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Resilience Hub
Special Series: Extremes in 3D
To reduce nitrogen loads, the Bay Area is facing an overhaul of wastewater plants to the tune of $16B. Sea level rise calls for other retrofits. The two could require the heftiest investment in clean water infrastructure in decades.
To get storm resilient, a stretch of El Camino Real in San Mateo may lose hundreds of historic eucalyptus trees.
When San Mateo Creek topped its banks during last winter’s relentless winter storms, Danielle Cwirko-Godycki’s home became one of thousands in the city to flood.
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S.F.’s Hunters Point is already toxic for residents and the Bay. Sea level and groundwater rise, along with bigger storms, threaten to make the problem worse.
To reduce nitrogen loads, the Bay Area is facing an overhaul of wastewater plants to the tune of $16B. Sea level rise calls for other retrofits. The two could require the heftiest investment in clean water infrastructure in decades.
To get storm resilient, a stretch of El Camino Real in San Mateo may lose hundreds of historic eucalyptus trees.
When San Mateo Creek topped its banks during last winter’s relentless winter storms, Danielle Cwirko-Godycki’s home became one of thousands in the city to flood.
Climate change messaging often falls short, dwelling on too much science, favoring the dark side. Researcher Richelle Tanner is exploring what could help.
Like Russian dolls, Bay Area preparations for sea level rise finally began fitting together this fall.
Regional agencies made splashy headlines when they released a joint study on the likely cost of protecting Bay Area shores from rising seas: $110 billion. But the top-line number didn’t offer much insight into the complexities. A new inventory and map from the same agencies is much more revealing.
In San Mateo County, new planning guidance may help cities account for rising seas when approving new developments. OneShoreline’s proposals are stricter than current requirements from federal, state, and local agencies, but those are also evolving. “The intent is to go where we already see regulators are going,” says Makena Wong, a project manager.
A plan to protect SFO could become a critical link in a chain of resilience projects along the San Mateo County bayshore. But projects that cross jurisdictional borders, get complicated.
When he purchased a house, Ever Rodriguez noticed how North Fair Oaks differed from surrounding areas. “We don’t have the same infrastructure or services as in Menlo Park.”
Between gasping sobs, a boy in a viral video explains that he’s upset because of climate change. San Mateo county’s education office is trying to help.
An East Palo Alto affordable housing project is at the forefront of a trend cities across California are trying to encourage: switching from natural gas appliances to electric ones. But the transition isn’t without headaches.
Agencies in San Mateo and Sonoma count are floating new rules for development in flood and fire prone areas. “Where and how you build can be among the most important decisions that are made in any community,” said a FEMA official.
East Palo Alto faces escalating housing prices and declining affordability, gentrification, and a rising bay. Nuestra Casa is leading discussions about these issues with local parents, and paying them for their time.
With rains overwhelming local drains in late October, the visible construction progress over the summer on Orange Memorial Park, a regional stormwater capture facility in South San Francisco, seems timely.