The Christina Basin -- An Ongoing Success Story

The Importance of the Christina River Basin

The Christina River Basin drains portions of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, and includes the Christina River (which eventually flows into the Delaware River in Wilmington, Del.), Brandywine Creek, White Clay Creek, and Red Clay Creek. The Christina Basin provides water to over 500,000 people, including 75% of the water supply for New Castle County, Del. and more than 40% of the water supply for residents in Chester County, Pa. In addition, Brandywine Creek is the source of Wilmington's drinking water. The watershed also provides important wildlife habitat, is a place of natural beauty and recreational opportunities for many to enjoy, and contains the White Clay Creek, a National Wild and Scenic River. But, with rapid growth occurring, in part from the cities of Wilmington and Philadelphia, the Christina Basin has experienced water quality concerns including nutrient pollution and the presence of toxic substances.

Positive Steps Forward

Some of the initiatives paving the way toward a bright future for the Christina Basin include:

A Strong Partnership for Progress:

• The Christina Basin Clean Water Partnership, begun in 1995 as the Christina River Basin Water Quality Management Committee, is a cooperative partnership among multiple levels of government, along with private groups and the academic community. It develops a coordinated, scientific approach to improving water quality and meeting the water needs of the region. The sharing of federal funds, across state lines, between Pennsylvania and Delaware is just one example of this cooperation.

Cleaning Up Our Act -- Basinwide Water Quality Improvement Strategies:

• In order to ensure that the streams of the Christina Basin meet their water quality standards, a broad partnership, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey, is developing the tools and strategies needed to take on the challenging issues of nutrient pollution (nitrogen and phosphorus), low dissolved oxygen, bacteria, and excessive sediment from a variety of point and nonpoint sources.

Going Right to the Source --The Implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs):

• Agricultural BMPs that have been installed in the watershed, as a result of the Christina project, include approximately 15,000 feet of protected stream corridors, 12 farm nutrient management plans, five barnyard runoff control projects, and five systems to exclude livestock from streams.
  
  
• Residents are making use of over 200 rain barrels that have been purchased and distributed in the basin, capturing and using roof runoff that could otherwise contribute to excessive storm water.
  
  
• A "Smartyards" program in Delaware assists homeowners with ecologically beneficial landscaping practices on their properties, such as using native plantings.
  
  
• The Brandywine Valley Association, in coordination with the University of Delaware's Water Resources Agency, Chester County Water Resources Authority and Chester County Conservation District, conducts a watershed tour annually to demonstrate the use of Best Management Practices.

Much work still needs to be done!

To learn more about this ongoing interstate project, please visit these web sites:

University of Delaware Water Resources Agency
http://www.wr.udel.edu/publicservice/chbasin.html

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III
http://www.epa.gov/reg3wapd/christina/index.htm

Download Christina River Basin Map
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P.O. BOX 7360, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360
Voice (609) 883-9500 FAX (609) 883-9522
clarke.rupert@drbc.state.nj.us