Category: Nature-Based Infrastructure
A Living Shoreline, Built One Oyster at a Time
Can the humble Olympia oyster stabilize shorelines and fight rising seas across the West Coast? With a little help from human engineering, there’s a good chance.
New Metrics on Hybrid Gray-Green Levees
UC Santa Cruz research project investigates how horizontal “living levees” can cut flood risk.
Can Colgan Creek Do It All? Santa Rosa Reimagines Flood Control
A restoration project blends old-school flood control with modern green infrastructure. Is this how California can manage runoff from future megastorms?
All Stories
Nine Tiles Hint at Preferred Textures for Seawall Life
A two-year experiment suggests seawalls with nooks and crannies attract more seaweed, crabs, oysters and other bay creatures than smooth ones.
A Living Shoreline, Built One Oyster at a Time
Can the humble Olympia oyster stabilize shorelines and fight rising seas across the West Coast? With a little help from human engineering, there’s a good chance.
New Metrics on Hybrid Gray-Green Levees
UC Santa Cruz research project investigates how horizontal “living levees” can cut flood risk.
Can Colgan Creek Do It All? Santa Rosa Reimagines Flood Control
A restoration project blends old-school flood control with modern green infrastructure. Is this how California can manage runoff from future megastorms?
Bumpy Road Ahead for Fast-Tracking Program?
The multi-agency BRRIT has streamlined wetland permitting, but ongoing federal cuts could slow its progress.
A Ramble Around Pacheco Marsh
We tour Pacheco Marsh, a once-rough patch of Bay shoreline that is now a green refuge for walkers, birds, and even paddleboarders.
Boxes of Mud Could Tell a Hopeful Sediment Story
Scientists are testing whether dredged sediment placed in nearby shallows can help our wetlands keep pace with rising seas. Tiny tracers may reveal the answer.
Delivering BART Muck to South Bay Marshes?
Three million + cubic yards of tunnel muck from a subway extension could help raise South Bay marshes above rising sea levels.
Sizing Up Progress on Nature-Based Infrastructure
A May 2024 environmental conference covers levees, seawalls, reefs, wetlands, and other climate resilient shoreline designs for the Bay Area.
Marshes Could Save Bay Area Half a Billion Dollars in Floods
UCSC scientist Rae Taylor-Burns has assigned marsh restoration projects a dollar value in terms of human assets protected from climate change driven flooding.
How Collaborating with Community Really Works
A closely-watched co-design process has produced a hard-won plan for new nature-based, flood protection infrastructure and shoreline access points for North Richmond.
Harmful Blooms Spur More Wastewater Upgrades
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.