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DRBC Publishes Report on Delaware Estuary Tributary Monitoring

The Delaware River Basin provides drinking water to over 14 million people. Its estuary – the tidal portion of the Delaware River and Delaware Bay - is home to cities, farms and industries, along with the largest freshwater port complex in the world. The estuary is an important ecosystem, and it also faces historical and ongoing pollution issues.

To better understand and manage pollution in this region, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) tested water samples from 12 tributaries that flow into the Delaware Estuary. The DRBC looked for various toxic substances and emerging contaminants, including a group of chemicals known as PFAS, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and insecticides. Sampling took place in fall 2023, and with the exception of Brandywine Creek, the sampling locations for this study were all downstream of drinking water intakes.

The DRBC found some level of pollution from each group of chemicals analyzed at each tributary, although the amounts varied. Levels of four different PAHs, eight different insecticides, and the total amount of PCBs were found to exceed surface water criteria set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and DRBC to protect people's health. In 2024, the USEPA proposed new surface water criteria for three PFAS chemicals: PFBS, PFOA and PFOS. While PFBS was found below the proposed criteria, PFOA and PFOS exceeded the draft criteria at every location tested.

The profile of pollutants in the sampled tributaries varied widely. For example, Frankford Creek in Pennsylvania had the highest levels of legacy and current-use insecticides. At the same time, Delaware's Christina River had the highest amounts of PFAS and also ranked second for PCBs, PAHs and dioxins. Other rivers like Marcus Hook Creek, Mantua Creek and Cooper River also had notable levels of pollutants. Brandywine Creek, however, had some of the lowest pollution levels compared to the other tributaries.

Each tributary's unique pollution profile highlights the varying impact humans have had on these environments and underscores the challenges of cleanup and preventing future pollution. The data collected will be publicly available, and the DRBC will use it to better manage pollution in the Delaware Basin.

• View Final Report: Enhanced Monitoring for Toxics and Emerging Contaminants in Delaware Estuary Tributaries (pdf; April 2025)

• Learn more about DRBC's Contaminants of Emerging Concern monitoring

• Learn more about DRBC's PCB monitoring

What is 6-PPDq?

All tires have a chemical called 6-PPD that keeps them from cracking and extends the life of tires. Through driving, tiny bits of rubber tire particles containing 6-PPD are shed onto driving surfaces. Roughly 10% of these particles enter waterways via stormwater runoff (rain, wind), where 6-PPD reacts with water to form 6-PPD quinone (6PPD-q). 6-PPD can also leach off of tires submerged in water to form 6-PPDq.

This could be a ubiquitous microplastic entering surface water systems in developed areas, making 6-PPDq a contaminant of emerging concern.

6-PPDq is acutely toxic to coho salmon and linked to die off events in the Pacific Northwest. It is also sub-lethally toxic to other salmonid species, including rainbow, brown and brook trout, all species found in the Delaware River Basin.

DRBC Study

In 2023, the DRBC received grant funding from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation to perform a first of its kind study in the Delaware River Basin to determine if 6-PPDq is present in Delaware River Basin waters under normal and/or stormwater flows.

The study, which began in April 2024 and is funded through 2025, involves collecting water samples to develop baseline concentrations of 6-PPDq in trout streams. Sampling will continue quarterly for one year with up to 3 additional sample collections after rain events to look at how heavy rainfall affects contaminant concentrations. Basic water chemistry (for example, pH, dissolved oxygen) will be assessed as part of each sampling event.

Initial monitoring sites were selected based on their proximity to paved surfaces and reputation as high quality trout streams.

Sampling Locations

• Upper Basin: East Branch Delaware River, West Branch Delaware River, Sherman Creek, Faulkner Brook, Shehawken Creek, Delaware River at Hancock, Delaware River at Lordville and Equinunk Creek

• Middle Basin: Dunnfield Creek

• Lower Basin: Bushkill Creek

• Lehigh Basin: Little Lehigh Creek

• Schuylkill Basin: Sixpenny Creek, Valley Creek and a tributary to Valley Creek (when conditions allow)

Additional Monitoring of the Delaware River Mainstem

Info on DRBC's Study

Data to Date

Looking Ahead

Additional Resources

American Chemical Society

Interstate Technology Regulatory Council

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

U.S. EPA

U.S. Geological Society

This story was originally published by Delaware Currents, a news project dedicated to telling the story of the Delaware River. Sign up for their newsletter here. Delaware Currents and NJ Spotlight News are part of a collaborative of news organizations working together to provide comprehensive climate change coverage for New Jersey.

A longtime effort to improve the water quality of a 38-mile stretch of the Delaware River between Philadelphia, Pa., and Wilmington, Del., which has been chronically polluted, took another step forward on Tuesday.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that it would finalize a rule revising water quality standards for that section of the river, which has suffered from a so-called oxygen sag, or a depletion of dissolved oxygen, which is vital for the propagation of fish, particularly the endangered Atlantic sturgeon.

“EPA’s forthcoming final rule will prioritize clean water to support aquatic life and benefit those living, working and recreating in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania,” the agency said in a news release.

The pending rules cap a dozen-year battle to improve oxygen levels left depleted largely by pollution stemming from undertreated nitrogen from urine discharged into the river by wastewater treatment plants.

Federal lawsuit

The capstone of the battle came when the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and the EPA settled a federal lawsuit in which a consent decree was reached. The agreement required the EPA to implement the new rules by June 30, 2025.

Though the EPA faced a deadline for the new rules, the agency’s announcement on Tuesday was still significant and not considered a given. It was not clear whether the second Trump administration, with its anti-regulatory posture, resistance to environmental initiatives and staff cuts across all levels of the federal government, would actually follow through with the new Delaware River rules.

As recently as March 25, Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper who led the fight to gain the improved water quality rules, said she was waiting for confirmation that the consent decree was approved by the judge.

“If it is, then all should be on track in terms of timing,” she said. “If it is not, then I’m not sure.”

The final form of the rules remains unknown. In fact, the EPA said it was continuing to review and consider all the public comments it received and that it “intends to comply with all applicable and relevant Executive Orders when issuing this rule.”

Wastewater treatment operators that would be affected by the new rules have resisted them, saying they would be hugely expensive to implement and would pose a burden on their ratepayers.

‘Not at all assured’

As van Rossum noted last month, the substance of the rules “is not at all assured.” She said in a statement on Tuesday that “the Delaware Riverkeeper Network looks forward to the day when we can celebrate and rely upon new dissolved oxygen standards that can help save our sturgeon from extinction, while at the same time supporting and enriching the lives of all of us.”

The EPA noted in its announcement that the section of the River between Philadelphia and Wilmington is where several commercially and recreationally important fish species live and spawn.

“Making sure that all these oxygen-sensitive fish have adequate water quality that supports reproduction and growth will protect and increase their populations, which will bolster commercial and recreational fishing, job creation, and revenue in the ecotourism sector,” the agency said.

The EPA’s administrator, Lee Zeldin, said: “As part of my Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative to provide clean water for all Americans, EPA is committed to issuing updated water quality standards for this portion of the Delaware River. When finalized, this action will protect two species of endangered sturgeon and prove to be a boon for commercial and local fishing by also protecting American shad, striped bass and yellow perch.”

Kristen Bowman Kavanagh, the executive director of the Delaware River Basin Commission, which for years spearheaded the research to support the new rules, said she was proud of the commission’s “sound scientific work in the process.”

“The DRBC will continue to provide resources and expertise to our member states, EPA, and stakeholders to implement the rule,” she said.

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ATLANTIC STURGEON DELAWARE RIVER DELAWARE RIVER POLLUTION DELAWARE RIVER WATER IMPROVEMENT DELAWARE RIVER WATER QUALITY DELAWARE RIVERKEEPER NETWORK DISSOLVED OXYGEN EPA WATER QUALITY RULES

Delaware Currents

Chris Mele is a reporter and editor with more than 30 years of experience in news, specializing in investigative and enterprise reporting. This story was first published in Delaware Currents, a news ... read more

Folks on both sides of the Delaware Bay reported hearing a loud shaking Monday night.

So many people were shook by the sound that people in New Jersey and Delaware began Googling if an earthquake had struck on Monday, March 17, 2025. It was a top trend by Tuesday morning.

The U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors earthquakes, reported no tremors in either state. That led to the belief that maybe it was something in the sky that caused the shaking.

Was it a sonic boom? People searched for that too.

After the military initially said it wasn't one of their aircraft that created the loud boom, Naval Air Station Patuxent River later told NBC10 newsgathering partner CoastTV that one of its test flights likely caused the boom.

On Monday, the Maryland navy base located near the Chesapeake Bay had posted to its Facebook page that it was holding test flights from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

"Communities surrounding NAS Patuxent River and Webster Outlying Field are advised that nighttime noise-generating testing events are scheduled to take place," NAS Patuxent River said.

A naval base spokesperson told CoastTV Tuesday that its flights routinely fly a few miles off the East Coast on a so-called "Test Track."

"The area is located offshore, as to avoid overflight of populated land areas, but close enough for the safety of the aircraft and pilots, and to conserve on jet fuel to and from the test area," the spokesperson told CoastTV. "Although most sonic booms generated in this area are never felt or heard on land occasionally, due to weather conditions or the details of the test flight, a sonic boom will be felt/heard on land."

NBC10 reached out to NAS Patuxent River to confirm that its aircraft were likely behind the loud noise.

In the meantime, residents along the Delaware Bay might want to be prepared for more sonic booms.

The naval air base posted to Facebook that it plans on more test flights from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

Should people hear any of the noise -- despite precautions the Navy takes to prevent issues -- they call contact NAS Patuxent River's Noise Disturbances line at 1-866-819-9028 or by emailing paxnoise@us.navy.mil.