Volunteers plant Bay Area's first living levee' using treated wastewater

"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."

"Save the Bay's Jessie Olsen, whose organization helped lead the planting, said this is the first phase of work, with the plants expected to reach full maturity by the end of 2026. 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."

The Bay Area's first horizontal living levee was planted along the Harbor Marsh coastline in the Palo Alto Baylands to absorb storm surges and curb flooding from climate change and sea-level rise. The levee is directly connected to the Bay and irrigated with treated wastewater from Palo Alto's Regional Water Quality Control Plant. Volunteers planted native species including black elderberry, ninebark and marsh baccharis, with plants expected to mature by the end of 2026. Treated wastewater reuse combines with habitat restoration to create a transition zone between freshwater and salt marshes. The treatment facility treats 20 million gallons daily and recently began upgrades to reduce nitrogen.

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