2017 Annual Report of the Delaware River Basin Commission

Designated Use
The Next Chapter
In the Story of Clean Water
The DRBC approved a resolution in September 2017 recognizing
the significant water quality improvements in the Delaware River
Estuary and providing for a formal review of the designated
aquatic life uses and water quality criteria necessary to support
these uses.
The resolution outlines a deliberative, scientific process to further
study evidence on the reproduction of resident and migratory fish
in a 38-mile section of the tidal Delaware River stretching from
Wilmington, Del. to just above the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge
connecting Philadelphia and New Jersey. This study will allow the
Commission to determine the “designated use” of this reach of
the river and provide data and information to establish revised
water quality criteria to protect that use. It also affirms the
important goal of continued water quality improvement.
The DRBC-approved resolution provides for scientific and technical
studies to be performed over the next 3.5 years for the following
purposes:
• To conduct additional field studies of the occurrence, spatial
and temporal distribution of the life stages of important fish
species that utilize the estuary;
• To determine the dissolved oxygen (DO) requirements of
these fish species and the oxygen-depleting nutrient loadings
from point (end-of-pipe) and nonpoint (runoff) sources that
can be discharged into the tidal river while maintaining the DO
levels in the water;
• To conduct an analysis to determine the attainability of DO
requirements and water quality standards that would result in
an upgrade in the designated aquatic life use in this 38-mile
section of the river, including technical, social and economic
factors; and
• To identify and evaluate opportunities for early action to
reduce discharges of oxygen-depleting wastes to this stretch
of river in the short term.
20 VALUE
THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
The Delaware Estuary with the Walt
Whitman Bridge in the background.