Community replaces failing bulkhead with natural living shoreline to improve water quality and create wildlife habitat
The Trust recently had the opportunity to celebrate the completion of South River Federation’s Twin Harbors Living Shoreline & BMP project at a ribbon cutting ceremony and barbeque with the residents of Twin Harbors, a waterfront community located in Arnold, MD.
This project, initiated by the Twin Harbors community and South River Federation, was funded in part by a grant from the Anne Arundel County Watershed Restoration Grant Program, a partnership between the Trust and Anne Arundel County Government.
Faced with a failing bulkhead, the community worked with South River Federation to replace approximately 390 linear feet of existing bulkhead with a living shoreline along Mill Creek of the Magothy River. The project complements the community’s nearby 187 linear foot shoreline installed two years ago with funding from a Chesapeake Bay Trust Community Engagement Mini Grant. Additionally, this project includes a 4,200 square foot bioretention facility located between a parking lot and the shoreline to capture runoff, as well as 0.25 acres of voluntary reforestation. (Note: The cost of reforestation was not included in the grant award.)
This restoration will create a stable shoreline that will work to improve water quality, reduce erosion, and create habitat where there has not been any for decades. Through a dense native planting and use of woody debris, South River Federation will work to achieve new habitat zones to support a variety of Bay flora and fauna.
The above photos, provided by shoreline contractor Maguire Marine, show the stunning before and after.
Congrats to the Twin Harbors community for their continued commitment to the health of Mill Creek and Dividing Creek! And Congrats to South River Federation and their partners Maguire Marine, Ciminelli’s Landscape Service, and Restoration Resource Group for a job well done!
Read more about this project and the South River Federation’s work here.
Learn more about the Anne Arundel County Watershed Restoration Grant Program here.
