Delaware

Delaware water supply still in good shape despite worsening drought

Published

2 months ago

October 27, 2024

Press Room

Delaware water supply still in good shape despite worsening drought

The worst drought in over 20 years is continuing to expand over Delaware, and current forecasts offer minimal relief.

Gov. John Carney declared a statewide drought watch on Oct. 25 asking residents to voluntarily conserve water. The watch came a week after an indefinite outdoor burn ban from the Delaware Fire Marshal.

The drought watch encourages state residents to limit watering their lawns and outdoor plants and to avoid using potable water to do so.

The governor’s declaration said the drought watch was triggered by low precipitation and stream flows in northern New Castle County.

Wilmington and Georgetown had the driest September on record, and October is lining up to have only a trace of rain in some locations at best. The state is on track to break a record for most consecutive days without rain, which is 34 days in both places.

Broadly, the state’s water supply, especially New Castle County’s reservoirs, is still in good shape. Newark is pulling from its reservoir as flow of the White Clay Creek gets lower. The reservoir off of Paper Mill Road was built after the drought of 2002, the worst drought on record in northern Delaware.

A drought watch is the first step in the drought operation plan, which was developed in the 2000s with the four states in the Delaware River Basin, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, to coordinate drought response. New Jersey is also in a drought watch.

A drought warning would be the next step, and a drought emergency is when residents could face mandatory water conservation. That would take a much longer period of no rain to get to, said Gerald Kauffman, director of the Water Resources Center at the University of Delaware. The last drought emergency was in 2002.

“There’s a lot of backup water supply,” Kauffman said.

Wilmington’s water supply comes from the Brandywine, which flows from Pennsylvania into the Christina River, which flows to the Delaware River. Its levels are good, according to Kauffman, but they are actively monitoring them. If the water level goes down, the city can always pull from Hoopes Reservoir, a New Deal-era reservoir that can supply the city in the event of severe drought.

Kauffman said that reality is “off a ways,” however.

Veolia, which supplies New Castle County’s water, said the low precipitation levels have not affected its operations or ability to deliver water to its customers.

Artesian, which also supplies water to much of the unincorporated areas of the county, said it does not anticipate impacts on customers.

Downstate, the water supply is reliant on groundwater wells, which are at good levels.

Dover relies on water from wells near Route 9.

Lewes and Rehoboth Beach also rely on wells, some of which are over 100 feet deep. While these wells are in a good spot right now, they will not be recharged without rain.

Private individual wells in the less dense parts of Delaware would be the first to discover groundwater shortages because they are not as deep, according to Kauffman.

However, Kauffman has broader concerns about this drought. Not having even 0.01 inches of rain in a single month is what you would expect in Phoenix, not Delaware or anywhere in the Northeast. He said legendary droughts are set up by dry falls, and he warns this one could set up a dry spring and then summer next year. A summer with a drought this severe would hurt Delaware’s most valuable industry, agriculture.

“The only saving grace right now is that we’re in we’re late in the growing season in October,” he said. “If this were June, it would be a much more concerning situation.”

In the near term, Kauffman said he is concerned about the salt line between the Delaware Bay and Delaware River moving northward with freshwater flow ground to a halt.

The line between salt and freshwater in the Delaware is currently past the Commodore Barry Bridge between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. That salt water then creeps into the Christina River in Wilmington and could creep into the White Clay Creek and Red Clay Creek.

Veolia actively measures the salt contents in the White Clay Creek in an area near the Christina Marsh, which is bisected by I-95 near Churchman’s Crossing. Fortunately, Veolia said the salt levels are measuring as normal at the plant in Stanton.

While it is difficult to know whether the drought is the direct result of climate change, Kauffman said pattern stagnation is accentuated by climate change. A dry high-pressure system has been camped above the Northeast for a while now, preventing any notable weathermakers to come into the area.

For now, Kauffman said the drought response is operating normally.

“These measures that you’re seeing, chloride monitoring, drawing from Newark Reservoir, Veolia, working with Wilmington, in case they need the Hoopes Reservoir, this is all in the drought operating plan just waiting to be utilized at this point,” he said. “So the conclusion is the drought operating plan is working as designed.”

(This story was updated to meet our standards and to add a graphic.)

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Delaware

New Delaware medically assisted suicide bill mirrors one vetoed last year

Published

5 hours ago

January 5, 2025

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New Delaware medically assisted suicide bill mirrors one vetoed last year

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Delaware lawmakers will once again consider legalizing physician-assisted suicide after outgoing Gov. John Carney vetoed a similar bill last year.

State Rep. Eric Morrison, D-Glasgow, and Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, are sponsoring the new legislation.

Morrison said he has advocated for allowing physician-assisted suicide for many years, first as an activist outside of government and then as a state legislator. He said his support of the concept comes from caring for his mother before her death about five years ago.

“We lost my mother to lung cancer, and over a six-month period, I watched her die an absolutely agonizing death,” he said. “Not only did she lose her physical health, but she completely lost her mind.”

Morrison’s bill and former Rep. Paul Baumbach’s one from last year, the Ron Silverio/Heather Block Delaware End of Life Options Act, have similar language. Baumbach’s bill was named for two advocates who died in 2018.

The legislation would allow people with fewer than six months to live to request and ingest medication to end their lives. It provides safeguards including requiring two doctors to certify the patient is mentally fit, making an informed decision and acting voluntarily.

In a news release, Townsend said he supports a compassionate option for terminally-ill Delawareans who are “needlessly suffering.”

“Respecting people’s personal liberties and choices means honoring the right of adults to make informed decisions about their own bodies,” he said in a statement, “including the choice to seek compassionate care when facing a terminal illness that causes unbearable and irreversible suffering.”

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Delaware

First State Educate plans to reform the Delaware education system in 2025 – 47abc

Published

14 hours ago

January 4, 2025

Press Room

First State Educate plans to reform the Delaware education system in 2025 – 47abc

DELAWARE. – The public education system in Delaware has been at the forefront for several years. Local non-profit organizations hope to address issues that plagued the system in 2025.

One local group, First State Educate, plans to rework many areas for the state. Executive Director Julia Keleher insists the mission is simple. “We’re empowering the community and building systems and processes where they can stand up and solve their problems. We’re just facilitating success.”

There are many areas of improvement in school districts, one being the disparity in local funding. Keleher believes this has caused a strain in the community.

“There’s local property assessment, so there’s local revenue, and that’s when the disparity comes in. That’s based on property value, and in more affluent areas, you’re going to get more revenue, and you create this have and have not system.”

She offers her solution to the problem; “We want high-quality public education. Inevitably, there will be tough conversations about what needs to be defunded or reallocated to increase spending. Especially if you don’t increase taxes to get more revenue, but nobody likes that conversation.”

These problems have caused a teacher shortage in Delaware. First State Educate will collaborate with local school districts to help with procedures.

“For districts willing and interested in working on policies related to teacher recruitment, the conditions of teaching and learning, and compensation.”

Keleher believes Delaware has a ton of potential. Groups like FSE and Rodel can change the state for the better.

“It’s manageable, there’s a million people, there’s three counties. There are around 145,000 public school students. There’s 202 schools, and approximately 45 of those are charter schools.”

Tags: charter schools, delaware, education, first state, First State Educate, FSE, funding, landscape, new changes, public education, public schools, reform, Rodel, school bus, Senator Laura Sturgeon, staff, staffing, students, system, teacher shortage, teachers

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Delaware

With bird flu in Delaware, is it safe to fill bird feeders? What to know

Published

1 day ago

January 4, 2025

Press Room

With bird flu in Delaware, is it safe to fill bird feeders? What to know

Despite the detection of avian influenza in Sussex County snow geese and Kent County broiler chickens, the Delaware Department of Agriculture says you can continue filling your bird feeders – unless you also keep chickens or live near some.

Anyone who owns poultry, including backyard flocks, should remove their birdhouses, feeders and baths, Delaware Department of Agriculture spokesperson Stacey Hofmann said. People who live near poultry should do the same to reduce the risk of the virus spreading from wild to domesticated birds.

The general public, however, can continue using bird feeders, Hofmann said. Delaware bird feeders typically attract cardinals, chickadees, titmice and other songbirds, while bird flu is usually found in waterfowl, raptors and vultures.

The department’s advice comes after the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza was found in sick and dead snow geese at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge last week, marking the first detection of H5N1 on Delmarva since May 2022. On Thursday, the department announced presumptive positive testing in a Kent County poultry flock.

How to prevent the spread

Regardless of the prevalence of bird flu, backyard birders can prevent the spread of all bird illnesses by following a few simple steps, according to various agencies.

Clean bird feeders once a month with a solution of nine parts water to one part bleach. For wooden bird feeders, use regular soap or a solution of three parts water to one part vinegar.
Change bird bath water every two or three days.
Never touch wild birds and always wash your hands after handling bird feeders and baths.

If you find a dead bird, wear gloves, a mask and safety glasses to handle it, the Delaware Department of Agriculture recommends. Double-bag the bird and secure the bags with a zip tie before putting it in a trash can.

If you see a sick or dead bird, call the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Wildlife Section at 302-739-9912 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hours, report sick and dead birds here.

What to know about bird flu

Avian influenza is a highly contagious airborne respiratory virus that spreads quickly among birds through nasal and eye secretions and manure, Hofmann said.

The virus also has been detected in U.S. mammals, including foxes, wild and domestic cats, bears, seals, dolphins and cattle, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture – but not in Delaware specifically.

Bird flu has occasionally infected humans, but continuous testing of people in close contact with infected animals indicates humans are at a low risk of contracting it, Hofmann said.

Since April 2024, there have been a total of 61 reported human cases of H5 bird flu reported in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Delaware, one person has tested positive this year, with the source of exposure unknown.

Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on southern Delaware and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught.

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