Adaptation and Resilience Technical Assistance Program
Transforming Shorelines Collaborative
A nature-based solutions community of practice for the San Francisco Bay. Get engaged – sign up for updates.
News and Updates
Please join us for an upcoming in-person meeting hosted by the Transforming Shorelines Collaborative focused on Groundwater Rise & Contaminated Sites. In the Bay Area, rising sea levels are projected to drive shallow groundwater up through the 5,000+ sites with contaminated soil, threatening coastal communities and critical infrastructure, particularly in areas already burdened with legacy pollution. Though new data and modeling have helped us understand the scope of these projected impacts, there is still not consensus around interpretation of the latest models for conducting vulnerability assessments, nor robust technical design approaches (or coalition building) to adequately address the contaminated sites themselves.
When: May 29th, 9:30-12:30, Bay Area Metro Center, 375 Beale Street, San Francisco
Please use this link to register. Spaces for the in-person workshop are limited; registration will close when all spaces are full. If you cannot make it in-person and would like to listen remotely, please register and request a Zoom link.
The goals of this meeting include: (a) provide a forum to learn about and discuss the latest data modeling and analysis about groundwater rise and contamination vectors in the Bay Area; (b) update regional practitioners on 2 leading efforts underway in Richmond and East Palo Alto to address groundwater rise and contaminated sites, sharing out the strategies being used thus far at these frontline locations; and (c) identify agenda and participants for a deep-dive charrette-style workshop later this year to focus on technical design for mitigating harm at selected sites of highest-level concern from groundwater rise. The full agenda is coming soon.
About
The Transforming Shorelines Collaborative (TSC) brings together practitioners, decision-makers, and community members working at the intersection of nature-based shoreline adaptation and urban water management to advance shoreline resilience projects that provide multiple benefits for people and ecosystems.
The TSC meets 3-4 times per year for interactive in-person meetings as well as hybrid meetings and informational webinars. Everyone is welcome to join!
Get Engaged
Subscribe for updates or to learn about a future TSC meeting.
Who We Are
The TSC is guided by a Leadership Team representing a broad range of partners from across the Estuary:
- 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
- Luisa Valiela, EPA Region 9
- Medi Sinaki, Valley Water
- Nastaran Basiri, Valley Water
- Lorien Fono, Bay Area Clean Waters Agencies
- Samantha Engelage, City of Palo Alto
Past Meeting Summaries
Engaging Electeds in Your SLR Projects – March 5, 2026
Meeting Materials:
Tour of Palo Alto Horizontal Levee – December 5, 2025
Meeting Materials:
Community Engagement for Nature Based Solutions – October 1, 2025
Meeting Materials:
Operations and Maintenance of Horizontal Levees: Lessons from the Oro Loma Pilot Project – July 23, 2025
Meeting Materials:
Managing Nutrient Loads with Nature-Based Solutions – April 10, 2025
Meeting Materials:
Mitigation Needs on NBS Projects – March 27, 2023
Meeting Materials:
- Meeting Summary & Presentations
- Meeting Recording (Passcode: 89Gy.!zc)
EBDA First Mile Horizontal Levee – October 19, 2022
Meeting Materials:
Reverse Osmosis Concentrate – October 7, 2021
Meeting Materials:
San Leandro Treatment Wetland Project – December 1, 2020
Meeting Materials:
Oro Loma Horizontal Levee – March 2, 2020
Meeting Materials