• San Pablo Reservoir CCC Camp - Orinda CA
    The New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps camp was located just below San Pablo Reservoir. CCC laborers living at the camp did work to support water infrastructure improvements for the East San Francisco Bay area. In addition to dam-building, workers at the San Pablo Dam camp planted trees and built fire roads for the new San Pablo check dam and reservoir area. The San Pablo Dam camp was also one of the CCC's African-American camps. In the agency's early years, federal work crews were intentionally integrated communities, with stipulations that each unit enroll African-Americans at a rate proportional to their representation in the...
  • San Pablo Reservoir Check Dams - Orinda CA
    There are 12 small rock check dams built along Mistletoe Creek at the eastern end of the reservoir. According to current EBMUD staff, the dams were all built during the 1930s by the CCC. Most seem to be operating as intended. They are not currently accessible to the public.
  • San Pablo Reservoir Observation Point - Orinda CA
    This CCC built observation point is located along the southern side of the reservoir, about half-way down, and just opposite the outfall tower (the only such structure on the lake). The point includes a rock wall and stairway that was originally intended as a stopping place for motorists to get good views of the lake. It was built in March of 1935 and is now on land that is publicly accessible. The toilet and other CCC structures are no longer functioning, however there is an effort underway to get the CCC sites on the lake officially recognized by EBMUD, as well...
  • Sandow Reliefs at Orinda Water Treatment Plant - Orinda CA
    The Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) commissioned bas-relief sculptures by Elliot Franz Sandow (1910-1976) at the Orinda Water Treatment Plant, part of the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). They decorate an overflow weir at the plant.  Labor and materials for the project cost $1360. The artist completed similar bas-relief panels for the Labor Temple and Woodminster Amphitheater in Oakland. The sculptures remain in fine condition and are available for public viewing at the Orinda plant.
  • Water Infrastructure - Orinda CA
    1936, the East Bay Municipal Utility District joined forces with the Works Progress Administration to install a new 6" pipe around the north side of Lake Orinda, replacing a former line that ran across the dam. The new pipe allowed gravity feeding of the Charles Hill Tank from the Orinda Tank, saving municipal funds previously used to pump water between the two tanks.