Category: Nature-Based Infrastructure
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.
All Stories
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.
Corps Experiments with Sediment Feed from Shallows
Can tides and waves move sediment placed in the shallows onto wetlands? The Army Corps is experimenting with how to do it.
How Far Can Metro Harbors Go on Nature-Based Shore Protection?
Typical flood protections rely on engineered structures. But there’s a new push at the national level of the US Army Corps of Engineers to prioritize working with nature. Storm surge plans currently underway in New York, Miami and San Francisco highlight a range of nature-based fixes.