The city of Havre De Grace is celebrating the completion of a project that will have lasting impacts along the entire Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay.
On Thursday, city officials unveiled the Water Street Living Shoreline, which replaced a concrete bulkhead with something much more scenic and efficient.
"Because it was a bulkhead, it was full of rocks and stone; this whole area here was rocks and polluted soil," said Naomi Wright, manager of construction services for the City of Havre De Grace.
Much-needed upgrade
Wright says the old bulkhead was not only ugly but also dangerous.
Runoff from more than 121 acres would be filtered through this area, dumping contaminants into the Susquehanna River, impacting drinking water quality and wildlife.
Now, Wright is celebrating with other Havre De Grace officials as they unveil the brand new, final phase of the Water Street living shoreline, which offers an innovative way of keeping the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay clean and viable.
"So as the water runs off the streets and through the sewer lines," said Havre De Grace Mayor Bill Martin. "It gets collected through a series of ravines. And these ravines are filled with pebbles, and of course, pebbles are pervious to water.
Martin added, "What happens is it slowly filters its way through this mound of what appears to be random sand and rocks, but that's actually intentional sand and rocks. By the time that water goes into the Chesapeake Bay, it's clean enough to drink."
10,000 square feet of habitat created
Thanks to this project, 3,400 square feet of pavement was removed, more than 10,000 square feet of habitat was created and 7000 plants were added to the area.
Kate Vogel with the National Wildlife Federation says it's so exciting to see a shoreline that is beautiful, natural, and cost-efficient.
"To see them blooming, to see the insects, to see the heron out here earlier, it's really exciting!" said Vogel.
Havre De Grace has created a new position that will maintain this area specifically, tending to the plants, cleaning up any garbage that is collected, and making sure the project remains sustainable.
"I often say to my staff, HDG forever. And what I mean by that is it's been here for 200 years, and God willing, it will be here another 2000. So what we do today impacts future generations as well," said Mayor Martin.
Ashley Paul
Ashley Paul joined the WJZ team in December 2024 as a reporter, and could not be happier to call Charm City home! Ashley has told stories all across the country, including in Maine, Central Pennsylvania and Tampa, where she won a Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists award in the "Multi-Media Journalist In a Large Market" category.