This document discusses three projects underway in Salem, Massachusetts to address flooding and water quality issues: 1) The Collins Cove Living Shoreline project which aims to install plantings and biodegradable materials to create a fringing salt marsh and reduce erosion. 2) The South River Flood Mitigation Project which plans to install underground storage and pumps to detain stormwater runoff in order to reduce flooding in low-lying areas near the South River. 3) Improvements to stormwater management through green infrastructure projects like rain gardens to capture and clean rainwater running off of impervious surfaces and into waterways like the North River.

1. One Coastal Community’s Solutions
for Flooding and Water Quality
Barbara Warren
Salem Sound Coastwatch Executive Director
MassBays National Estuary Regional Service Provider
March 17, 2017
7th Massachusetts Sustainable Communities
& Campuses Conference

2. Storm Surge Transportation Map
Lots of Salem is
threatened by flooding, storm
surge and sea level rise.
1. Potential Site of a Living
Shoreline
2. A Gray/Green South River
Flooding Solution in the
works
3. A Green Infrastructure
Project completed last
summer
City of Salem’s Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment & Adaptation Plan 2014

3. SALEM LIVING SHORELINE
PROJECT
CZM Green Infrastructure for Coastal Resilience Grant
COLLINS COVE LIVING SHORELINE DESIGN
SALEM, MA
PUBLIC MEETING
February 16, 2017
Photo Credit- Salem Sound Coastwatch and LightHawk

4. Salem’s PROCESS
Engineered design + permitting
Implementation of Living Shoreline
$$,$$$
$$$,$$$
Phase 2
Phase 1
Phase 3
1. Municipal Shoreline Survey
2. Identify up to 10 possible sites
3. Chose 3 sites
4. Develop 3 Conceptual Designs
with a CZM Green Infrastructure for Coastal Resilience Grant

5. Matrix to Determine Site Priority

6. Selected Priority - Collins Cove
Awarded 2nd Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Coastal Resilience
Grant for design and permitting of Collins Cove Living Shoreline

7. Collins Cove –
walking and bike path along the water
1. Municipally owned and actively used by Salem residents
2. Bike and walking path eroding from wave action and continually needing repair
3. Borders a row of houses and Webb Street
– important road for SESD, Power Plant and residents
4. Filled tideland with lots of gravel deposited since 1800’s

8. Collins Cove – average tide

9. Collins Cove – After 11.8ft. King Tide
11/16/2016

10. Collins Cove – During hurricane Sandy
10/29/2012 some wave action but
Nothing like Scituate……

11. SHORELINE CONDITION WITH ROCK SILL
Existing Conditions –
Collins Cove, Salem

12. Spartina patens (salt meadow cordgrass)
and other salt marsh plants growing there now
EXISTING VEGETATION
Existing Conditions –
Collins Cove, Salem
Limonium nashii (sea lavender)

13. In this case, using bio-engineering with biodegradable materials
and plantings to create a fringing salt marsh.
Living shorelines can trap sediments and decrease erosion
at low-moderate energy sites.
Building a Living Shoreline
DelawareEstuary.org

14. STA 8+00 (LOOKING NORTH)
Existing Conditions –
Collins Cove, Salem

15. Coir Logs Stabilize Marsh
Plantings – Collins Cove, Salem

16. VIEW LOOKING WEST
Summary - Existing Conditions
Collins Cove, Salem

17. VIEW LOOKING WEST – Photo Rendering
Creating a Living Shoreline
with green infrastructure
Potential to be a 20-foot wide Fringing Salt Marsh
– 15 feet of marsh can absorb
50% of incoming wave energy

18. South River Flood Mitigation
Project in Salem, MA
South River Watershed makes up
2/3 of Salem’s land mass.
Low lying areas flood now at
extreme storms and high tides.
Because of its lower elevation than
most of the watershed, the
Canal Street Area’s drainage is
delayed.

19. January 31, 2006 Spring tide – 13 foot tide
South River Meeting
Salem Harbor

20. South River Goes Underground
At Beverly Bank at New Derby and Lafayette Streets
photo at mid tide

21. Canal Street - no place for the water to go
Existing Flooding from
the South River Drainage

22. Existing Infrastructure
to Drain South River
Canal Street
Jefferson Street
Salem State Univ.

23. South River Drainage Project
April 9, 2007
Woodard & Curran
Six major floods:
October 19-22, 1996
June 13-14, 1998
March 22-23, 2001
March 31 - April 1, 2004
October 7-16, 2005
May 12-15, 2006
March 13-15, 2010 8.26 ~50yr
March 29-31, 2010 6.49 ~10yr
Salem State University affected.
History of South River Flooding

24. RUNOFF
Impervious surfaces do not absorb water -
Finding Solutions for
the South River Drainage
but gray infrastructure technologies can be deployed
to capture and detain the stormwater.

25. Parking Lots Can
Become Flood Storage

26. Flood Storage Under SSU’s
O’Keefe Parking Lot
4.0 million gallon subsurface
storage on O’Keefe Parking
Lot to be constructed in 2018
Pump station and force main
to outfall at Salem Harbor
through Forest River Park

27. To Forest River Park,
Salem Harbor
Bio-remediation
1. Plunge Pool
2. Grass Bioswale
3. Parking lot bioretention
- rain garden
4. Relocation of Pond’s
culvert outfall away
from the Beach
5. Constructed wetlands
6. New basketball court &
baseball field
1
5
4
2
3
6
City of Salem’s Canal Street Flood Control Project

28. Other “Green” Possibilities to
Capture Water Where It Falls
NOT
THIS
YES
to
THIS
Water flows
Water flows
Water flows

29. More Ideas to Slow the Water and Soak Up the Rain
Promote Low Impact Development
Green Infrastructure
with stormwater diversion.
Plus stormwater is cleaned.
Water flows

30. Improve Water Quality
and Ascetics
Commercial St. Salem had non-functioning raised planters
between road, sideway and North River.

31. Built Rain Gardens –
to Capture and Clean Rain Where It Falls
Non-functioning raised planters removed and curb cuts made for water to flow into
the depressed bioretention area with correct mix of gravel, sand and soil.

32. Maintain Rain Gardens –
As with all living things, work in process
Salem Sound Coastwatch invites volunteers to help us plant, weed,
develop signage and keep the rain gardens clean for the North River
and will do the same at Forest River Park and Collins Cove.

33. Barbara Warren
Executive Director, Salem Sound Coastwatch
MassBays Lower North Shore Regional Service Provider
- 978-741-7900 – barbara.warren@salemsound.org
QUESTIONS