REVITALIZING THE DELAWARE RIVER WATERSHED
TRANSFORMATION THROUGH COLLABORATION
THE URBAN WATERS FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP
ABOUT THE URBAN WATERS FEDERAL
PARTNERSHIP
The Greater Philadelphia Area / Delaware River
Watershed is one of eleven newly selected locations
for the nation's Urban Waters Federal Partnership.
This partnership will reconnect urban communities,
particularly those that are overburdened or
economically distressed, with their waterways by
improving coordination among federal agencies and
collaborating with community-led revitalization
efforts to improve our nation's water systems and
promote their economic, environmental and social
benefits. Specifically, the Urban Waters Federal
Partnership will:
• Break down federal program silos to promote
more efficient and effective use of federal
resources through better coordination and
targeting of federal investments.
• Recognize and build on local efforts and
leadership, by engaging and serving community
partners.
• Work with tribes, local officials and effective
community-based organizations to leverage
area resources and stimulate local economies to
create local jobs.
• Learn from early and visible victories to fuel
long-term action.
Led by these federal agencies and coordinated by
the White House Domestic Policy Council and White
House Council on Environmental Quality, the Urban
Waters Federal Partnership closely aligns with and
advances the work of the White House's place-
based efforts, including the Partnership for
Sustainable Communities, to revitalize
communities, create jobs and improve the quality of
life in cities and towns across the nation. The Urban
Waters Federal Partnership also advances the work
of the America's Great Outdoors Initiative
(http://americasgreatoutdoors.gov/).
For more information, visit www.urbanwaters.gov
ABOUT THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA AREA I
DELAWARE RIVER WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP
The Greater Philadelphia Area/Delaware River
Watershed Urban Waters Federal Partnership
encompasses several major urban areas - from
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Wilmington, Delaware
and including Camden, New Jersey and Chester,
Pennsylvania - as well as the surrounding suburban
and even rural landscape. The area along the
Delaware River throughout the region has
historically experienced a significant loss of
economic benefits and environmental services
provided by the River. Numerous local and regional
initiatives are underway to reduce the negative
impacts of urbanization on the quality of the River
while reclaiming and restoring impacted riverfronts
and economically revitalizing depressed areas.
Challenges include stormwater management,
erosion and flooding control, source water
protection, restoring lost habitat, enhancing overall
waterway health, protecting community investments,
pursuing environmental justice, and promoting public
access. Due to the geographic extent of the
Delaware River Watershed and the diverse set of
environmental and social issues at hand, restoration
requires a larger scale focus while advancing small-
scale, on-the-ground implementation.
To keep the Delaware River sustainably healthy, a
wide range of federal, state, regional, local, and non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) will band
together and develop strategies (including identifying
obstacles) and leverage resources to meet planned
objectives. The greatest challenge will be to ensure
that current work and planned actions by interested
organizations are linked together to yield cost-
effective investments in time, ideas, and funding that
will more fully address contemporary conservation
needs. Open and coordinated communication
among all parties will be the key to success.
ABOUT THE COMMUNITY AND THE DELAWARE RIVER WATERSHED
The Delaware is the longest un-dammed river in the United States east of
the Mississippi, extending 330 miles from Upstate New York to the mouth of
the Delaware Bay. Over 15 million people (roughly 5 percent of the nation's
population) rely on the waters of the Delaware River Basin for drinking,
agricultural, and industrial use, though the watershed drains only four-tenths
of one percent of the total continental U.S. land area.
-------
WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
In an effort to improve water quality, make public
access safe, and restore the watershed's ecosystem,
here are some federal and/or local projects that
members of the Partnership are currently engaged in:
Riverfront Master Plans - Several waterfront
revitalization plans are in place along the Delaware
River across the region, including the North Delaware
Riverfront, the Central Delaware Waterfront, and the
Navy Yard plans in Philadelphia; the FutureCAMDEN
Master Plan; and the Strong Cities, Strong
Communities planning underway in Chester,
Pennsylvania. As those plans move forward, the
Partnership will help ensure that all environmental and
community interests are fully integrated alongside
economic concerns.
Community Connections - Various local groups are
engaged in revitalization plans and projects that
connect communities to their waterfronts and advance
environmental justice initiatives - such as Old
Brandywine Village in Wilmington, Save Our Waterfront
in North Camden, and the Camden Center for
Environmental Transformation. Another example is the
"Roots to Re-entry" program managed by the
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in partnership with
the City of Philadelphia, which offers prison inmates a
path toward reintegration in society via job training in
green infrastructure maintenance. Combining forces
with other entities in the new Urban Waters Federal
Partnership will help leverage additional sources of
support for those various opportunities.
Regional Initiatives. Local Action - Many
organizations in the region are engaged in watershed-
scale planning, including the Delaware River Basin
Commission (Water Resources Plan), the Delaware
Valley Regional Planning Commission ("Connections"
Open Space Plan), the Nature Conservancy (Delaware
River Basin Conservation Initiative), the Partnership for
the Delaware Estuary (Regional Restoration Initiative),
and the Philadelphia Water Department ("Green Cities,
Clean Waters"). Each of those initiatives identifies local
restoration landscape opportunities that will benefit
communities and the natural environment.
THE URBAN WATERS FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP
The partnership includes: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Department of the Army (Army Corps of Engineers), U.S.
Department of Commerce (Economic Development
Administration and National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration), Corporation for National and Community
Service, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department
of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institute
of Environmental Health Sciences), U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of
the Interior and U.S. Department of Transportation
WHAT'S NEXT
Launch the Partnership - To assess the full array of
community needs and federal resources that could be
utilized throughout the region, the Partnership will be
launched through broad-based public meetings to
develop the cross-sector connections. An overall
Advisory Committee of diverse stakeholders will be
assembled for keeping those connections active. Social
media outlets will be utilized to reach as wide an
audience as possible.
Reconnect the Community - Hold public meetings,
workshops, and other events throughout the life of the
Partnership to boost "environmental literacy" and help
advance the importance of the Delaware River and its
associated landscapes. Several partnering
organizations, such as the Academy of Natural
Sciences and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary,
are already engaged in such education and outreach
efforts; the overall Partnership will help publicize and
maximize those offerings. Various activities on the
waterfront itself, including hands-on restoration
projects, will serve as gateways to watershed
awareness, increasing public support for landscape-
level conservation and reconnecting people to their
waterways.
Track Progress to Guide Decisions - As part of its
mission to protect and improve the environment by
bringing "Science to the People," the USDA Forest
Service's newly launched Philadelphia Field Station will
help measure on-the-ground results and promote
sound, science-based decisions. Various other
organizations also focus on regional monitoring and
assessment activities, including the Delaware River
Basin Commission, the Partnership for the Delaware
Estuary, and NOAA. With coordination from an
"Ambassador" provided through the USFS Field
Station, that information will enable the Partnership to
advance local projects that best support the regional
landscape while promoting the overall program
goals.
For more information on the Greater Philadelphia Area I
Delaware River Watershed Urban Waters Federal Partnership,
please contact the lead agency representatives:
Michael Leff, Ambassador
U.S. Forest Service/ USDA
The Davey Institute
(215) 988-1635
Michael.Leff@davey.com
Simeon Hahn
U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration/U.S. DOC
(215) 814-5419
Simeon.Hahn@noaa.gov
Dave Lange
U.S. National Park Service/ DOI
(215) 597-6477
David_a_lange@nps.gov
------- |