ALVISO, Calif. (KCBS) -- A project aimed at reconnecting San Jose with the San Francisco Bay broke ground near Alviso Wednesday morning.
The plan is to dig a 40 ft long concrete notch between the Guadalupe river and a former salt pond. Environmental groups had an official ground breaking for the project, which will ultimately restore the wetlands to their natural habitat.
It may happen pretty rapidly. In the next two or three years we should see big changes," said Mendel Stewart with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
KCBS’ Matt Bigler Reports
Some have called for more rapid reintroduction of bay waters by completely removing levies, but Stewart contends that would be a bad idea.
"The land where we're standing has subsided -- has sunk -- it's now below sea level. So if we were to remove those levies that are out in the Bay, we could cause flooding," Mendel explained.
Charles Taylor, commodore of the Alviso Yacht Club, said he hopes this project is a step in the right direction for Alviso, which was once a major port for San Jose.
"We believe that a lot of the maritime recreation will be coming back and a lot of the old-style Alviso. It'll kind of revitalize Alviso once again," said Taylor.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
DW.pageParams = {
siteId: '255'
};
DW.clear();
DW.trackClicks();
