PORTSMOUTH, VA

With a hand from local environmental non-profit, the Living River Trust, Portsmouth’s Paradise Creek again lives up to its name. After an intense 12- month cleanup effort, work is complete cleaning one of the Elizabeth River’s pollutant hotspots.

“The Living River Trust is proud to have completed this important work that makes our coastal community healthier,” said Mary Ann Saunders. Chair of the Living River Trust. The Trust utilizes mitigation fees, paid when the river bottom in unavoidably disturbed by construction, to clean up the river bottom elsewhere in the Elizabeth River. The Trust also conserves land throughout Hampton Roads which is another way to protect coastal communities and water quality.

Paradise Creek has a long history of receiving legacy industrial pollutants. Over the years these legacy pollutants accumulated in the creek sediment and have a negative impact on the Creek’s wildlife residents including: mud worms, shell fish, crabs, fish and shore birds. Legacy pollutants can even pose a health risk to people who consume the Paradise Creeks fish and crabs.

The Paradise Creek clean up action dredged and removed roughly 10 million pounds of contaminated sediment and replaced it with clean sand. A state-of-the art carbon material was incorporated into the creek sediment that will “lock-up” any remaining oily contaminates making for a cleaner and healthier environment. Long-term monitoring will be conducted to document the cleanup progress.

As part of the construction effort three osprey platforms were installed along the creek. “Amazingly, we already have ospreys visiting the osprey roosts we added to the Creek; their “vote of approval” is so special” says Elizabeth Friel, Executive Director of the Living River Trust.