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March — April, 2003
Volume 2, Issue 2
Welcome
to the newest issue of Tributary Times, our online newsletter about
Delaware's Tributary Action Teams and their activities.
We've also got some news items that we'd like you to know about,
and would also like to invite you to join the Team that's working
in your part of the State.
Most
of the items you see on this page are linked to more detailed information,
either on our site or at another Internet resource. Please feel
free to link to those articles, and then come back here to learn
more!
If you
like what you see, why not invite your family, friends, and neighbors
to visit our site and sign up for their own copy? The more we help
build awareness of the condition of our waterways and their challenges,
the sooner we'll be able to make all of Delaware's water as clean
as it can be.
Statewide News
Tributary
Action Teams Conference a Rousing Success! — On
Saturday, March 8, 55 members of Delaware’s
committed force of Tributary Action Teams gave their
day to
the cause of improving Delaware’s water quality. The
event at the Virden Center of the University of Delaware’s
Marine Studies College in Lewes featured a keynote
speaker, breakout groups and lots
of discussion amongst our four existing Teams. Click
here for more...
Snowmelt
and the Drought — After
the drought of last year, many Delawareans were worried that
the State’s
weather was permanently changing, and conditions would be consistently
drier. But
did all that snowmelt and rain actually change the conditions
in the aquifers
and in the streams? According to the US Geological
Survey, the nation’s principle source of data for river
depth and flow, February had double the amount of normal monthly
precipitation. This caused stream levels in Delaware to be
exceptionally high and increased the potential for major flooding. Click
here for more...
 Delaware’s
Newest and littlest Trib Team Member — Please
join us in celebrating the newest member of the Howarth Family-
David Andrew Howarth, IV! Born on March
27th, at 6:30 pm in Kent County General, David weighed 9lbs
5oz. David III, Kathy and David IV are doing wonderfully! We
look forward to welcoming David IV to future Tributary Action
Team meetings!
Include
Your Organization's Events in Our Calendar —
If your organization is working on issues that involve water
and watershed quality in Delaware, we would like to invite
you
to include your meetings and events in our calendar. Please click
here for our convenient event information form.
Appoquinimink
Tributary Action Team
Inland
Bays Tributary Action Team
Declining
Forest Stands in the Inland Bays — Anyone
has been to any of the Inland Bays beaches a few
times in the past few years knows that the whole
area is becoming more intensely developed. Rob
Line, the Natural Heritage Program Manager for
DNREC, is concerned about the cumulative impacts
of development and began tracking land use changes
across the state. The Inland Bays watershed is
of particular interest because of its rapid growth
and water quality problems.
Click
here for more...
Murderkill
Tributary Action Team
Best
Management Practices Projects in the Murderkill
Watershed — When a Murderkill Tributary Action Team
member became aware of some increased sedimentation
along the edges of McColley's Pond, knowledge
gained from working with the Team helped him
quantify the problem and initiate a solution.
Don Wujtewicz moved to the area in 1999 and
been able to land his boat on what would become
his property. After a few years, though, he
couldn't even launch his canoe from the water's
edge. "I thought at first that the water
level had dropped,” he said. Actually,
sedimentation had decreased water depth by
almost two feet over about an acre of the pond's
area. Click
here for more...
Nanticoke
Tributary Action Team
Perdue-AgriRecycle
Poultry Manure Pelletization Plant — Just
south of Seaford, the world’s largest chicken
manure pelletization plant has processed about
60,000 tons of chicken manure since it opened
in July, 2001. The plant was designed as a solution
for poultry farmers in the area who needed to
remove
waste from their facilities. Most had no option
but to spread it on fields according to their
Nutrient Management Plan or store it in special
leak-proof
structures. Perdue Farms, Inc. understood how
critical this problem was and researched different
methods
of ridding the area of the excess manure. Perdue
considered building an incinerator (an idea that
was abandoned due to emissions restrictions)
or a composting facility (which proved to have
too
many logistical problems). The pelletization
plant, which handles manure from both Delaware
and Maryland,
was chosen because the waste could be transported
easily before and after processing and it produced
a marketable product. Click
here for more...
Clark
White Brings Poultry Perspective to the Team — As someone raised in and on the poultry
industry, Clark White has a unique perspective to offer to
the Nanticoke Tributary Action Team. Besides handling the environmental
matters of Allen’s Family Foods and having a business
interest in the watershed, Mr. White has spent his life here. “I
was born and raised on Wright Creek”, he says, as he
describes the farm he now owns and manages. Click
here for more...
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