BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Government Code § 84308 Applies: Yes ☐ No ☒
(If “YES” Complete Attachment A - Gov. Code § 84308)
SUBJECT: Title
Accept the Work as Complete and Direct the Clerk to File the Notice of Completion of Contract and Acceptance of Work for the South Babb Creek Flood Mitigation Project, Under the Watersheds Asset Rehabilitation Program, Granite Rock Company, Contractor, Project No. 62084001, Contract No. C0716 (San Jose, District 6).
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RECOMMENDATION: Recommendation
A. Accept the work as complete on the South Babb Creek Flood Mitigation Project, under the Watersheds Asset Rehabilitation Program, Project No. 62084001, Contract No. C0716 as complete; and
B. Direct the Clerk of the Board to sign the Notice of Completion of Contract and Acceptance of Work and submit for recording to the Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder.
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SUMMARY:
The construction contractor, Granite Rock Company (Contractor), has completed the South Babb Creek Flood Mitigation Project (Project), under the Watersheds Asset Rehabilitation Program.
Project Background
South Babb Creek is a tributary to Lower Silver Creek, which is a 43.6 square mile drainage area within the larger Coyote Creek watershed. The entire section of South Babb Creek is located within the city of San Jose and drains into Lower Silver Creek downstream of the Farringdon Drive bridge.
In 2018, Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) completed civil construction of floodwalls as part of the Lower Silver Creek Project at the confluence with South Babb Creek. Following construction, Valley Water completed a 100-year flood event study that included a hydrologic and hydraulic model of the Lower Silver Creek watershed in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Cooperating Technical Partnership program. The results of the hydraulic modeling indicated that, in this event, flood water would spill along South Babb Creek onto the street surface at several bridge crossings. Flood waters would then flow north easterly and pond behind the floodwalls constructed for the Lower Silver Creek Project (Reach 5C), preventing overland drainage back into the creek. The water would eventually flow north and flood an apartment complex adjacent to the Project area. FEMA initiated a Physical Map Revision based on the recent hydraulic modeling, which will add the apartment complex to the regulatory floodplain if no additional measures are taken.
The long-term South Babb Creek Flood Protection Project is currently on the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) unfunded project list. Each year, unfunded CIP projects are re-evaluated for the Board's consideration for inclusion into next year's CIP Five-Year Plan. Staff will continue to explore grants and other funding opportunities to fund this long-term project and other watershed projects.
To mitigate the short-term impacts to the apartment complex, staff developed several alternatives. In January 2023, the South Babb Creek Flood Mitigation Project (Project) was identified as one of the high-priority projects to be implemented under the Watersheds Asset Rehabilitation Program (WARP). This Project, the selected design alternative, scope consisted of the construction of underground storm water troughs behind sections of the existing floodwall and modifying the floodwalls with openings and the installation of a total of 45 flap gates along the length of the floodwall, allowing ponding water to drain back to Lower Silver Creek, therefore, reducing the flooding conditions primarily at the apartment complex. The Project began on July 21, 2025, and was completed on December 30, 2025, with the final Project Completion Letter issued on January 9, 2026.
Relevant Previous Board Actions
On November 28, 2017, the Board accepted the Construction Phase (Milestone 1) for the Lower Silver Creek Flood Protection and Creek Restoration Project, Reaches 5C-6A, Contract No. C0580.
On January 12, 2021, the Board accepted the Landscape and Revegetation Establishment Maintenance Phase (Milestone 2) for the Lower Silver Creek Flood Protection and Creek Restoration Project, Reaches 5C-6A, Contract No. C0580.
On April 22, 2025, the Board adopted the plans and specifications and authorized advertisement for bids for the South Babb Creek Flood Mitigation Project.
On June 24, 2025, the Board awarded the Construction Contract to Granite Rock Company, in the sum of $1,225,742.00 and approved a contingency of 10% in the amount of $122,574.00 and authorized the Chief Executive Officer or designee to approve individual change orders up to the designated amount.
Contract Change Orders
A total of four (4) contract change orders totaling a net decrease of $1,065.36 were executed for this contract to address various issues, including unforeseen site conditions, unforeseen utility conflicts, post-design clarifications, Valley Water requested changes, and credits back to the contract for deleted items of work.
These changes included:
A. $56,431.34 for additional work required to address unforeseen site conditions. This includes work such as accommodating design clarifications to address existing PG&E utility poles in conflict with the originally proposed trough locations, cutting and capping an existing irrigation line in conflict with the proposed trough locations, relocation of a flap gate in conflict with an existing floodwall expansion joint, epoxy coating of exposed soldier piles in the troughs, and additional excavation required to reach the proposed trough depths. This work was carried out under Change Order Nos. 1 and 2.
B. $52,653.30 for additional Valley Water-requested changes and post-design clarifications. This includes work such as restoring a damaged silt fence in the creek bed, grading a portion of District Valley Water Maintenance Road with an Aggregate Base for ease of maintenance, and additional paving to restore the project site to better condition. This work was executed under Change Order No. 3.
C. <$110,150.00> for credits associated with the deletion of unused supplemental bid items, including Site Security (Supplemental Bid Item 1) and the Groundwater Storage and Disposal Allowance (Supplemental Bid Item 2), which was executed under Change Order No. 4.
The final total contract amount is $1,224,676.64. Table 1 presents a summary of the construction contract and contingency amounts.
Acceptance of the Work and Recording Notice of Completion of Contract
The California Civil Code allows an owner or agent to execute a Notice of Completion of Contract after acceptance of the work by the Board. The Notice of Completion of Contract and Acceptance of Work is included in Attachment 1. The Designated Engineer has determined that the work has been completed, to the best of his knowledge, in accordance with the plans and specifications, and recommends acceptance. The Designated Engineer’s recommendation of construction acceptance is included in Attachment 2. The Project Completion Letter is included as Attachment 3. Photos of the completed Project are included in Attachment 4. The Project Delivery Process Chart is included in Attachment 5.
Construction Contract Retention
California law requires Valley Water to release contract retention in accordance with certain time frames, which will commence once the Notice of Completion is recorded with the Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder. Interest payment on retention due to the contractor may be avoided by meeting the requisite deadlines.
Valley Water is currently withholding retention funds totaling five percent (5%) of the contract items ($61,233.83) in accordance with the Public Contract Code. Per the construction Contract Documents, Valley Water is required to release retention funds associated with the contract 35 days after recording the Notice of Completion of Contract and Acceptance of Work, subject to any withholds required by law or the contract.
Recording a Notice of Completion is recommended. Retention withheld will be released pending the Board’s acceptance and recording of the Notice of Completion.
Total Project Expenditures
As indicated in the Summary of Construction Contract and Contingency Amounts (Table 1), after Change Orders 1-4 were processed, the original contract amount of $1,225,742.00 decreased by $1,065.36 to $1,224,676.64, which is a decrease of approximately 0.1 percent.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
There is no environmental justice impact associated with South Babb Creek Flood Mitigation Project. This action is unlikely to or will not result in disproportionate impacts on any specific community relative to the general population from the implementation of this project.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The South Babb Creek Flood Mitigation Project is included under the Watersheds Asset Rehabilitation Program (WARP), Project No. 62084001, and is included in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Fiscal Years (FY) 2026-30 Five-Year Plan and in the FY 2025-26 Adopted budget. The Project is funded by the Watersheds Stream Stewardship Fund (Fund 12).
Transfer of Remaining Balances
The original contract amount of $1,225,742, combined with the Board-approved contingency in the amount of $122,574, totals $1,348,316 for construction of the Project. The total final expended amount for the construction of the Project is $1,224,676.64. This results in the remaining balance of $14,554.72. Upon completion of the construction contract (C0716 South Babb Creek Flood Mitigation Project) the remaining amount will be released to project reserves for the Watersheds Asset Rehabilitation Program (WARP), Project No. 62084001.
CEQA:
Valley Water is the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act for implementation of the Project. This Project is exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301, which exempts minor alterations of existing public facilities, and CEQA Guidelines Section 15304, which exempts minor alterations in the condition of the land. A Notice of Exemption was prepared and filed with the Santa Clara County Office of the Clerk-Recorder on April 24, 2025.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Notice of Completion and Acceptance of Work
Attachment 2: Construction Contract Acceptance
Attachment 3: Project Completion Letter
Attachment 4: Construction Photos
Attachment 5: Project Delivery Process Chart
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER: Manager
Bhavani Yerrapotu, 408-630-2735