Wednesday, August 01, 2018

Unsafe Waters in the Delaware River Basin


The Delaware River Basin watershed provides drinking water for more than 15 million people. Environment America's Delaware River Basin Map visualizes the potential threats to waterways in the basin. It allows citizens, activists and officials to find out whether their local waterways are safe enough for swimming, fishing and / or drinking.

Enter your address into the the Delaware River Basin Map and you can view all the impaired and safe waterways near your home. Impaired rivers are colored red on the map. Waterways identified as 'impaired' by the state and listed by the EPA are those that fail to support their designated uses, such as fishing, swimming, or provision of drinking water.

The map also includes a number of layers which can help you pinpoint the possible pollution sources of impaired rivers. This layer includes information on major pollution threats in the basin, including:

1) runoff from agriculture and impervious surfaces
2) 660+ industrial sources
3) 250+ sewage treatment plants
4) fossil fuel infrastructure such as pipelines, abandoned coal mines, and refineries

You can learn more about each of these pollution threats by clicking on the 'methodology' link on the map.

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