White Paper - Clean Water is Good Business in the Christina Water Basin
Date
2009-12-04
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Abstract
At its September 18, 2009 meeting at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, the Christina Basin Policy Committee recommended preparing a table to outline alternative sustainable watershed funding options to finance restoration of the Christina Basin. The purpose of this white paper is to review the mission and goals of the Christina Basin Clean Water Partnership and discuss the feasibility of new funding options to restore the waters of the Christina Basin to fishable and swimmable Clean Water Act status.
Since 1994 the two States, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Delaware River Basin Commission, and Christina Basin Clean Water Partnership have been working together to restore the Brandywine, Red Clay, White Clay, and Christina Creeks in Delaware and Pennsylvania (Figure 3) to fishable, swimmable, and potable status as per the Federal Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and state surface water quality standards. The Christina Basin has unique interstate coordination challenges as it is one of only two watersheds in the Delaware Basin that cross the borders of more than one state (Figure 4).
The Christina Basin, with the Christina River as the 2nd largest tributary to the Delaware Estuary, lies in Chester County, Pennsylvania and New Castle County, Delaware. The Christina Basin Clean Water Partnership implements restoration projects integrated with action levels adopted by the Delaware Estuary Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan or CCMP (1996). The Delaware Estuary is one of only 28 tidal embayments nationwide designated by Congress as part of the National Estuary Program.