Watershed Notes

By Janet Baldwin

Welcome to our monthly column! We, the Appoquinimink Tributary Action Team, are a group of citizens who work, live and play in the Appoquinimink Watershed. In this column we hope to keep the community informed about water quality issues in the Middletown, Odessa and Townsend area.

Most of us do not often think about the water we use except when we experience a long, summer drought, or hear of a fish kill, or a see runoff from a development construction site. Some of us can vaguely remember the Clean Water Act of 1972, which was designed to protect our water resources and improve water quality. We may even remember the deplorable condition of water in the Delaware River and were relieved that we did not have to live near the stench it produced or drink water from such a filthy source.

While that legislation did much to increase our awareness of the dire condition of certain rivers and action was taken to mitigate the wholesale dumping of unacceptable levels of pollution, many did not take serious action towards protecting all of our water resources. Now, due to a lawsuit and resulting federal court consent decree, pollution limits are set for the Appoquinimink River. The next step is to establish a Pollution Control Strategy to achieve the appropriate reductions in pollution.

The Appoquinimink Watershed

A watershed is a specific land area that drains into a particular waterway. Delaware has four large watersheds or drainage basins - the Piedmont (Northern Delaware), Delaware Estuary (eastern part of Delaware and southern New Castle County), Chesapeake Bay (western Delaware north of the Nanticoke River) and Inland Bays (the bay areas in Sussex County near the beaches).

The Appoquinimink Watershed is one of the smaller watersheds that make up the Delaware Estuary. It includes the towns of Middletown, Odessa, and Townsend and drains over 30,000 acres into the Appoquinimink River. The Appoquinimink River is framed by wetlands and tidal marshes, which extend along its banks to the Delaware River. These wetlands are highly valued as habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds and other wildlife, as well as spawning and nursery areas for fish and aquatic life.

The river's headwaters feed four major ponds and through the years residents of this area have enjoyed the many recreational opportunities provided by the river such as boating, swimming, and fishing.

Pollution Concerns in the Appoquinimink Watershed

Residents have noticed a growing amount of algae proliferating on the ponds as well as a number of dead fish. These occurrences are related to excess quantity of nutrients in the river --- specifically nitrogen and phosphorus. Both of these nutrients promote rampant algae growth, which in turn reduces oxygen levels in the water leading to the death of aquatic life.

Excess nutrients can enter the waterway through a variety of sources. These sources are grouped into two categories --- nonpoint source pollution and point source pollution. Point sources include treated wastewater discharged from pipes directly into waterways. This is controlled through a permitting process. Nonpoint sources come from the land and air and can include agriculture, forestry, construction, residential development, stormwater runoff, septic systems, home lawn care, and other domestic activities. Pollution from these sources can also affect the quality of groundwater, which is the source for most drinking water.

The Appoquinimink Tributary Action Team

A group of residents who live within the Appoquinimink watershed have been meeting since August of 2000 for the purpose of learning about the causes of pollution in the watershed. This Tributary Action Team is comprised of people with different interests and ideas. Thus, the group hopes to consider multiple values and concerns when drafting recommendations for a Pollution Control Strategy.

The team has met with various experts and is charged with the responsibility of making recommendations to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control for a Pollution Control Strategy that would be effective and have the greatest impact on water quality within our watershed.

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) --- or pollution limits --- for nitrogen and phosphorus have been established for the Appoquinimink River and the recommendations will need to reduce pollution from nonpoint sources by 80%. A TMDL is the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive without violating water quality standards. It will take a concerted effort on the part of all residents of our watershed to achieve the necessary pollution reductions.

Along with making recommendations, the team is committed to educate residents within our watershed about the challenges we face and actions we can take as individuals and a community to improve the quality of our water.

Please join us as we work together to come up with effective solutions. We meet the second Wednesday of each month at Middletown High School from 7 - 9 P.M. in the ROTC room.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Kathy Bunting-Howarth at (302) 739-4590 or by e-mail at Katherine.Howarth@dnrec.state.de.us