Flood Control Zone 12
Zone 12 at a Glance
Communities served: Oakland and Emeryville
Area in acres: 51,200
Total miles of natural creek: 17
Total miles of earth channel: 4
Total miles of concrete channel: 7
Total miles of underground pipe: 49
Total miles of improved channel: 1
Creeks: Temescal, Glen Echo, Pleasant Valley, Trestle Glen, Sausal, Peralta, Courtland, Lion, Arroyo Viejo, Elmhurst, Stonehurst, and San Leandro
Pump stations: Ettie, McKillop, Lake Merritt, and Temescal
Zone 12 Hydrology
Stormwater from Oakland and Emeryville is directed to San Francisco Bay through natural waterways, almost 50 miles of closed conduit, and just over 10 miles of earthen and concrete channel. 
Four pump stations – Ettie, McKillop, Lake Merritt, and Temescal–lift stormwater flows for discharge into the Bay.
Zone 12 Major Projects
Urban Flood Control
As Oakland development grows, flood channel capacity to convey stormwater from the hills, through the city, and out to the Bay becomes ever more important.
The Peralta Creek Flood Capacity Improvement Project was completed in 2006. Engineers will prepare the project for construction bids, and anticipate beginning construction by summer 2008.
Increasing Channel Capacities
Residents of Oakland's Lakeshore Avenue business district have drier streets during wet weather thanks to a $7.8 million project to increase storm drain capacity for Line D (Trestle Glen Creek) and D-1. This improvement project, completed in 2005, included the addition of a concrete box culvert along Lakeshore Avenue from Lake Merritt to Trestle Glen Road. At Trestle Glen Road, additional underground concrete box culverts were installed to replace existing, smaller culverts. Along Lakeshore Avenue, from Mandana Boulevard to Prince Street, an existing storm drain box culvert was replaced with a larger, 60-inch, reinforced concrete pipe.
Glen Echo Creek
In 2002, to improve drainage along Glen Echo Creek (Line B) from 28th to 29th Streets, the District rehabilitated a large culvert and replaced old piping that had been a bottleneck in the creek's drainage system. Erosion repair of Glen Echo Creek at Monte Vista Avenue was completed in 2003.
To enhance creek habitat, the District used bioengineering techniques, meaning biodegradable materials were applied to stabilize soils rather than concrete or steel. Vegetated soil wraps (layers of semi-compacted soil wrapped in biodegradable material) were placed on the creek bank slopes along the creek. Non-native trees were replaced with oak trees and native shrubs, and an existing asphalt walkway was replaced.
New and Ongoing Projects in Zone 12
- Line B-1 Quarry Pond Inlet Structure Modification
- Ettie Street Pump Station Unit 1 Rehab
- Line J improvements Coliseum Garden
- Lake Merritt Pump Station Interior Crack Seal
For more information about the history of projects undertaken in Zone 12, please view the District’s Annual Reports.