Coming off the energy and ideas generated through the Resilient by Design Challenge, Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia has taken the lead in bringing together key stakeholders, including the West County Wastewater District, to advance the concept of creating a horizontal levee and shoreline public access in North Richmond. The San Francisco Estuary Partnership(SFEP) is helping to facilitate and support this effort and move it towards implementation. SFEP is working alongside local partner The Watershed Project to move some other key adaptation and green infrastructure ideas forward in and around the project area. 

Horizontal levees can provide both sea level rise protection as well as greater shoreline access for the public. The horizontal levee would minimize flooding in North Richmond, protect critical infrastructure and enable marsh growth in an ecologically rich part of the Bay. SFEP is helping to facilitate a Stakeholder Working Group that includes representatives from the West County Wastewater District, City of Richmond, Contra Costa County Flood Control District, East Bay Parks District, Chevron, and Republic Services, among others. The project goal is to reach consensus on the alignment and height of the horizontal levee and identify the resources to fund and finance the construction of the levee and other associated projects in the area. 

The “ouR-HOME” team continues to be active in this project. In October 2019, Tim Mollette-Parks presented some of the innovative techniques the team implemented as part of the development of the Resilient Bay Area project at SPUR’s event, “Engaging Communities in Resilience Planning.” You can hear the audio from this event here.