PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Coastal Virginia Conservancy (CVC) has announced the completion of the first of three phases of its sediment restoration project in Paradise Creek.
Paradise Creek sits on the southern branch of the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth.
The achievement marks a significant milestone of restoring 26 acres to date in the 20-year effort to revitalize the ecological health of the region's waterways and coastal lands, according to the CVC.
Paradise Creek is undergoing a transformation due to remnants of past industrial activities with contaminants such as organic oils and poly-chlorinated biphenyls (PBCs).
The contaminants had accumulated in the creek's sediment, and CVC says they posed threats to the local marine wildlife, including sediment organisms, crabs, fish and shorebirds.
CVC says over the course of the first restoration phase, 5 million pounds of contaminated "hot spot" sediment were meticulously removed from the creek bed.
Clean sand was then backfilled in and a contaminate-absorbing activated carbon material was placed over the entire 16.8-acre project area, creating a healthier habitat for aquatic life to thrive, says CVC.
Monitored efforts following the completion of the phase revealed 60% reduction in contamination levels.
CVC, formerly known as the Living River Trust, is one of a few land conservancies in the nation that also provides an in-lieu fee mitigation program approved by the federal government for compensation of impacts to the bottom of a waterway. The conservancy says they meet needs by permittees, including industry, transportation and government projects, to offset unavoidable impacts to the river bottom of the Elizabeth River and Hampton Roads watershed by providing compensation for lost aquatic resource functions.
"Our results exceeded everyone's expectations by reducing contamination levels by over 90% in some areas and providing a remarkable 60% reduction in overall levels," said Board Chair of CVC Mary Ann Saunders. "By backfilling tons of contaminated sand with innovative water cleaning activated charcoal material and clean sand, the results were outstanding."
Saunders said that by revitalizing Paradise Creek, they're enhancing and ensuring a brighter and more sustainable future, along with reversing decades of legacy contamination.
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