For Immediate Release

September 30, 2026

(West Trenton, N.J.) -- Building on prior water use and demand evaluation studies, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC or Commission) has released a report, Surface Water Availability in Select Tributaries of the Delaware River Basin, detailing screening of surface water availability across a range of hydrologic conditions in six watersheds within the Delaware River Basin.

Most of the surface water withdrawals the Commission looked at are anticipated to be able to maintain present-day withdrawal volumes during a future drought, according to the report.  

"Our screening tool is designed to flag areas that we need to study more closely," said Amanda Khalil, DRBC Water Resource Scientist and a lead author on the study. "We intentionally built this tool to be sensitive, so we were certain to capture any potential availability risks in these watersheds."

Commission staff evaluated six of the basin's tributary watersheds in Pennsylvania and Delaware that support public water supply, as well as thermoelectric power generation, agriculture, industry and other uses: the Brodhead Creek, Brandywine-Christina River, Lehigh River, Neshaminy Creek, Chester-Ridley-Crum Creeks, and Schuylkill River watersheds.

These watersheds were selected because they include public water supply intakes that draw from non-tidal rivers and streams and are not reliant on dams or reservoirs.  

Nearly two-thirds of the intakes DRBC evaluated were able to meet their current withdrawal volumes across modeled hydrologic conditions from1960 to 2010, including the basin's so-called drought of record, which lasted from 1961 to 1967.

Results suggest the Lehigh River watershed has potential availability concerns, and the report recommends further study to quantify possible supply challenges in the context of site-specific operations.

"Adaptive and innovative water resource management is core to the DRBC’s mission," said Kristen Bowman Kavanagh, the DRBC's Executive Director. "Our long-term water planning is key to understanding what future policies and actions may be appropriate to maintain a sustainable and secure water supply for over 14 million people."

The Commission takes a lead in this region for watershed-based drought management, using authorities and missions its members described in the Delaware River Basin Compact.

Future work may include evaluating additional public water supply intakes in the basin, notably those that draw water from the main stem Delaware River, a tidal water body, or a reservoir or other impoundment.

DRBC's water research and planning also supports state and regional planning efforts, including the Pennsylvania State Water Plan.

"The Commonwealth values DRBC's work on this issue and recognizes the strong link between basinwide planning and the Pennsylvania State Water Plan," said Jill Whitcomb, PA Department of Environmental Protection’s Deputy Secretary for Water and DRBC Alternate Commissioner. "As we work to implement the Water Plan's strategies and actions to benefit communities across Pennsylvania, we rely on the DRBC for leadership, research and recommendations within the Delaware River Basin."

The surface water availability study is part of DRBC's ongoing Water Supply Planning for a Sustainable Water Future 2060. Prior publications are available on the DRBC website and include: Water Withdrawal and Consumptive Use Estimates for the Delaware River Basin (1990–2017) with Projections through 2060 and Estimated Groundwater Availability in the Delaware River Basin 2020–2060.

Results of the study will be shared at the Commission's next Water Management Advisory Committee meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 10 a.m.; register at https://www.nj.gov/drbc/meetings/advisory/.

Read more about the DRBC's water supply and planning work at https://www.nj.gov/drbc/programs/supply/. The report may be cited as: Beganskas, S., Sayed, S.C., Khalil, A.B., Thompson, M.Y., and Pindar, C.E. (2026). Surface Water Availability in Select Tributaries of the Delaware River Basin. (DRBC Report No. 2026-6). Delaware River Basin Commission, West Trenton, N.J.

The DRBC is a federal/interstate government agency created in 1961 by concurrent compact legislation, marking the first time that the federal government and a group of states joined together as equal partners in a river basin planning, development and regulatory agency. The five Commission members are the governors of the basin states (Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania) and the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' North Atlantic Division, who represents the federal government.

To learn more about the Commission, please visit www.drbc.gov or follow @DRBC1961 on X.

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Contacts: 

Elizabeth Brown, Elizabeth.Brown@drbc.gov 

Kate Schmidt, Kate.Schmidt@drbc.gov 

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