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Delaware River Watershed Initiative Phase 2 Planning Now Underway

The Delaware River Watershed Initiative is a regional effort led by the William Penn Foundation aimed at encouraging over 50 different conservation organizations to work together to protect and restore significant portions of the Delaware River Basin. Through work in eight targeted regions of the watershed, the initiative supports preservation and restoration of the Delaware River system in order to define techniques that will improve water quality over time.

The Delaware River system provides drinking water for 15 million people or over 5% of the United States population. Additionally, the Delaware River is important to the regional economy because of the vast number of businesses and industries that rely on clean water in order to survive, including tourism that encourages fishermen, cyclists, and paddlers to utilize the river each year. While the Delaware River and its many tributaries have overcome the historical effects of its industrial past, the river system is still negatively impacted by pollution and overdevelopment. The Delaware River Watershed Initiative is a way for conservation organizations to work together to clean the Delaware River for the benefit of people and wildlife throughout the region. By planting trees along rivers, working with farmers to clean local streams, and educating the public about what can be done to clean the Delaware River, the Delaware River Watershed Initiative is making sure that we will all have drinkable and swimmable water available for years to come.