Support Federal Funding for the Delaware River Basin

Join us Wednesday, October 24th at 11am in Lardner’s Point Park (5202 Levick Street). Congressman Boyle, the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed, TTF Watershed and Riverfront North will gather for a press conference to advocate for 2019 federal funding for Pennsylvania and other Delaware River Basin states. The Delaware River Basin encompasses portions of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and New Jersey, and supplies over 15 million people with drinking water, which is 5% of the U.S. population – including the City of Philadelphia. In Pennsylvania, the Delaware River Basin stretches from the Pocono Mountains down to Philadelphia, occupying 14% of Pennsylvania’s land area and includes 43% of the state’s population.

For the first time in history, dedicated federal funding to support conservation and restoration work in Delaware River Basin states was secured in the amount of $5 million for the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program (DRBRP) in fiscal year 2018. Now stakeholders are encouraging Congress to increase the funding to $6 million in fiscal year 2019. On September 28th, Congress passed a continuing resolution instead of voting on the fiscal year 2019 Department of Interior bill that contained DRBRP funding, which now gives Congress until December 7th to make a decision.

DRBRP funding will go toward on-the-ground land and water conservation and restoration projects aimed at addressing some of the state’s environmental issues such as conserving and restore fish and wildlife habitat, improving and maintaining water quality, sustaining and enhancing water management and reducing flood damage, and improving recreational opportunities and public access in the Delaware River Basin.

One such example of improving the Delaware River Basin can be seen along the Delaware River in Northeast Philadelphia, where Riverfront North built a living shoreline in Lardner’s Point Park to help create a healthier, more ecologically diverse watershed, as well as restore and stabilize the riverbank. This $450,000 project helped create an intertidal marsh, promoting new native wildlife habitats along the banks of the Delaware River, serving as a successful example for future restoration projects.

Check out our EVENT PAGE for more information.