In December of 2024, this paper ran an article on the securing of funding for a project to remove the last barrier to fish migration along Alameda Creek.
The project, managed by CalTrout, would relocate a PG&E gas pipeline away from the stream and lower it underground. In a recent press release, CalTrout shared that they completed construction in Nov. 2025.
The site is on San Francisco Public Utilities Commission land in Sunol Valley, upstream from two dams removed in 2006, and downstream of a fish ladder constructed in 2018. Previously, the pipeline was covered by a concrete erosion control mat, which protruded into the creek and blocked fish migration except during wet winters. As droughts worsen, removing these barriers becomes more critical to native species’ migration.
This is the culmination of years of work to restore habitat. In 2022 and 2023, Alameda County Water District constructed fish ladders to bypass two inflatable bladder dams in Fremont, allowing Chinook salmon and steelhead to migrate into Niles Canyon and upper Alameda Creek watershed for the first time in 50 years.
The project is a collaboration between many organizations, and costs are shared by PG&E, NOAA Fisheries via federal grant funds and a private foundation. Applied River Sciences, PG&E contractors Hanford ARC and Michels Corp, Sequoia Ecological Consulting and Stantec Inc. helped with design and construction.
According to the press release, “As of Nov. 19, Chinook salmon have already been observed migrating above the former barrier accessing habitat that has been largely unavailable for over 70 years.” The project connected 20 miles of stream, including spawning habitat.
“We just wrapped up construction, and the fish are already finding their way home!” said CalTrout Central California regional director in the same press release. “It’s incredibly gratifying to see these incredible species reclaim crucial habitat that they have been locked out of for decades.”
In the Tri-City area, Alameda Creek winds through parts of Fremont and Union City, including Niles Community Park and Quarry Lakes. The Alameda Creek Trail is accessible to walkers and bikers, and often borders on neighborhoods, letting people step into a corridor of recreational open space almost right off their sidewalks. Thanks to the efforts of CalTrout, this familiar waterway has gotten a little wilder.
