reservoir, the region’s biggest source of water, is 96 percent full.

“We’re in a much, much better position right now,” district spokesperson Nelsy Rodriguez told Berkeleyside in an interview. “We have been waiting for a wet season like this for years.”

Still, Rodriguez said that if the rain were to stop now, the district would still face water shortages. As a result, EBMUD will not consider changing conservation requirements until at least spring, when it knows how much more rain fell during the wet season.

LOCAL RESOURCES

Sandbags are available at the City’s Operations Services Department at 3333 Busch Road and at a new location at Ken Mercer Sports Park at 5800 Parkside Drive.
The Alameda County Public Works Agency also has sandbags available at their Maintenance and Operations Corporation Yard at 4825 Gleason Drive. Zone 7 Water Agency is also offering pre-filled sandbags at the Parkside Administrative Building on 5997 Parkside Drive.
For a full list of storm safety tips, local contacts, and closures, visit the city’s Storm Update page. See here for further resources, tips, and useful contact information.
To receive local emergency notifications, text your zip code to 888–777. For Alameda County notifications, sign up for AC Alerts here.

To report flooding, damage, or other hazards, call the Pleasanton Operation Services Department at 925-931-550 during business hours, 925-931-5100 after-hours, or email osd@cityofpleasantonca.gov.

To report downed power or electrical lines, contact PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.