Governance and Financial Options Report: Brandywine-Christina Healthy Water Fund
Date
2017-09
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Abstract
The Nature Conservancy of Delaware (TNC) and University of Delaware Water Resources Center (UD) are supported by the William Penn Foundation (WPF) to explore the feasibility of developing a Brandywine Christina Healthy Watershed Fund (BCHWF). The objective of the water fund is to invest in restoration of the Brandywine Christina watershed cluster to meet the fishable, swimmable, and potable water quality goals of the Federal Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act by 2027. The streams in the watershed (Brandywine, Red Clay, White Clay, and Christina creeks) are impaired due to high loads of nitrogen, sediment, and pathogens (bacteria, cryptosporidium). Water purveyors in the watershed in Delaware and Pennsylvania are concerned about the difficulty and costs of treating high levels of sediment and nitrogen in the source water streams with associated concerns about health risks due to pathogen outbreaks. The premise of the water fund is that the downstream beneficiaries invest upstream in watershed services to reduce pollutant loads. The upstream watershed in Pennsylvania has significant economic value in the agriculture sector.
The objectives of this financial analysis of the Brandywine Christina Healthy Water Fund are to:
- Identify benefits/costs of watershed restoration based on technical analysis and modeling.
- Analyze water fund options based on governance, organizational, and ownership issues.
- Conduct impact analysis on end-user water rates/charges by water fund contributors.