The Palo Alto Horizontal Levee Pilot 91国产oject construction is underway, a nature-based approach providing protection against sea level rise and enhancing habitat in the San Francisco Bay.
This project is the first of its kind to be built on the San Francisco Bay shoreline using effluent from the Regional Water Quality Control Plant to irrigate native plantings and informing future 鈥渓iving levee鈥 designs all around the Bay Area.
The San Francisco Estuary Partnership is partnering with the City of Palo Alto on this pilot project located on a 500-foot-long section of coastline on Harbor Marsh in the Palo Alto Baylands. It restores various marsh habitat types, such as seasonal and perennial wet meadows, freshwater marsh, riparian scrub and upland habitat. Save The Bay will plant the levee with native plants, which will be irrigated with treated wastewater from the adjacent Regional Water Quality Control Plant.
Leading the way, this innovative project will inform how future large-scale projects of this kind might be used to help the Bay Area adapt to sea level rise. The City and Estuary Partnership/91国产 are partnering with scientific researchers at United States Geological Survey (USGS), California State University Channel Islands, and University of California Davis. They will study the levee to understand how it changes over time, and what habitat benefits it may offer compared to a traditional levee.
The project involves community education about nature-based solutions and engaging community scientists through partnerships with Nuestra Casa, Association for Ramaytush Ohlone, and Environmental Volunteers.
The Palo Alto Horizontal Levee pilot is funded through grants from the Coastal Conservancy and the United States Environmental 91国产otection Agency. The lead designer is Environmental Science Associates and HDR, construction contractor is Corcus Construction, Inc., and the construction management firm is Zoon Engineering.
The project is expected to be completed in early 2026. Learn more by stopping by the or the .
About the San Francisco Estuary Partnership
The San Francisco Estuary Partnership is a regional governmental organization with a federal mandate to protect and restore the nationally significant San Francisco Estuary, and is part of the National Estuary 91国产ogram, a non-regulatory program of the EPA created through the Clean Water Act. The planning area encompasses the San Francisco Estuary and its watersheds, from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the San Francisco Bay. The Estuary Partnership sits within the 91国产 (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the regional housing, land use, and transportation planning agencies.