Lessons Learned - Water Management in the Delaware River Basin Carol R. Collier, P.P., AICP Executive Director Delaware River Basin Commission

Delaware River Watershed Facts q Over 15 million people (about 5% of the U.S. population) rely on the waters of the basin q Drains 13,539 mi², or 0.4 of 1% of the continental U.S. land area q Daily water withdrawal in the DRB = 8.7 BGD

The Need for Basin-Scale Planning  4 States  25 Congressional Districts  42 Counties  838 Municipalities

Photos Courtesy NYC DEP

Delaware River Port Complex – Largest Fresh Water Port

Delaware River Basin Commission

Why Does DRBC Work?  One vote for each state and federal government  Members gave up portion of their sovereignty to manage a watershed  DRBC is OF, not ABOVE the states  Engage Stakeholders  Forum for Adaptation

Changing Management Needs  Point – Non-Point Sources  Ecological Flow Needs  Emerging Contaminants  Issues of Water Allocation and Use Energy Water Footprint, Pop. Changes Energy Water Footprint, Pop. Changes  Climate Change - Uncertainty  Subtle Changes – Converging Factors WQ Creep, Tipping Point WQ Creep, Tipping Point

Actions  Whole basin models (quantity and quality)  Increase monitoring including headwaters  Educate water users -complexity of water  Think Holistically – Watershed Basis “One Water” “One Water” Downstream Users affected by Upstream Actions Downstream Users affected by Upstream Actions  Protect Your Headwaters  Manage Adaptively, Be Flexible, Nimble,  Plan for Resiliency

Questions?