Delaware River Bacteria Study

The water quality in the Delaware River is considered suitable for swimming, except for a 27 mile stretch between Philadelphia, Camden, and Chester. This project will assemble and analyze existing data outlining current conditions and limiting factors to achieving a “swimmable” water quality, in coordination with key stakeholders including the Delaware River Basin Commission, Utilities, Environmental and Recreational Stakeholders, Regulatory Agencies, and others.  The Water Center and its partners will evaluate expected results of planned investments with the goal of predicting when and where water quality could support swimming as those committed projects are implemented.   The project will culminate in the development of a number of possible options for policymakers to consider for optimizing or accelerating improvements and improving access for communities along this urbanized stretch of the river. 

This project was supported by a grant from the William Penn Foundation. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the William Penn Foundation.

Funding Partner

Project Partners