Buried PG&E Pipeline Opens Alameda Creek, Allowing First Chinook Salmon Return Since 1950s

In 2025, a joint effort by Pacific Gas & Electric, California Trout and other partners relocated a natural-gas pipeline and buried it about 20 feet beneath Alameda Creek near Sunol, eliminating an 8-foot concrete erosion-control mat that created a steep drop. The trenching and channel reshaping reopened more than 20 miles of upstream habitat, funded by $4.3 million from NOAA Fisheries and additional contributions. Shortly after completion, NOAA Fisheries biologists documented a male and female Chinook salmon upstream, marking the first documented access to this part of the watershed since the 1950s. The project concludes a 28-year restoration initiative that began in the late 1990s, during which 18 barriers were removed to reconnect the creek for steelhead, salmon and lamprey.

Ongoing monitoring will track fish movements, with steelhead still the primary restoration target. The removal of the final major barrier demonstrates how infrastructure changes can quickly benefit native fish populations.