Transforming Urban Water Initiative
From Gray to Green Shorelines
About Transforming Shorelines
Funded by EPA Region 9 Water Quality Improvement Fund, the Transforming Shorelines Project is supporting collaborative engagement on nature-based solutions.
Transforming Shorelines will:
- Build regional capacity for nature-based solutions through technical support and analyses;
- Advance a suite of NBS projects through design, permitting and implementation, and;
- Advance state of the art water quality improvement approaches at the Oro Loma Horizontal Levee site.
News and Updates
Transforming Shorelines Collaborative Webinar: Regulatory Pathways for Nature-Based Solutions for Shoreline Resilience
August 28, 2024
The San Francisco Bay Area must continue to bolster coastal resilience to avoid inundation of vital habitat and prevent hundreds of billions of dollars of damage to property and infrastructure. To address this critical challenge, the pathways through regulatory permitting of nature-based climate adaptation projects must be improved through coordination, technical support, and regulatory advancement.
This webinar featured a presentation on the regulatory challenges and opportunities for implementing nature-based solutions for shoreline resilience, as well as a panel of project implementers and regulators (from the First Mile Project, the Palo Alto Horizontal Levee, Bay Conservation and Development Commission, and the San Francisco Bay Water Board) to discuss how to effectively advance regulatory pathways for nature-based solutions.
Transforming Shorelines Collaborative
The Transforming Shorelines Collaborative (TSC) comprises practitioners and experts on nature-based solutions, wastewater treatment, resiliency and nutrient management including regulators, landowners and stakeholders, individual wastewater treatment facilities, regional entities and practitioners/experts involved in habitat restoration, treatment wetlands, or shoreline resilience. The TSC will meet bi-annually.
Who We Are
The TSC is convened by a Core Team of project participants representing a broad range of partners from across the Estuary. Our leadership team is listed below:
- Carlos Diaz, Engineer (formerly with ESA and designer of the Oro Loma Horizontal Levee)
- Dr. David Sedlak, UC Berkeley
- Anthony DeSalvo, UC Berkeley
- Jonathan Uhler, UC Berkeley
- Jackie Zipkin, East Bay Dischargers Authority
- Jeremy Lowe, San Francisco Estuary Institute
- Alex Thomsen, San Francisco Estuary Partnership
- Heidi Nutters, San Francisco Estuary Partnership
- Liz Juvera, San Francisco Estuary Partnership
- Diana Fu, San Francisco Estuary Partnership
- Luisa Valiela, EPA Region 9
- Medi Sinaki, Valley Water
- Nasi Basiri, Valley Water
- Evyan Sloane, State Coastal Conservancy
- Lorien Fono, Bay Area Clean Waters Agencies
Get Engaged
To sign up for updates or to learn about a future TSC meeting, click on the “Subscribe” tab.
Dear Colleague,
You’re invited to attend the fifth meeting of the Transforming Shorelines Collaborative (TSC). This virtual meeting will build off the creative and insightful energy of our prior events, and strengthen this innovative regional effort. We hope you will join us for this engaging virtual session on March 27, 2023 from 10am – 1pm.
TSC Meeting #5 – Tools for Regulatory Analysis and Assessment to address Mitigation Needs on NBS Projects
Meeting Objectives
- Understand the suite of mitigation requirements associated with nature-based shorelines adaptation
- Learn about strategies for addressing mitigation requirements, including funding mitigation banking statewide
- Brainstorm opportunities and challenges for the SF Bay
Topics covered in this meeting include: In-lieu fee programs, mitigation banking, Regional Advanced Mitigation Program (RAMP) Framework, Regional Conservation Investment Strategy (RCIS), tools and resources for advancing Nature-based Solutions and navigating mitigation implications, the role of regional initiatives and opportunities to address permitting barriers to NBS. This highly engaging meeting is for wastewater agency staff, regulators, and shoreline planners who want to learn more about how to navigate mitigation requirements for NbS projects.
Featured Speakers & Expert Panelists:
- Sahrye Cohen, Wetlands Section Manager, US Environmental Protection Agency
- Melissa Denena, Senior Principal Restoration Ecologist, Environmental Science Associates
- Katie Dudney, Principal Restoration Ecologist, Environmental Science Associates
- Bryan Matsumoto, Senior Project Manager, US Army Corps of Engineers
- Jennifer Siu, Life Scientist, US Environmental Protection Agency
- Jill Sunahara, NorCal Biological Resources Director, Environmental Science Associates
Join us on March 27, 2023 from 10am – 1pm. To RSVP, please complete the RSVP form or email Heidi Nutters (heidi.nutters@sfestuary.org).
About the Transforming Shorelines Collaborative
The Transforming Shorelines Project is supporting collaborative engagement on nature-based solutions (NBS). Transforming Shorelines goals are to (1) build regional capacity for nature-based solutions through technical support and analyses; (2) advance a suite of NBS projects through design, permitting and implementation, and; (3) advance state of the art water quality improvement approaches at the Oro Loma Horizontal Levee site.
The Transforming Shorelines Collaborative is a hands-on forum for wastewater treatment managers, planners, regulators, designers, and engineers to discuss best practices for nature-based shoreline infrastructure projects that incorporate treated wastewater.
Meeting 5 – March 27, 2023
Meeting Materials:
- Meeting Summary & Presentations
- Meeting Recording (Passcode: 89Gy.!zc)
Meeting 4 – October 19, 2022
Meeting Materials:
Meeting 3 – October 7, 2021
Meeting Materials:
Meeting 2 – December 1, 2020
Meeting Materials:
Meeting 1 – March 2, 2020
Meeting Materials