The Delaware River, a major river on the Atlantic Coast of the U.S., runs undammed for 338 miles from New York to Cape May. People can swim, tube, Jet Ski, paddleboard, and kayak in the Delaware River. Sadly, not in the area where it runs through Philadelphia.
Environmental campaigners have worked for several years to change the designation of a 27-mile stretch of the river. It runs between the Tacony-Palmyra and Commodore Barry Bridges, where people can utilize it for non-motorized recreation.
There is a brewing debate about who gets to use the Delaware River in Philly and what pollution level is allowable.
The Issue
The issue involved some of the largest stakeholders on the river. That includes the 453 billion port industry, environmental groups, the Philadelphia Water Department, and Philadelphia City Council. In a letter to the City Council in December 2021, the nonprofit Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay pushed back against a change in the river’s resignation due to safety concerns. Their protest is part of a revived debate on a regulatory issue.
Today, the river is allowed for “secondary contact,” including rowing, powerboating, and fishing. Environmental advocates want to change it to what’s known as “primary contact” under the Clean Water Act. It means that people can use it for recreation without getting sick from water contamination.
The letter urged some members of the Philadelphia City Council to write their letter asking to open the river. Environmental groups that fear losing the river’s Clean Water Act designation arise to support the City Council.
Further complicating matters is the Philadelphia Water Department, which draws drinking water from the river. Unfortunately, the department is also one of the biggest polluters because of its aging sewer system.
“I think what industry and the Maritime Exchange is trying to prove
is that if you consider the river for primary contact designation. It needs the appropriate protection so that more people will enjoy the river,” said Maya Van Rossum of the nonprofit Delaware Riverkeeper Network. She added that the Maritime Exchange doesn’t want to see that, and they believe the river belongs to them and not the people. Van Rossum asserts that people are already using the river for recreational purposes.
Who decides who uses the Delaware River?
The rekindled debate came from a petition by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and some environmental groups. The river Basin Commission in 2020 says that the river is much cleaner than in decades past and should be protected by a “primary contact swimmable” designation.
The Clean Water Act regulates waterway pollution to make them clean enough for fishing and swimming. The act requires states to list impaired waters with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including those unfit for “fish propagation” or “human recreation”. States are supposed to set pollution limits to reach these goals.
But the Delaware River flows through four states, making coordination the tricky and delicate job of the Delaware River Basin Commission, or DRBC. It was created under a compact to balance the needs of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
However, changing the designation could force the industry and the Philadelphia Water Department to spend a lot of money it doesn’t have right now. And the maritime industries worry it would lead more recreational users into shipping lanes and around ports.
An older, combined sewer system covers almost 60% of the city. A single pipe carries stormwater and sewage from streets, houses, and businesses directly to a wastewater treatment plant. The system works fine during dry weather. However, the combined system is overloaded during big storms, sending sewage and stormwater into rivers and creeks.
Is It Safe To Kayak in the Delaware River?
Kate Schmidt, a DRBC spokeswoman, said the agency has been monitoring for bacteria around Philadelphia and Camden since 2019. This includes locations in Chester City, Red Bank in Gloucester County, Penn’s Landing, and Frankford Arsenal in Philly, and Pyne Poynt Park in Camden. At Pyne Poynt, the DRBC and U.S. The Geological Survey installed “an advanced next-generation water-quality instrument to monitor bacteria” in near real-time.
Schmidt said significant sources of bacteria include combined sewer systems, waste from dogs and other animals, and stormwater runoff.
So far, data show concentrations of bacteria are higher near the shoreline, where people are more likely to hang out than in the center channel.
“This requires further study before any change to the designated use is considered,” she said.
Involvement of other Stakeholders on the Issue
- Lisa Himber, president of the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay, said their main concern is safety. Next is security. The group is worried about activity that might cause some harm to recreational water users, the crews on the ships, or the ships carrying cargo.
- The Council supports commercial shipping and on-water recreation continuing to coexist safely. They are willing to explore constructive solutions similar to those implemented in New York Harbor, where recreation representatives are active New York Harbor Safety Committee members.
- The Council noted recreational activities like kayaking on the Delaware River. Independence Seaport Museum, the Red Dragon Canoe Club, and the youth of UrbanPromise are among community groups already using the river for recreation that involves primary contact with the water.
- The Philadelphia Water Department wrote in an email to The Inquirer that they are committed to “improving the water quality in the Delaware River, along with the other waterways in our city. State and federal regulators approve of Philadelphia’s aims to address the combined sewer overflows. And we are investing billions of dollars in protecting local waterways.
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