"Volunteers were out bright and early Wednesday morning along the Harbor Marsh coastline in the Palo Alto Baylands, joining an effort to build a nature-based buffer designed to absorb storm surges and curb flooding amid climate change and sea-level rise that threaten shoreline communities. They were helping build what project developers described as the Bay Area's first horizontal "living levee" directly connected to the Bay and irrigated with treated wastewater."
""We often find that these in-person shoreline experiences that our programs can offer are a good way to introduce concepts like nature-based solutions, such as the horizontal levee," Olsen told reporters during a recent media tour of the site."
"Last year, the Palo Alto treatment facility began at least $369 million in upgrades to remove enough nitrogen from its treated water to safely release it into the Bay and help prevent algal blooms that could be harmful to marine life. The facility, which treats 20 million gallons of wastewater each day for more than 230,000 residents and businesses, is also critical infrastructure that the levee is designed to protect."
Volunteers planted native species along Harbor Marsh in the Palo Alto Baylands to establish a nature-based horizontal living levee directly connected to San Francisco Bay. The levee will be irrigated with treated wastewater from the Regional Water Quality Control Plant and is intended to absorb storm surges, curb flooding, and create a transition zone between freshwater and salt marsh. About 35 volunteers began initial plantings of black elderberry, ninebark and marsh baccharis, with full maturity expected by the end of 2026. The nearby treatment facility treats 20 million gallons daily and recently began $369 million in nitrogen-removal upgrades, which the levee will help protect.
Read at The Mercury News
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