Draft Environmental Impact Report - East Bay Municipal Utility District

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Estates Reservoir Replacement Draft Environmental Impact ReportNoise and VibrationLimit the noisiest phases of construction to 10 working days at a time, wherefeasible.Notify neighbors/occupants within 300 feet of Project construction at leastthirty days in advance of extreme noise generating activities about theestimated duration of the activity.The effectiveness of noise attenuation measures shall be monitored by taking noisemeasurements during noise intensive activities of 90 dBA or greater over a nine weekperiod. However, it should be noted that although the goal is to limit construction noiseto the minimal feasible duration and to reduce noise levels to minimize disturbance tosensitive receptors (adjacent residents), mitigated construction noise could still causeoccasional, intermittent or periodic disturbance at the closest residential receptors. Inrecognition of this possibility and based on the significance criteria, construction noiseimpacts are therefore considered significant and unavoidable, even with mitigation.Significance after Mitigation: Significant and Unavoidable.Impact 3.9-2: Construction of the Estates Reservoir Replacement Project couldincrease noise levels along truck haul routes.Truck noise levels depend on vehicle speed, load, terrain, and other factors. The effects ofconstruction-related truck traffic would depend on the level of background noise alreadyoccurring at a particular receptor site. In quiet noise environments (Leq averaging 50 dBA),one truck per hour would be noticeable, even though such a low volume would notmeasurably increase noise levels. In slightly noisier environments (Leq averaging 60 dBA),the threshold level is higher, and it would take 10 trucks per hour to noticeably increase thenoise exposure. In moderately noisy environments (Leq averaging 70 dBA), a noiseincrease would be perceptible with the addition of 100 trucks per hour. In quietenvironments or during quieter times of the day, truck noise is mainly a single-eventdisturbance; although the hourly average associated with short, single events is not veryhigh, individual noise peaks of up to 91 dBA at 50 feet can occur during a single truckpassage. In noisy environments or during less noise-sensitive hours, truck noise isperceived as a part of the total noise environment rather than as an individual disturbance.Throughout the demolition and construction periods, there would be worker vehicle tripsand either haul trucks or materials trucks accessing the Estates Reservoir site. Haul routesinclude local residential streets (with quiet noise environments) to arterials with moderatelynoisy environments, and regional freeways. Truck volumes would vary from day to day,and the maximum number of daily truck trips would reach 120 to 150 materials trucksduring the reservoir construction period at Estates Reservoir (refer to Table 3.6-5, Trafficand Circulation section of the EIR).The combination of truck trips and/or vehicle trips is calculated to generate an hourlyaverage noise level of up to 62 dBA L eq along the access roadways. A review of theexisting ambient noise level data indicates ambient noise levels typically in the range of 45to 50 dBA L eq during the daytime periods when construction-related traffic would besb09_001.doc 3-9.18 7/22/2009
Estates Reservoir Replacement Draft Environmental Impact ReportNoise and Vibrationaccessing the local streets. Construction traffic could, therefore, result in up to a 17 dBAincrease in hourly average noise levels. This would be a substantial increase in noiseduring the approximately 29 weeks when a large number of daily heavy truck trips isanticipated, and would be noticeable to some residents. However, the estimated maximumhourly truck noise levels would not exceed the 70-dBA speech interference criterion.Therefore, short-term maximum noise increases due to Project related trucks would be lessthan significant. Consistent with the Oakland Noise Ordinance, the hours for haulingmaterials and for deliveries would be the same as the general construction hours, limited to7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, which would further reduce the potentialfor significant impact. Night and evening truck trips would not normally occur (onlyduring service outages, and emergencies and special situations); thus, there would be littleor no contribution of truck noise to the Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL) duringthe more sensitive evening and nighttime hours. Implementation of Mitigation Measure3.9-1.b would also ensure that truck traffic noise would be less than significant.Significance after Mitigation: Less than Significant.Impact 3.9-3: Construction of the Estates Reservoir Replacement Project couldcause vibration that could disturb local residents and cause cosmetic damage tobuildings and structures.Vibrations of 0.012 in/sec Peak Particle Velocities (PPV) can cause residential annoyance(similar to vibrations from a heavy truck passing at 100 feet) (Wilson, Ihrig & Associates,2003). Monitoring data for a tunnel/pipeline project in San Francisco indicate thatvibration was below the level of annoyance for most residents when vibration levels weremaintained at 0.1 in/sec PPV or less (i.e., no complaints were received) (ESA, 1997).While very low vibration levels (0.01 in/sec PPV) can cause annoyance, higher vibrationlevels can cause structural damage. The U.S. Bureau of Mines uses a criterion of 2.0in/sec PPV to avoid any structural damage to buildings (Wilson, Ihrig & Associates,2003). In general, cosmetic damage to residential buildings can occur at PPVs over 0.5in/sec, while structural damage to residential buildings can occur at PPVs over 2.0 in/sec(Wilson, Ihrig & Associates, 2003).Measurements collected during various construction activities (including pavementbreaking, vibratory sheetpile driving, sheetpile driving by an excavator shovel, vibratorysoil compaction, and earth excavation) at an unrelated project were found to producevibration levels ranging between 0.03 to 0.38 in/sec PPV at 30 to 35 feet (ESA, 1997).Excavation activities associated with demolition of the existing reservoir concrete linerand concrete columns could generate perceptible vibration levels. Sheetpile driving toconstruct the buried replacement tanks is another potential source of vibration. Vibrationpotential from sheetpile driving as well as other construction activities would depend onsoil type and proximity to residential receptors. Implementation of the performance PPVrequired in Measure 3.9-3 would preclude cosmetic or structural damage to nearbyresidential or other sensitive structures. However, it is possible that vibration would besb09_001.doc 3-9.19 7/22/2009
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Estates Reservoir ReplacementDraft
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TABLE OF CONTENTSEstates Reservoir
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Estates Reservoir Replacement Draft
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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONSABABAGAPC
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SUMMARYS.1 IntroductionThis Draft E
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Estates Reservoir Improvements Draf
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Chapter 2Project Description2.1 Ove
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Chapter 3Environmental Setting, Imp
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3.5 Cultural Resources3.5.1 Approac
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Dingee Pressure Zone Improvement Pr
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FIGURESDingee Pressure Zone Improve
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Draft Environmental Impact Report - East Bay Municipal Utility District

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