Federal and city officials have been working for more than a decade to restore the Lynnhaven River ecosystem in Virginia Beach.
The river has suffered from decades of urban development and overharvesting which have hampered its ability to filter pollution, and it now faces growing threats from climate change.
The Army Corps of Engineers is entering the third phase of a project meant to help the ecosystem withstand these challenges.
It would restore 6.6 acres of wetlands at the southern tip of Pleasure House Point. (The project is unrelated to the city’s separate wetlands work at Pleasure House Point, which garnered strong community pushback over its clearing of thousands of trees.)
The Lynnhaven River Basin Ecosystem Restoration project, in partnership with Virginia Beach, stretches back to 1998 when Congress authorized a feasibility study, which was completed 15 years later. The overall project includes restoring wetlands, oyster reef habitat and underwater plants across the Lynnhaven watershed.
More than 60 square miles in Virginia Beach drain into the river, which then feeds into the Chesapeake Bay. The Lynnhaven is one of 10 tributaries designated as a “priority” to clean up under the massive bay restoration.
Over time, marshes around the river have been particularly impacted by invasive species and human development, such as waterfront property owners installing bulkhead barriers, said Gina Dotolo, a biologist with the Corps’ Norfolk District.
“Their shorelines and wetlands have been filled in,” she said. “Now there's more flooding going on because there's no tidal wetlands there to absorb all the water, and a lot of wave action hitting the shoreline is causing a lot of erosion.”
At the proposed Pleasure House Point site, historical imagery shows the marsh island subsiding into the water at the confluence of Pleasure House and Crab creeks.
“The vegetation that used to be there has disappeared,” Dotolo said. “Now, when you look at it, it's all mudflat.”
Salt grasses need elevation to survive, she said. When the plants sink and flood more often, they can be impacted by an imbalance of salinity and eventually drown.
About 2.4 acres of vegetated area remain as of 2025. Without the project, that would shrink to half an acre by 2090, according to Corps projections, a loss of nearly 80%.
That’s in line with wider projections in coastal Virginia, where scientists say climate-driven sea level rise and erosion could overtake about 80% of tidal wetlands by the end of this century.
The Corps aims to bolster the site’s elevation by adding nearly 12,000 cubic yards of sand from Crab Creek, which is dredged annually by the city.
They will also spray and remove invasive species and plant native grasses.
Two phases of wetlands restoration are already completed or in the works under the wider Lynnhaven ecosystem project. They involved pulling up invasive species and planting a total of about 28 acres of marsh behind Princess Anne High School and in the Seatack area.
The third phase was originally proposed elsewhere in the city, but the Corps changed course because of issues with acquiring private property and the high costs of sitework at some locations.
The price tag for the entire Lynnhaven ecosystem project is nearly $40 million, about $6 million of which is for Phase 3. The federal government covers 65% of the project cost, with Virginia Beach responsible for the rest.
Officials hope to start construction at Crab Creek in 2028.
Members of the public can submit comments on a recent draft environmental assessment of the wetlands project through Oct. 24. More information is available on the Corps’ project webpage.
