Restoring Maryland’s Shores: An Innovative Coastal Resilience Strategy in Havre de Grace, Maryland

“This has needed to happen for over 80 years,” said a life-long Havre de Grace resident as he looked out over the newly constructed living shoreline that will reduce flooding and erosion of Water Street in the city of Havre de Grace, Maryland. Living shorelines are key when developing plans for coastal resilience, especially along populated coasts.

On a site visit with Naomi Wright, the MS4 permit coordinator, National Wildlife Federation’s Kate Vogel listened as Naomi explained the shoreline progress and the positive impact it has had on the city. “Everybody’s been engaged,” she said, “and it’s been amazing to hear how excited people are who visit the shoreline. It connects a lot of work that the city has been working on.”

Standing on the shoreline, looking out over the Susquehanna Flats, it’s clear to see why—the green shoreline and plants flowing in the wind are welcoming to both people and wildlife alike. One of 150 rivers that flows into the Chesapeake Bay, the Susquehanna River is known for its fishing opportunities and the eagles who fly proudly overhead. Protecting the shoreline, and the Susquehanna Flats as a result, is a job that Havre de Grace has embraced.

For more than five years the city has been working to address flooding and erosion along Water St. Increased flooding from storms and sea level rise threatens existing infrastructure and public health with the city’s drinking water intakes only a few hundred feet downstream from the project site.

If breached, the previous bulkheads would have done little to prevent contaminated soil and runoff from entering the water. Additionally, sea level rise projections suggest a 67% probability of 2ft – 4.2ft of sea-level rise (SLR) by 2100, with a 5% probability that SLR meets or exceeds 5.2ft—levels of water that the bulkheads were not built to endure. 

Putting nature to work for coastal resilience

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) led the third and final phase of the Water St. project with the City of Havre de Grace and their contractors, Cianelli Construction and BayLand Consultants and Designers, to replace failing bulkheads with cost-effective and innovative nature-based solutions.

With support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the National Wildlife Federation’s Coastal Resilience Fund, the project resulted in the transformation from an industrial bulkhead to a natural shoreline complete with beach habitat, tidal and non-tidal wetlands, dunes, and meadow grasses. This flagship project is a model NWF plans to replicate in other vulnerable coastal communities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic as part of its coastal reliance strategic initiative.

How it works

This project includes different elements to reduce flooding, improve water quality, and introduce green spaces, ultimately enhancing the overall health of the Susquehanna Flats.

1. The project creates a habitat migration corridor for tidal marsh and submerged aquatic vegetation using gentle slopes along the headland structures and beach to combat projected sea level rise.
2. Wood logs were placed on site to attenuate wave energy and provide enhanced shoreline stabilization.
3. A stormwater drain on site was replaced and elevated, creating better drainage to the project site, which is then treated by native plants, ultimately reducing the pollutants entering the bay via the Susquehanna Flats.
4. Pavement was removed from the abandoned parking lot, which will be vegetated with native plants to create habitat, capture stormwater, and provide green open space.

Community engagement

Organizations engaged in the project include the Maritime Museum, Lock House Museum, Friends of Concord Point Lighthouse, Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway, Downtown Business Alliance, Green Team, CAT Club, Historical Society, and The City Alliance as well as engagement at City Council meetings and community engagement events.

The Havre de Grace High School Environmental Science Program also has plans to study the plants and amphibians on site.