Coastal waterways face numerous threats—from rising sea levels to storm surge flooding to pollution.
So a pilot project is underway in Palo Alto, California, to help jointly address some of these issues.
The city plans to build horizontal levees in San Francisco Bay.
It is a sloping wetland that provides a transition between the open bay and the highly developed coast.
Heidi Nutters helps lead the program in partnership with the San Francisco Estuary Partnership.
Nutters: “Wetlands have amazing buffering capabilities that reduce the impact of wave action during storms.”
The project also offers another benefit. It helps eliminate pollution that the city's sewage treatment plants cannot handle.
Treated wastewater is typically discharged into the bay and piped beneath the wetland.
Water irrigates plants, and as it flows through the ground, the soil filters out phosphorus and nitrogen that can harm fish and wildlife.
Nutters: “Overall, people are going to see improvements to the wetlands, and then below ground, water quality is going to improve as well.”
So it's a holistic strategy to help protect fragile waterways and their coastal communities.
Report source: Sarah Kennedy/ChavoBart Digital Media
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