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 Pages Tagged With: "watershed"

Notice of Public Hearing: Shellfish Sanitation Regulations

The DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship will conduct a virtual public hearing on proposed revisions to the Shellfish Sanitation Regulations.


Chester-Choptank Watershed Wetland Assessment

The Chester-Choptank watershed is located partially in Kent County and partially in New Castle County, where it encompasses 113,944 acres of land. Unlike most of Delaware’s watersheds, the Chester-Choptank drains to the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay drainage basin in Delaware, including the Chester-Choptank watershed, provides an estimated $3.4 billion in ecosystem goods and services.


Application for a Permit for Construction Seaward of the DNREC Building Line

Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Moses have applied for a permit to renovate an existing dwelling within the current footprint on Lot 20, Block 45, Dewey Beach.


Success Stories: Tappahanna Ditch

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


Success Stories: Iron Branch

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


Application for a Permit for Construction Seaward of the DNREC Building Line

Mr. and Mrs. Rollin Bell have applied for a permit for construction seaward of the DNREC Building Line to build a single family dwelling on Lots 17 and 19, North Indian Beach, in Sussex County.


Coastal Construction Permits

The DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship manages permits and approvals under the regulatory programs that govern coastal construction in Delaware.

Contact Us

Jennifer Luoma Pongratz 302-608-5502
ePermitting Application Instructions


Drainage Concern Reporting Form

You can get advice or technical assistance with drainage issues on your property. The first step is reporting the issue, using the form below. What is your name? How can we contact you?  


Application for a Permit for Construction Seaward of the DNREC Building Line

SQF LLC has applied for a permit to install a wifi utility pole at the end of McKinley Street seaward of the building line in Dewey Beach.


Application for a Permit for Construction Seaward of the DNREC Building Line

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Gensler have applied for a permit for construction seaward of the DNREC building line to renovate the existing dwelling and extend the deck on Lot 7, Block 8, South Bethany.


Application for a Permit for Construction Seaward of the DNREC Building Line

The Town of Slaughter Beach proposes to bring in approximately 5700 cubic yards of sand to rebuild the dune from Sussex Avenue to Simpson Avenue.


Wetlands Education Opportunities

There are multiple opportunities for wetland education and field trips in Delaware. They include opportunities within the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and among our conservation partners. DNREC Opportunities The Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Aquatic Research Education Center (AREC) offers extensive wetland


Wetlands Protect

Wetlands protect us against flooding and erosion of our shores. Flood Storage Wetlands


Library: Wetland Health Reports

A collection of wetland health reports from the DNREC Watershed Assessment Section.
Wetland Publications Library
  • Wetland Health Reports
  • Management Plans and Monitoring Protocols
  • Long-Term Wetlands Monitoring



  • Library: Long-Term Wetlands Monitoring

    A collection of long-term wetlands monitoring documents from the DNREC Watershed Assessment Section.
    Wetland Publications Library
  • Wetland Health Reports
  • Management Plans and Monitoring Protocols
  • Long-Term Wetlands Monitoring



  • You Can Help Wetlands and Watersheds

    Whether your property is in a suburban, urban, or rural landscape you can adopt several watershed and wetland friendly behaviors that will reduce your impact on the waters and land downstream of you. Here are some of the simple changes, and the more dedicated changes, you can make


    What’s at Risk?

    Even with numerous federal and state level protection efforts, many nontidal (e.g., headwater tributaries) and isolated (e.g., flooded forests, seasonal ponds) wetlands are threatened because of gaps in existing regulations or are being impacted illegally due to limited enforcement activity. Legally, wetlands are permitted to be impacted on


    Water Family Fest and Native Plant Sale

    DNREC and the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays host an annual Water Family Fest and Native Plant Sale at the James Farm Ecological Preserve, in Ocean View. The event highlights the work of each organization to improve Delaware’s wetlands, water and recreational shorelines. Learn


    Wetland Plant Field Guide

    Plants are a key factor for identifying wetlands. The Delaware Wetland Plant Field Guide aims to make distinguishing wetlands easier by providing a transportable plant guide for use by the public, scientists, and practitioners alike.

    Contact Us

    Alison Rogerson Watershed Assessment 302-739-9939


    Library: Education and Outreach Materials

    A collection of wetlands education and outreach materials from the DNREC Watershed Assessment Section.
    Wetland Publications Library
  • Wetland Health Reports
  • Management Plans and Monitoring Protocols
  • Long-Term Wetlands Monitoring



  • Wetland Monitoring and Assessment

    By understanding the health of our wetlands, we also can better understand how to restore them and protect them from actions that cause damage.

    Contact Us

    Alison Rogerson Delaware Wetlands 302-739-9939
    Wetland Health Assessments


    Delaware Wetlands

    The DNREC Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program, known as Delaware Wetlands, provides quality reports on the status, health and function of Delaware’s wetlands. It collaborates with other government agencies, businesses, non-profits and universities to further wetland research.

    Contact Us

    Alison Rogerson Delaware


    Enjoy Wetlands

    Nearly 30 percent of Delaware is covered in wetlands, offering residents and visitors alike the opportunity to explore and enjoy everything wetlands have to offer. Whether it’s visiting one of the nature centers, or taking a hike through a park, wetlands are easily accessible across the state. So grab your friends and family and


    Delaware Wetlands Status and Trends

    Delaware’s Wetlands Status and Trends reports are based on the results of wetland trends analyses performed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) Program for Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Two reports have been published, one in 2001 and another in 2011.


    Mispillion Wetland Assessment

    The Mispillion and Cedar Creek watersheds are located in southeastern Kent County and northeastern Sussex County. In Delaware this watershed includes the cities and towns of Milford, Houston, Lincoln and Slaughter Beach.
    Wetland Assessment Reports
  • Wetland Assessments


    Appoquinimink River Watershed Wetland Assessment

    The Appoquinimink River watershed is located within New Castle County and contains the Towns of Odessa, Middletown and Townsend. It drains into the Delaware Bay, encompassing 58,591 acres of land.
    Wetland Assessment Reports
  • Wetland Assessments Home



  • Wetlands Provide

    Wetlands provide many important economic, social, and environmental benefits. Fish and Shellfish Production


    Broadkill Watershed Wetland Assessment

    The Broadkill River watershed in Sussex County encompasses 68,500 acres within the Delaware Bay and Estuary Basin. Twenty percent of the watershed is covered in wetlands.
    Wetland Assessment Reports
  • Wetland Assessments Home
  • Appoquinimink Watershed


    Library: Wetlands Videos

    A collection of wetlands videos from the DNREC Watershed Assessment Section. All links below will open in YouTube.
    Wetland Publications Library
  • Wetland Health Reports
  • Management Plans and Monitoring Protocols
  • [dropdown-item


    Inland Bays Watershed Wetland Assessment

    Unique and rare wetland communities surrounding the Inland Bays include Atlantic White Cedar swamps, sea-level fens, and interdunal swales providing habitat for numerous rare plants and animals.
    Wetland Assessment Reports
  • Wetland Assessments Home
  • Appoquinimink


    Delaware Wetland Management Plan

    Delaware is a state rich with wetlands that vary from forested vernal ponds, to highly productive salt marshes, to unique Bald Cypress Swamps. As stewards of these great resources it is our responsibility to slow the loss of wetland acreage, improve the health of remaining wetlands and work together to better understand and share with


    Murderkill Watershed Wetland Assessment

    Located in Kent County, the Murderkill watershed covers 28,000 hectares (69,000 acres) within the Delaware Bay and Estuary Basin. This watershed contains many key natural heritage and wildlife habitats such as coastal plain streams and ponds, impoundments, wetlands and beach dunes. Rare wetland habitats including coastal plain ponds and bald cypress riverine patches are located


    Nanticoke Watershed Wetland Assessment

    Located in the Coastal Plain physiographic region, the Nanticoke River watershed historically was very rich in wetland resources which covered an estimated 46 percent of the land area.
    Wetland Assessment Reports
  • Wetland Assessments Home



  • Sea Level Rise and Delaware’s Wetlands

    Over the past century, Delaware has experienced a sea level rise of more than one foot. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the rate of sea level rise will increase over the next century. This will lead to the loss of coastal wetlands in Delaware. [column md=”6″ xclass=”col=xs-12 col-md-6


    Wetland Warriors

    The Delaware Wetland Warrior Award is presented to those who have demonstrated exemplary efforts to benefit Delaware wetlands in the areas of outreach and education, monitoring and assessment, or restoration and protection.

    Contact Us

    Olivia Allread 302-739-9939


    Living Shorelines

    A living shoreline is a method of shoreline stabilization and protection for wetlands that is built using natural materials and native plants. They are a habitat friendly alternative to rip rap, bulkhead or stone revetments.

    Contact Us

    Alison Rogerson Watershed Assessment 302-739-9939


    St. Jones Watershed Wetland Assessment

    Located in Kent County, the St. Jones River watershed covers 57,643 acres of the Delaware Bay Basin. The St. Jones River is dammed at Silver Lake in Dover and then winds 10 miles through residential and commercially developed areas, the Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the Ted Harvey Wildlife Area, before emptying into Delaware


    Wetlands Purify

    Wetlands purify our water by removing sediments and other pollutants including chemicals. Wetlands also filter and process excess nutrients that may runoff from agricultural and development sites. Wetlands have been called “the kidneys of our watersheds.”
    Wetlands Purify [button type=”info”


    Wetland Health Assessments

    The Wetland Monitoring and Assessment program is tasked with the job of assessing the health of Delaware’s wetlands.

    Contact Us

    Alison Rogerson Watershed Assessment 302-739-9939
    Wetland Assessment Reports



  • Library: Management Plans and Monitoring Protocols

    A collection of management plans and monitoring protocols from the DNREC Watershed Assessment Section.
    Wetland Publications Library
  • Wetland Health Reports
  • Management Plans and Monitoring Protocols
  • Long-Term Wetlands Monitoring


    Christina Watershed Wetland Assessment

    The Christina Watershed is located in New Castle County, extending north and west into Maryland and Pennsylvania. In Delaware this watershed includes the cities and towns of Wilmington, Elsmere, Newark, and Christiana.
    Wetland Assessment Reports
  • Wetland Assessments


    Smyrna Watershed Wetland Assessment

    The Smyrna River watershed encompasses 71 square miles and is composed of three sub-watersheds: Smyrna River, Duck Creek, and Cedar Swamp-Delaware Bay. It is located partially in Kent County and partially in New Castle County. The watershed is within the Delaware Bay and Estuary Basin, so all of its waters drain into the Delaware Bay.


    Dam Safety

    The Delaware Dam Safety Program works to reduce the risk of failure of dams and to prevent injuries, property damage, and loss of reservoir storage due to dam failure. It oversees the design and construction, operation and maintenance, and inspection of regulated dams in Delaware.
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    Questions and Answers

    A collection of common questions, and answers, about the coastal construction regulatory program.
    The Division of Watershed Stewardship’s Shoreline and Waterway Management Section has a series of maps that show the location of the Building Line.


    Adopt-a-Beach

    DNREC’s Adopt-A-Beach program is a partnership between the department and Delaware volunteers, working in tandem to protect and enhance Delaware’s beaches.

    Contact Us

    Jennifer Luoma Pongratz Environmental Scientist 302-608-5500
    Going beyond just picking up litter,


    Beach Grass Planting

    Volunteers are the backbone of Delaware’s shoreline stabilization. Every spring since 1990, except when pandemic conditions prevented it, dedicated volunteers have stabilized Delaware’s sand dunes by planting more than 5 million stems of Cape American beach grass along ocean and bay beaches.
    The 34th Annual Beach Grass Planting


    You Can Help Protect Beaches and Dunes

    There are several ways property owners and visitors can preserve and protect beaches and dunes.

    Contact Us

    Shoreline and Waterway Management Section 302-608-5500
    Plant Beach Grass Planting ‘Cape’ American beach grass (Ammophila breviligulata)


    Beaches and Shorelines

    The DNREC Shoreline and Waterway Management Section works to maintain and improve Delaware’s beaches, shorelines and waterways.

    Contact Us

    Shoreline and Waterway Management Section 302-608-5500
    The section manages the shoreline through regulation of coastal


    Coastal Construction

    Coastal development adds stress to beach systems, especially to dunes. Dunes and beaches are the first lines of protection from wave action for coastal communities during coastal storms. Dunes also act as storage areas that supply sand to the beach during storms.

    Contact Us




    Delaware Beach Building Line Maps

    The Regulations Governing Beach Protection and the Use of Beaches (7 DE Admin. Code 5102) establishes a “building line” along the coast and stipulate that no construction may take place seaward of that without a Coastal Construction Permit or Coastal Construction Letter of Approval from the Department. The building line is mapped by the Department





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