The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) offers incentives for urban and agricultural landowners to install forest buffers along waterways within Delaware’s Chesapeake Bay watershed. Eligible landowners that qualify will receive an incentive payment for land they enroll in the program. A forest buffer is a
The Delaware Community Conservation Assistance Program (DeCAP) is a cost-share program that provides financial incentives, technical and educational assistance to property owners for installing eligible Best Management Practices (BMPs) in Delaware’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
Contact Us
DeCAP Staff DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship 302-608-5486
Runoff from agricultural areas caused high bacteria levels in Delaware’s Tappahanna Ditch of the Choptank River. As a result, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) added the watershed to the 1996 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters for bacteria and nutrients. Watershed stakeholders provided technical assistance and
Runoff from agricultural areas caused high bacteria levels in Delaware’s Iron Branch of Indian River Bay. As a result, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) added the watershed to the 1996 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters for bacteria. Watershed stakeholders provided technical assistance and installed agricultural
DNREC is part of a state and federal partnership with the USDA Commodity Credit Corporation, that aims to add up to 10,000 acres of Delaware agricultural land to the USDA Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Landowners in the CREP receive funding to support land conservation practices.
This page includes information on some of the projects undertaken by DNREC and its partners to help meet the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan. Related Information Best Management Practices StoryMap Redden State
There have been three phases of Delaware’s Chesapeake Bay WIP. Delaware developed its Phase I WIP in 2010 and its Phase II WIP in 2012. Both the Phase I and Phase II WIPs describe actions and controls to be implemented by 2017 and 2025 to achieve applicable water quality standards. The Phase III WIP provides
Draft Phase I Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) were due to EPA on Sept. 1, 2010. Final plans were submitted on Nov. 29, 2010. Following the release of Delaware’s Draft Phase I WIP, numerous comments and questions from both EPA and various stakeholder groups within the watershed were submitted. As a result of comments and
Delaware’s Draft Phase II Watershed Implementation Plan for the Chesapeake Watershed was submitted to the EPA on Dec. 15, 2011. EPA reviewed the document and provided comments in Feb. 2012. Public comments were accepted through March 21, 2012. All suggestions were considered and the document was modified accordingly.
The DNREC Nonpoint Source Program has hosted and participated in a series of events, workshops, and presentations designed to promote and support improvements to the quality of Delaware’s waterways. Recycled Cardboard Boat Regatta (Aug. 5, 2023) Nonpoint Source Program staff participated in the Recycled Cardboard Boat Regatta
To continue accelerating progress toward meeting water quality goals, the EPA and Chesapeake Bay Program jurisdictions, including Delaware, agreed to set interim two-year milestones – or short-term goals – as a critical part of an accountability framework. ChesapeakeStat
Delaware is among six Chesapeake Bay Watershed states – along with Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York – and the District of Columbia committed to a federal-state initiative to develop a pollution “diet” that will help restore the water quality of the Bay and its tidal waters by 2025. [column md=”5″ xclass=”col-xs-12
The implementation, tracking and reporting of Best Management Practices (BMPs) has been at the center of the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership’s restoration efforts for almost three decades. Properly installed and functioning practices and technologies reduce local flooding, protect sources of drinking water, ensure against the collapse of stream banks, and
Pike Creek is in northern New Castle County and is a tributary of White Clay Creek within the White Clay Creek subbasin. The lower portions of the White Clay Creek are tidally influenced. In 2000, the President signed a law adding 190 miles of the White Clay Creek and its tributaries to the National Wild
The DNREC Nonpoint Source Program (NPS), in partnership with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 3, hosted the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Nonpoint Source Program Training and Meeting in October of 2019. The states in the EPA Region 3 (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia) take turns hosting this biennial event. The next meeting, in 2021,
Southern Delaware’s Trap Pond is a tributary of Broad Creek, which drains to the Nanticoke River and flows to the Chesapeake Bay. This area has a unique ecology, as it is home to the northernmost natural stand of bald cypress in the United States. The area also contains a 2,000-acre wetland, one of the largest
Southern Delaware’s Gravelly Branch watershed drains into the Nanticoke River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. Gravelly Branch begins in the town of Ellendale and flows toward the city of Seaford. The major land use in the 24,423-acre Gravelly Branch watershed is agriculture. Success
The Delaware portion of the Marshyhope Creek watershed (Upper Marshyhope Creek) lies within Kent and Sussex counties on the western edge of Delaware. The creek flows into Maryland before eventually discharging into the Nanticoke River, which in turn empties into the Chesapeake Bay. The drainage area of the Marshyhope Creek watershed within Delaware is approximately
Stockley Branch flows into Cow Bridge Branch watershed, which spans 28,676 acres and is located in the Indian River watershed in southeastern Sussex County. The Indian River Bay watershed makes up one of three of Delaware’s interconnected Inland Bays (Rehoboth Bay, Indian River Bay, and Little Assawoman Bay). [button type=”primary”
Little Assawoman Bay — the smallest of Delaware’s Inland Bays — is connected to Indian River Bay on the north by the Assawoman Canal and to Assawoman Bay on the south via a narrow channel. The Little Assawoman Bay watershed is an agriculture-dominated watershed covering three square miles with no influencing point sources. The area
Noxontown Pond covers approximately 158 acres near the headwaters of the Appoquinimink River watershed. This watershed contains three of the fastest developing municipalities in the state – Odessa, Townsend, and Middletown. While much of this watershed was historically agricultural, increased development has led to the conversion of farms into suburban residential communities. Less than 9%
Records Pond, also known as Laurel Lake, was created in 1900 with the completion of the Records Pond Dam on Broad Creek. Although Records Pond is just over 90 acres, it is one of the larger lakes in Delaware. Almost at sea level, and with a maximum depth of 10 feet, the pond is relatively
Coursey Pond, in southeast Kent County, is a 58-acre pond draining to the Murderkill River, a tributary to the Delaware Bay. The headwaters of the Murderkill River begin just west of Felton and flow towards Bowers Beach, with the lower 10.5-mile portion of the river influenced by tides. The Coursey Pond area is home to
Abbott’s Mill Pond was created over 200 years ago by damming Johnson Branch in order to power a grist mill. The pond covers approximately 25 acres on Johnson Branch, a tributary near the headwaters of the Mispillion River watershed. The pond is now maintained as part of the Abbott’s Mill Nature Center used for public
Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant (CBIG) funds enable states within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to meet the goals outlined in the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, including the improvement of water quality and achieving Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for pollutants of concern. The DNREC Nonpoint Source Program is accepting grant
The DNREC Nonpoint Source Program administers a competitive grant program made possible through Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. The grant provides funding for projects designed to reduce nonpoint source (NPS) pollution in Delaware. The DNREC Nonpoint Source Program is accepting grant application proposals for the FY24 Clean
The DNREC Nonpoint Source Program provides funding for projects designed to reduce nonpoint source (NPS) pollution in Delaware. Nonpoint source pollution is pollution that originates from a diffuse source (such as an open field or a road) and is transported to surface or ground waters through leaching or runoff.
The DNREC Nonpoint Source Program is committed to addressing pollution affecting Delaware waterbodies by encouraging and supporting the use of specific best management practices that can reduce the effects of nonpoint source pollution. Success Stories
