The water is also impaired.". John Kenny, of Conshohocken, swims in the Schuylkill several times a week, but stays miles above the Philadelphia limits. The Philadelphia Water Department has its Green City, Clean Waters program to help reduce sewage overflow after heavy rains, but the old sewage system can’t prevent contaminants from reaching the river. After one of the warmest springs on record, toxic blue-green algae has closed some of New Jersey’s largest freshwater lakes this summer, including Hopatcong and Musconetcong, both within the Delaware River Watershed. © 2020 Advance Local Media LLC. When we have that safe space, we won't be afraid to change together.”. All these things are large-scale stressors that have the potential to fragment habitat at a rate and at a scale that we've never had to deal with before. Left to right: Laurie Hug, Diane McManus, John Kenny, and Christina Cunningham pause after a swim in the Schuylkill in Norristown this month. … As a business owner, we like the use the brewery as a vehicle for these types of changes, or at least this type of awareness.”, RuthAnn Purchase, water advocate and cultural mapping program manager for the Lenape Tribe of Delaware: “Humans are not the center of everything. So why can’t our drinking water get any respect? Federal and state agencies were represented. … We are working with municipalities, counties and states to ban ... single-use plastic bags; to ban outdoor intentional balloon releases; to find alternatives and ban the polystyrene coffee cups, soup cups, food containers; and to find better alternatives for single-use bottles (and) encourage reusable bottles. Gayle Killam, director of the River Network’s Clean Water Act Program, said that though the creek appears clean to the eye, it is listed as an impaired waterway because of pollution. A 14-year-old boy from Kensington swims in the Delaware River in the Philadelphia's Port Richmond Section near the defunct Pier 18, known as Grafitti Pier. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (each updated 1/1/20). No Comments on delaware river pollution 2020 By CBS3 Staff November 7, 2020 at 7:45 am Filed Under: Local , Local TV , Philadelphia News PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A car was towed from the Delaware River overnight. All rights reserved (About Us). Conservationists need to know how best to plan for it. It sets the maximum amount of a specific pollutant, in this case PCBs, that can be introduced into a river or stream without violating applicable water quality standards. The Delaware River and the estuary is not dammed, so if you’ve got a little bit more, due to sea-level rise, sea water coming upstream, (it) presents a little bit of a pressure in terms of how do we offset that to make sure that the drinking water for the city of Philadelphia and South Jersey are protected, groundwater is protected and the habitats that rely upon the freshwater-saltwater interface (are) protected as well. Data from the Delaware River Basin Commission indicates that the section of the river running through Philly has nearly four times the sewage than anywhere else. That's why we're really focused on that: because it's a change we can make and we know how to do it.”, Interstate 80 and the Delaware River run through the Delaware Water Gap, separating New Jersey and Pennsylvania.Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com | LightHawk. Fish and Wildlife Service Delaware River basin coordinator: “I think the largest issue is our changing landscape. More than 250 environmental advocates and policy experts gather Oct. 16, 2019, at the Renaissance Hotel in Allentown for Day 1 of the 2019 Delaware River watershed forum.Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com. …, “Staying ahead of that, being able to forecast where the landscape will continue to be suitable and targeting our conservation and restoration in those places – so that we’re relatively more certain that our investments and our work will have durability and be lasting in the face of those huge-scale predicted changes – that’s really what we are trying to do now and it’s presenting some big challenges.”. We don't have to leave an ocean that has more plastic than fish to our children. The river is tidal from the Delaware Bay up through Trenton, so currents can be swift and strong. John Kenny, founder and owner of French Creek Racing, feels his way out into the Schuylkill in Norristown for a practice swim. The portion of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia, from below Fairmount Dam to around Bartram’s Garden, is tidal and not suited to swimming. It's a very solvable problem. This paper examines how the Delaware River is currently being polluted from industries along its banks and from runoff from rainwater and how, although it is cleaner than it has been in years, the fish from it are still unsafe to eat due to high levels of PCBs in the water. These days, tourism is the largest industry in the region, providing jobs to 10 percent of the local population and … how the project contributes to other plans and programs, including organizational, local, state, regional, recreational, resilience, etc. The federal Clean Water Act of 1972 regulated pollutants in U.S. waterways with the laudable goal of making then-filthy major city rivers "fishable and swimmable” by 1985. In Gloucester County, just a part of Raccoon Creek is swimmable near the river. “But there are other stories of shad coming back up the Delaware. The group trains together for races. And, they cite, among other issues, recent changes to the Endangered Species Act that could remove protection for some waterside habitat. So Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and New York all set their own standards based on counts of E. coli, a fecal coliform bacterium found in the intestines of animals and humans, and enterococci, an indicator of fecal bacteria. It’s not really until the Pinelands that the waterways clear up enough for swimming. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Pollution is far from the only issue. The city banned swimming in the river starting in the 1980s because of severe pollution then, but the ban persists even though the river is a lot cleaner now, Stoner said. Mike Slattery, U.S. In Burlington County, portions of Rancocas Creek along the Delaware are swimmable but become impaired farther inland. Parts of the river were dead zones, unable to support fish and other aquatic life. But the one that seems to have a great impact, we’re already beginning to see sea-level rise in the tidal portion of the Delaware River estuary. We spread awareness about the problems of pollution, advocate for stricter anti-pollution laws to policymakers in the Philadelphia area, and host direct action events. Tangible effects on the water. carried out project ’ s interactive online map depicts threats Clean. Unable to support fish and other aquatic life issue is our changing landscape Cunningham, Barbra Bateman Diane... Seem likely for the EPA Bay up through Trenton, so currents be... And drifting debris are real risks Protection also has its own interactive map, which indicates which meet. 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