Two important criteria for evaluating the health of our waterways are whether they have enough dissolved oxygen to fully support aquatic life and whether they fully support recreational use.

These criteria determine whether a waterway is "impaired" according to EPA standards.

All of the Appoquinimink's 50 miles of rivers and streams are considered impaired, as their entire length is unfit for aquatic life or recreational use. A small bit of good news is that of the watershed's 240 acres of ponds, 100 percent fully support aquatic life, and 84 percent support recreational use.