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Special
Protection Waters |
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Special
Protection Waters |
The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) adopted Special Protection Waters (SPW) regulations in 1992 designed to protect existing high water quality in applicable areas of the Delaware River Basin considered " to have exceptionally high scenic, recreational, ecological and/or water supply values."
What Areas Have Been Classified As SPW?
The SPW regulations adopted in 1992 apply to a 121-mile stretch of the Delaware River from Hancock, New York downstream to the Delaware Water Gap, including its drainage area
(view map of 1992 classified area). This corridor includes the two sections of the river federally designated as "Wild
and Scenic" in 1978 -- the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River
and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area -- as well as an eight-mile
reach between Milrift and Milford, Pennsylvania which is not federally designated.
Thirteen years later, based on water quality data collected from 2000 through 2004, the DRBC on January 19, 2005 temporarily classified the 76-mile stretch of the non-tidal lower Delaware River between the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area to the head of tide at Trenton, N.J. as Special Protection Waters through September 30, 2005 (view resolution* and map showing temporary SPW-classified stretch of river*). The commission has extended the temporary designation on three different occasions: through September 30, 2006 (view resolution*), through September 30, 2007 (view resolution*), and most recently through May 15, 2008 (view resolution*). This last extension is to allow adequate time to complete the proposed rulemaking and public comment process on permanent SPW designation of the Lower Delaware, which is now underway (view notice of proposed rulemaking and public hearing).
Including the temporary classification, the entire 197-mile non-tidal Delaware River is now covered by the SPW anti-degradation regulations (view map of drainage area - higher resolution [938 KB*] and lower resolution [466 KB*]).
Brief Description of SPW Regulations
The regulations discourage direct discharges of wastewater to the designated waterways, stipulating that no new or expanded wastewater discharges shall be permitted in waters classified as SPW until all non-discharge/load reduction alternatives have been fully evaluated and rejected because of technical and/or financial infeasibility.
Non-discharge alternatives include land applications, such as spray irrigation, where treated wastewater is applied to the ground.
The SPW regulations also require that the minimal level of wastewater treatment for all new and expanding wastewater treatment projects discharging directly to Special Protection Waters will be "Best Demonstrable Technology," including ultraviolet light disinfection or an equivalent disinfection process that results in no harm to aquatic life, does not produce toxic chemical residuals, and results in effective bacterial and viral destruction.
The regulations tighten the review threshold for new industrial and municipal wastewater treatment plants discharging to the Special Protection Waters drainage area, requiring plants designed to discharge a daily average rate of 10,000 gallons a day or more be subject to commission review. In the rest of the basin, the review threshold remains at 50,000 gallons a day or more.
The SPW regulations adopted in 1992 focused on controlling point (or "end-of-pipe") sources of pollution to maintain existing high water quality. In 1994, the regulations were amended to add language dealing with the complex issue of non-point source pollutants.
Non-point source pollutants are found in stormwater runoff, especially after heavy rains. Often the runoff increases with new development where landscapes are altered and land that once soaked up rain and melting snow is paved over. The impervious surfaces significantly increase the amount and speed of the run-away water, flushing such contaminants as parking lot motor oil and lawn pesticides into rivers and streams. Development has risen sharply in much of the drainage area now subject to the SPW regulations.
One of the main mechanisms of the regulations to control non-point source pollution is the requirement that projects located in the SPW drainage area subject to DRBC review (i.e., discharge projects with a design capacity of at least 10,000 gallons per day or withdrawal projects when the daily average gross withdrawal during any 30 consecutive day period exceeds 100,000 gallons) submit for approval a Non-Point Source Pollution Control Plan (NPSPCP). The NPSPCP describes the Best Management Practices that will be used at the project site and within the project's service area to control the increases in non-point source pollutant loadings resulting from the project.
| Questions? |
Special Protection Waters Flyer (190 KB*)
DRBC Water Quality Regulations, Including SPW (583 KB*)
Non-Tidal Delaware River Biomonitoring and Scenic Rivers Monitoring Programs
Download "Non-Point Source Planning for the Delaware River Basin," a paper presented by DRBC staff at the 2003 Pennsylvania Stormwater Management Symposium held at Villanova University in October 2003 (323 KB*).
* You will need the free Adobe reader to view this document.
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