1. Economics and Water in Delaware and the Delaware Valley
University of Delaware
Water Resources Agency
Institute for Public Administration

2. Water 97-3-1 Essential for Life Most Precious Chemical (H20)
No Economic Substitute
Universal Solvent
Exists in Nature as 3 States of Matter

3. 80%

4. Delaware 1st State to sign the Constitution 1 Congressman
3 electoral votes
2nd smallest state
3 counties
One of 3 states on a peninsula
Lowest state in the U.S.
500-yr floodplain covers 2/5 of State
Wetlands cover 1/3 of State

5. Delaware 4 basins and 46 watersheds 897,934 people (US Census 2010)
(1,000 people/sq. mi.)
Landuse (2007)

6. Best Run States (24/7 Wall St.)
North Dakota 3.5% unemployment
Wyoming Energy is 30% of GDP
Nebraska 4.4% unemployment
Utah AAA Bond Rating
Iowa 5.9% unemployment
Alaska Budget Deficit = 0
South Dakota 7.6% tax burden
Vermont 5.6% unemployment
Virginia $62,000 HH income
Minnesota 92% w. HS diploma
Delaware AAA Bond Rating

7. GDP per Capita by State Rank State GDP ($ million) Pop. (million) GDP/1
Delaware
62,700
0.9
69,667 2
Alaska
45,600
0.7
65,143 3
Connecticut
233,400
3.6
64,833 4
Wyoming
38,200
0.6
63,667 5
Massachusetts
377,700
6.5
58,108 6
New York
1,156,500
19.4
57,423 7
New Jersey
497,000
8.8
56,477

8. GDP Per Capita by Country
Luxembourg $89,992
Quatar $88,919
Macau $77,607
Delaware $69,667
Norway $61,882
Singapore $61,103
Kuwait $54,654

9. Public Water Use Per Capita
State
Supply
Pop. Millions
gpcd
1. VT 59
0.6
100
2. ME
130
1.3
3. ND 76
0.7
109
4. NH
141
5. WI
639
5.7
112
6. NC
1,082
9.5
114
7. DE
102
0.9
8. RI
126
1.1
115
9. MN
614
5.3
116
10. WV
222
1.9
117
11. NJ
1,037
8.8
118

12. Delaware, an Economic Engine…
Watersheds contribute $2 billion - $6.7 billion annually to the State’s economy.

13. Over $6 billion in Economic Activity
Largest contributors:
Ports - $3.3 billion
Recreation - $2.4 billion
Forest and Agriculture:
Over $1.1 billion
Fish/Wildlife, Public Parks, Water Quality and Water Supply:
$344 million – $591 million
Flood Control:
$73 million

14. Delaware Watersheds Economic Value

15. $6.7 billion of Ecosystem Goods and Services (per year)
Net present value (NPV) - $216.6 billion
Freshwater wetlands – $2.4 billion
Marine - $1.2 billion
Farmland – $1.7 billion

16. Delaware Watersheds Ecosystem Goods and Services

17. Delaware Ecosystem Goods and Services by Basin

18. Over 70,000 jobs and $2 billion in wages (per year)
Tourism – 31,050 jobs ($931 million in wages)
Farm – 28,328 jobs ($1.4 billion in wages)
Coastal – 15,174 jobs ($268 million in wages)

19. Delaware watersheds provide:
Over $6 billion in annual economic activity from water quality, flood control, water supply, fishing and wildlife viewing, recreation, agriculture, ports, forests, and parks.
Ecosystem goods and services of $6.7 billion per year (2010 dollars), net present value (NPV) $216.6 billion.
Over 70,000 jobs with over $2 billion in wages.

21. The DRBC was formed by JFK
in 1961.
DRBC is led by 4 Governors and
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
who are Commissioners.
The Delaware Basin is governed by 20 Federal agencies, 8 U.S. Senators, 20 Congressmen, 4 states, 24 counties, and over 500 municipalities
The Delaware Basin supplies
drinking water to 16 million people

23. America’s Founding Fish

24. What do these enterprises have in common?
Starbucks
Del. Water Gap NRA
Philadelphia Eagles
New York Yankees
Yards Creek Hydro
United States Navy
Guggenheim Museum
Boeing
Camelback Ski Area
Campbell’s Soup
DuPont
Wawa
Keystone Brewpub
Crayola Crayons

26. Consumer surplus is the difference between the amount
that consumers actually pay and the amount that they would have been willing to pay.
Consumer Surplus
Supply
Price ($/1000 gal)
Demand
Quantity (gal)

29. The Delaware River Basin in Del. , NJ, NY, and Pa. contributes: 1
The Delaware River Basin in Del., NJ, NY, and Pa. contributes: 1. $25 billion in annual economic value from recreation, water quality, water supply, ecotourism, forest, agriculture, open space, and port benefits. 2. Ecosystem goods and services worth $21 billion per year, net present value (NPV) = $683 billion. 3. Over 600,000 jobs with $10 billion in wages.

31. US Budget FY12 Federal Budget = $3,830 billion
EPA Budget < $10 billion
US Pop = 309 million
US Budget per capita = $12,000
EPA Budget per capita = $32
EPA Budget = 0.3% US budget

33. $2.8B
$403M
$4.8B
$917M

35. Questions?