1 community outreach and education, maximize 2 Chesapeake Bay Basin Watersheds wise use of the resource, and promote environmen- Introduction tal education and stewardship. As part of this pro- 1 Elk River cess, we will be asking you and your neighbors to his report is the Department of Natural The Chesapeake Basin in Delaware encom- 3 Resources and Environmental Control’s en- passes a 769-square-mile area of land in western express your ideas, concerns, and opinions about Tvironmental profile of the Chesapeake Bay New Castle, Kent, and Sussex counties. The basin 2 Perch Creek the basin in which you reside. Basin in Delaware. It is the summary of an exten- is named for the water body that rivers and creeks 3 C & D Canal West sive environmental assessment and highlights some in the western part of the state drain to - the Chesa- This publication is a summary of the assess- of the numerous treasures and challenges within peake Bay. Delaware’s portion of the Chesapeake 4 ment report for the 15 watersheds that make up the 4 Bohemia Creek the Chesapeake Basin. This information is being Basin consists of headwater areas - the uppermost Chesapeake Basin. The pages that follow contain used by the Department to establish environmental reach of a river or stream and the area where a information on the following topics: 5 Sassafras River priorities and to educate the citizens of Delaware waterway originates. 5 and other governmental agencies about significant ◆Watershed Hydrology 6 Chester River issues of concern in the Basin. The Chesapeake Bay is the nation’s largest es- ◆Land Use and Population tuary, a body of water where fresh and saltwater ◆ Contaminants 7 Choptank River ◆ The basis for developing this report comes from mix. These nutrient-rich waters provide a fertile 6 Water Quality ◆Living Resources the Department’s realization that virtually every and ever-changing environment that supports a 8 Marshyhope Creek activity that takes place in the environment impacts large and extremely diverse array of plants and ◆Efforts Under Way ◆ numerous resources. For example, improper dis- animals. This great diversity is the basis for the 9 Nanticoke River What You Can Do posal of hazardous substances or excessive applica- Chesapeake’s worldwide reputation as a nursery ◆Additional Actions tion of fertilizers on land can result in the leaching for life, and it is therefore central to our mission to 10 Gum Branch ◆Impaired Waters of these pollutants into the ground water. Pollut- maintain that healthy diversity. ants of this kind can also enter streams and other 11 Gravelly Branch As you read this document, we encourage surface waters during storms. The consequences The Chesapeake Bay is one of four basins being you to think about the problems or issues in the can be widespread, causing negative impacts to assessed by the Department’s Whole Basin Man- 7 12 Deep Creek Chesapeake Basin that concern you and actions we drinking water supplies, fish or wildlife habitat, agement Program. The primary objectives of the can take to protect and improve our environment. and recreational or even commercial fishing. process are to protect the environment, improve 13 Broad Creek You’ll find some suggestions in the back of this Delaware’s four major drainage basins are document about things we can all do to help. Managing the complex and dynamic natural highlighted below. Each basin consists of smaller 14 Pocomoke River world we call “the environment” requires close ex- management units or sub-basins. If we continue to be responsible stewards of amination of the many resources within it. Under- 15 Wicomico River the environment, we will create an environmental standing and respecting the relationships that exist legacy that we can be proud to pass on to future between the air, land, water, and living resources 8 generations. We must remember that we are simply has prompted the Department to focus on looking borrowing the land and water from our children. at the environment from multiple perspectives. Our goal is to leave them with the same treasures This effort, which we refer to as “Whole Basin 10 our ancestors left us to enjoy. Management,” involves monitoring, assessing, and Delaware 11 managing all of Delaware’s biological, chemical, Estuary For more information about the Assessment and physical environments within their drainage Report of Delaware’s Chesapeake Basin, basins. please contact: 9 Four major drainage basins encompass Dela- 12 Stephens N. Williams ware: the Piedmont, Chesapeake Bay, Inland Ecological Restoration and Bays/Atlantic Ocean, and Delaware Bay and Estu- Atlantic Ocean Whole Basin Management Coordinator ary. Each basin consists of smaller management units, called watersheds, which represent the area Chesapeake Bay Department of Natural Resources drained by a river, stream, or creek. Delaware has and Environmental Control 45 watersheds, 15 of which make up the Chesa- Piedmont 13 peake Basin. Delaware Bay/Estuary 302-739-9000 Chesapeake Bay Drainage 14 Inland Bays/Atlantic Ocean 15.