Miller Road Trench Soil Management Project

Miller Road Trench Soil Management Project

Project Objective 

EBMUD’s Miller Road Trench Soil Management Project (Project) involves the continued operation of the Miller Road trench soil stockpile and rock and sand stockpile sites; this includes the import, temporary storage, and periodic removal (off-haul events) of clean soil, rock, and sand to support the replacement of aging pipelines.

EBMUD estimates annual replacement of failing pipes will increase through 2030 leading to increased trench soil generation. EBMUD will conduct intermittent trench soil off-hauls to free space at the site. 

Project Description

Overview

EBMUD owns and operates the Miller Road stockpile site, which is located within EBMUD-owned watershed land southeast of EBMUD’s Upper San Leandro Reservoir in Castro Valley, in unincorporated Alameda County. The Miller Road stockpile site, which has been used by EBMUD for managing trench soil since 1975, is used to store excavated material generated by EBMUD pipeline construction and maintenance activities. Stockpiled materials include soil (sand, silt, and clay) mixed with asphalt, concrete, rock, and pipeline fragments. The Miller Road stockpile site supports EBMUD’s efforts to proactively replace and rehabilitate critical water system infrastructure. Based on projected pipeline improvements required to address EBMUD’s aging infrastructure, EBMUD estimates annual pipeline replacement will increase from 20 to 25 miles per year to approximately 30 miles per year by 2030. There is a need to increase the stockpiling and storage of materials to support this increase in pipeline replacement needs.

This project involves the continued operation of the Miller Road stockpile site, including import, temporary storage, and periodic removal of trench soil. The project also includes continued operation of the rock and sand stockpile site approximately 1 mile south of the Miller Road soil stockpile site on EBMUD-owned property within the project site. Materials from the rock and sand stockpile site are used to backfill trenches from the pipeline construction and maintenance activities. Continued operation of the rock and sand stockpile site includes import, temporary storage, and removal of these backfill materials. The project includes a gradual increase in the volume of trench soil stockpiled at the Miller Road site, routine removal of stockpiled trench soil (referred to as off-haul events), and an increase in the import and off-haul of backfill materials to and from the rock and sand stockpile site.

Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) Draft presentation

In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), EBMUD will release a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for the Project. The MND will be presented to the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) with an additional virtual community meeting to gather input from the Castro Valley community on this project. Meeting dates are listed below. 

• Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council, Land Use meeting
  Date: Monday, March 24, 2025
  Time: 6:00 p.m.
  Location: Castro Valley Public Library, 3600 Norbridge Ave, Castro Valley, CA 94546
• EBMUD Public Meeting (Virtual, Zoom)
  Date: Thursday, April 3, 2025
  Time: 6:00 p.m.
  Virtual Meeting. Please click on the link to join the meeting. Meeting link will be provided on 3/31/2025 on this webpage.

About the Miller Road Site 

EBMUD owns and operates the existing Miller Road stockpile site at 17292 Redwood Road in unincorporated Alameda County. The site has stored excavated soil, sand, and rock (i.e., trench soils) generated by EBMUD pipeline construction and maintenance activities since 1975. The Miller Road stockpile site supports EBMUD’s efforts to proactively replace and rehabilitate critical water system infrastructure. The trench soils removed from the site are used for beneficial projects such as the restoration of Redwood Road after the 2022/2023 landslides. 

Contact

Community Affairs
Email: community@ebmud.com
Phone: 510-287-0140
Emergencies or after-hours, call EBMUD at 866-403-2683