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Bluff Reconstruction and Erosion Control

Stormwater runoff was slowly pushing this property into the Long Island Sound. The lawn that grew up to the edge of the bluff did little to slow the erosion. The soil was compacted both by the stormwater runoff, and by our habit of constant mowing. Little was being absorbed when it rained.
  • Designed for Every Property Type Project Basics

Address

Oyster Bay

Service type

Flood Mitigation and Erosion Control

  • Designed for Every Property Type Project Summary

Project Summary

When this Oyster Bay family called Spadefoot, their home sat just eight to ten feet from the edge of a near-vertical fifty-foot bluff – and they were losing multiple feet of land to erosion every year. A conventional engineering solution had been proposed: toe slope reinforcement at the base of the hill. But the real problem was happening at the top, where overland stormwater runoff was actively eating away at the crest of the bluff.

Spadefoot took a different approach. Rather than reinforcing the bottom after the damage was done, we designed a redundant, nature-based stormwater system – a combination of dry wells and overflow bioswales positioned to intercept runoff before it ever reached the edge. The system captured the overland flow at its source and redirected it safely away from the bluff.

Unlike engineered gray infrastructure, which is at maximum effectiveness on day one and degrades over time, a nature-based restoration solution is strong on day one and only gets stronger as it establishes. The erosion stopped. The bluff stabilized. And the homeowners can live in their home without watching their land disappear beneath them.

  • The Challenge What They Called Us For

The challenge

Site condition when you arrived
The client’s house sat just 8–10 feet from the edge of a ~50-foot near-sheer bluff that was losing multiple feet of land a year. Engineers had proposed toe-slope reinforcement at the bottom of the bluff, but the actual erosion was happening at the top — overland stormwater flow eating away at the crest.
Stop the bluff erosion before it took the house. They called frantic, looking for a fix that would actually address the problem.
Active erosion had already cost the property multiple feet of land per year. A previously proposed engineered solution targeted the toe of the slope rather than the true source of the problem at the crest, which would not have stopped the loss.
  • What We Did

Services & approach

First step on site
Reassessed the site and identified that the erosion was being driven by overland stormwater flow at the crest of the bluff, not by failure at the toe — meaning the previously proposed engineered fix wouldn’t have solved the real problem.
Designed and installed a redundant stormwater management system to capture and infiltrate overland flow before it could reach and erode the bluff edge.
Combination of dry wells and overflow bioswales — engineered together as a redundant system so that stormwater is captured at multiple points and infiltrated on-site rather than running over the bluff.
  • Natural Purification Design Elements To Highlight

Visual & functional highlights

Key visual features worth showcasing in photos or copy
The overflow bioswales – shallow planted depressions that intercept and infiltrate stormwater – work as both erosion control infrastructure and a visible landscape feature.
We stopped the ongoing erosion at its actual source, where a more conventional engineered approach would not have. The result gave the client the peace of mind to keep living in their home without watching the bluff edge creep closer each year.
  • Streetscape Design Results & Outcomes

What changed

What changed
The active erosion was halted. Beyond that, this kind of nature-based stormwater system improves over time rather than degrading: an engineered solution is at maximum effectiveness on day one and weakens from there, but a nature-based restoration is functional on day one and only strengthens as plantings mature and root systems deepen.
Active bluff erosion stopped. Overland stormwater flow now captured and infiltrated on-site instead of cutting away at the crest of the bluff.

John Anderson

Spadefoot completely transformed our backyard. They removed all the invasive plants and replaced them with beautiful native species.

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Project Photos & Media
  • Designed for Every Property Type Notes

Internal notes

Sensitivities

Anything to avoid referencing publicly? (client privacy, permit status, unresolved issues)

Frank’s notes

Anything Frank said about this project that should inform the write-up

Status

Ready to publish / Needs photos / Needs testimonial / Hold

Wetland Pool

They were interested in biodiversity, but also concerned that, you know, it would, it wouldn’t look good. Basically, they wanted to make sure that, you know, although they wanted to help the environment, they also wanted to make sure that their, you know, their summer, you know, hideaway, pool, hide, it didn’t look like it was like in the mess of them, you know, in the midst of a messy jungle.

Paid careful attention to layering, so we didn’t use some taller native plants, but those are all towards the back, and as you got closer to the to the to the build structures you had, you know, successfully shorter plant species that we used, a combination of plants to ensure that there’s something almost always in bloom. And, you know, we created a subtle bioswale area to take on extra stormwater from from like, the nearby built structures that would otherwise flood the area.