This project is designed to remove toxic leachate-producing wood waste from the nearshore environment and to increase the amount of estuarine habitat for juvenile salmonids, especially summer chum. Wood waste was placed atop the historic estuary at the head of Discovery Bay mid-century during a brief history of log peeling and veneer making at the site. Ground water seeping through the wood waste ‘leaches’ natural chemicals from the wood waste that become toxic in such large quantities. Leachates are creating toxic conditions for aquatic life in an existing tidal channel adjacent to the wood waste pile. In order to improve water quality, the wood waste must be removed prior to construction of the estuarine surface. Backfilling will be necessary to achieve the final elevation as the historic surface has subsided under the weight of the wood waste, and deeper areas suggest pits were dug to accommodate the wood waste. This project is critical to the success of other phases of estuarine restoration at this location. A fill removal and estuary restoration project was designed and funded to remove collapsing buildings and the fill they were built atop. Through soils investigations for that project, the wood waste problem was discovered. Removing wood waste will improve water quality in all phases of this project to support salmonids and their food web.