WSSI has supported neighborhoods like West Severna Park with innovative living shoreline projects to protect community lands and provide habitat for native fauna and flora, including blue crabs, shorebirds, and turtles. Services have included technical support, permit review, and pollution reduction calculations to address Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs).
The Challenge
Waterside neighborhoods are facing significant changes to their shorelines, with erosion increasing and threatening community amenities. In West Severna Park, a failing bulkhead beside the community beach area needed an eco-friendly, eye-pleasing solution.
Our Solution
WSSI staff worked with neighborhood representatives to create a solution that would meet their needs and also regulatory requirements. We used our experience and regulatory knowledge to guide the planning, and provided permitting review, MS4 and TMDL crediting calculations, technical support, and grant application assistance to support the community. The final design relied on a hybrid solution that included a marsh with a sill. WSSI provided support during the construction process, and prepared the as-built survey plans to satisfy grant requirements and the permit close out review process.
The project, which stabilized 100 linear feet of shoreline and created approximately 1,500 square feet of intertidal marsh, provided approximately for four acres of impervious acre credit to Anne Arundel County in support of their MS4 permit requirements. It has been a focal point for local volunteers, and is now thriving.
