The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE) is a regional nonprofit organization working to protect and enhance the Delaware Estuary, where fresh water from the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

mixes with salt water from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. Established in 1996, its mission is to lead science-based and collaborative efforts to improve the tidal Delaware River and

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States, lying between the states of Delaware and New Jersey. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltw ...

, which spans

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary is one of 28 National Estuary Programs throughout the coastal United States working to improve the environmental health of the nation's estuaries. Its staff works with partners in three states to increase awareness, understanding, and scientific knowledge about the Delaware Estuary, a major regional cultural, economic and recreational resource.

The estuary

The Delaware Estuary is the tidal portion, of the Delaware River Basin. It includes all of the watersheds draining into this portion of the

and

. The area surrounding the estuary stretches as far west as the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

’s headwaters near Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and as far east as the

Rancocas Creek Rancocas Creek is a tributary of the Delaware River in southwestern New Jersey in the United States. The creek's main stem is long, with a North Branch of and a South Branch flowing .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-re ...

’s headwaters near Fort Dix, New Jersey. The vastness of this watershed makes the Delaware Estuary one of the largest estuaries in the country, or approximately in size. Within these boundaries are over 200 species of fish, the continent’s second-highest concentration of shorebirds, and over of wetlands.

Grants and activities

Institutions award grants to the PDE for various programs and projects that improve the estuary, often in partnership with other organizations. For example: * In 2004 the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...

(EPA) awarded the PDE a $1.15 million Targeted Watershed Initiative Grant for clean-water projects identified by the Philadelphia Water Department to protect the

Valley, a major source of drinking water for the City of Philadelphia. As a result, the PDE continues to employ a full-time coordinator for the Schuylkill Action Network, a membership organization whose mission is to improve the water resources of Pennsylvania's Schuylkill River Watershed. * In 2008 the PDE received a $50,000 grant from the EPA to carry out a two-year study on the effects

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

could have on the estuary. * In 2014 the

William Penn Foundation The William Penn Foundation is a grant-making foundation established in 1945 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by businessman Otto Haas and his wife Phoebe, and initially called the Phoebe Waterman Foundation. It strives to improve "the quality ...

granted over $630,000 to the PDE. This supports collaborative efforts to improve two of the region’s most critical sources of water; Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill River and South Jersey’s Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer. Projects that conserve land and reduce farm runoff will help prevent pollution in the Schuylkill River, the Delaware River and Bay’s largest tributary. Efforts in South Jersey will help to monitor and conserve the region’s dwindling supply of groundwater."Part of $35 million investment in Delaware River watershed granted to the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary", April 3, 2014
In 2017 the PDE hosted its seventh biennial Delaware Estuary Science & Environmental Summit. This attracted more than 300 scientists, resource managers, and advocates who spent their time "Reflecting on Progress, Charting the Future." This event's purpose is to gather experts from across the region who, otherwise, might never meet, much less collaborate, due to jurisdictional boundaries.

References

External links

Partnership for the Delaware Estuary

National Estuary Program

Delaware Center for the Inland Bays

Schuylkill Action Network
{{Authority control Environmental organizations based in the United States Delaware Bay Delaware River