Brandywine-Christina Healthy Water Fund Preliminary Feasibility Study April 2015 prepared for the William Penn Foundation Philadelphia, Pa. prepared by The Nature Conservancy Wilmington, Del. and University of Delaware Newark, Del. Preliminary Feasibility Study for the Brandywine-Christina Healthy Water Fund April 2015 PREFACE The Brandywine-Christina Healthy Water Fund (the Water Fund) is being developed under a grant from the William Penn Foundation (WPF/the Foundation) through a partnership between The Nature Conservancy in Delaware (TNC) and the University of Delaware’s Water Resources Agency (WRA). The ultimate goal of the Water Fund is to restore the Brandywine-Christina watershed to fishable, swimmable, potable status on an expedited timeline. To meet this goal, the Water Fund will incentivize investments in water quality conservation by a variety of beneficiaries and leverage those investments with new and existing funding sources to dramatically increase the amount, pace, and coordination of overall conservation investments in the Brandywine-Christina watershed. In addition to funding the development of the Water Fund, the Foundation awarded approximately $2.5 million in grants in 2014 to several nonprofits (including the Brandywine Conservancy, Brandywine Valley Association, Natural Lands Trust, and Stroud Water Research Center, which are collectively called the WPF Cluster Partners) to implement a variety of conservation strategies in the Brandywine-Christina watershed, including land protection and restoration, stream restoration, buffer plantings, and agricultural BMPs. This work is highly complementary of the Water Fund and is part of the Foundation’s Delaware River Watershed Initiative—an unprecedented conservation effort to improve water Quality in the entire Delaware River Basin. i Preliminary Feasibility Study for the Brandywine-Christina Healthy Water Fund April 2015 February 16, 2015 Clare Billett Program Officer, Watershed Protection William Penn Foundation Two Logan SQuare, 11th Floor 100 North 18th Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 Re: Preliminary Feasibility Study for the Brandywine-Christina Healthy Water Fund Dear Clare: On behalf of our team at The Nature Conservancy and the University of Delaware, it is our pleasure to deliver the enclosed Preliminary Feasibility Study for the Brandywine-Christina Healthy Water Fund. Based on our research of case studies from around the world, interviews and audiences with watershed experts, stakeholders, and beneficiaries, and our economic analysis, we conclude on a preliminary basis that establishing the Water Fund is feasible. Additional work is needed in years two and three to lay the foundation for implementing the Water Fund. This study will help guide that work. Thank you for the confidence you, your colleagues, and the William Penn Foundation Board of Directors have shown in supporting this initiative. By applying a healthy balance of science, policy, and economics (and a dash of diplomacy), the Brandywine-Christina Healthy Water Fund promises to bring a new business model to the way we protect and restore our nation’s watersheds. Sincerely, Richard I. G. Jones, Jr., State Director Gerald J. Kauffman, Director The Nature Conservancy in Delaware University of Delaware Institute for Public Administration Water Resources Agency ii Preliminary Feasibility Study for the Brandywine-Christina Healthy Water Fund April 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The project team would like to acknowledge the William Penn Foundation for its support of the Brandywine-Christina Healthy Water Fund and all of the conservation measures they are funding throughout our watershed. The Foundation’s commitment has strengthened coordination and collaboration and helped improve the overall health of the watershed. Special thanks to Andrew Johnson, Nathan Boon, and Clare Billett for their individual commitment to this project and the advice and guidance they have provided throughout this yearlong process. We also would like to acknowledge all those who have served on the Regional Advisory Panel. Their names are listed in the appendices of this report. The panel members have committed numerous volunteer hours to participate in meetings and one-on-one communication that provided the project team with invaluable input and feedback. The panel has been extremely helpful in testing and strengthening our strategy for implementing the Brandywine-Christina Water Fund and making this study thorough and robust. We would like to thank the key stakeholder representatives who were interviewed. They, too, gave generously of their time and advice. Their continuing commitment to the health of the watershed is critical to the success of this project. Additionally, the team would like to acknowledge those who made time in their busy schedules to provide direct feedback on their organization’s concerns and priorities, including staff from the Brandywine-Christina Cluster and those supporting the Foundation’s Delaware River Watershed Initiative: the Brandywine Conservancy, the Brandywine Valley Association, the Natural Lands Trust, the Stroud Water Research Center, the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Open Space Institute, and the Institute for Conservation Leadership. Finally, we would like to acknowledge Nicole Minni, associate policy scientist with the University of Delaware’s Water Resources Agency, who has provided technical and design support throughout this entire project as well as Policy Specialist Sarah Pragg and Policy Scientist Lisa Moreland with the University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration (IPA) who have provided editing and formatting support. Project Team Brian Boutin, The Nature Conservancy in Delaware Maria Dziembowska, The Nature Conservancy in Delaware Andrew Homsey, University of Delaware, IPA, Water Resources Agency Richard I. Jones, Jr., The Nature Conservancy in Delaware Gerald J. Kauffman, University of Delaware, IPA, Water Resources Agency Ellen Kohler, The Nature Conservancy in Delaware Martha Narvaez, University of Delaware, IPA, Water Resources Agency Kash Srinivasan, KS Group, LLC Martin Wollaston, University of Delaware, IPA, Water Resources Agency iii Preliminary Feasibility Study for the Brandywine-Christina Healthy Water Fund April 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ....................................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ iii Table of Figures ................................................................................................................................... vi Table of Tables ................................................................................................................................... viii List of Terms .......................................................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................. 3 E.S.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 3 E.S.2. Watershed Characterization ............................................................................................................... 3 E.S.2.1 . Watershed Management Planning Documents .................................................................. 6 E.S.2.2. Existing Watershed Initiatives ....................................................................................................... 6 E.S.3. Regional Advisory Panel Process ..................................................................................................... 7 E.S.4. Case Studies and Models ...................................................................................................................... 7 E.S.5. Economic Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 8 E.S.6. Stakeholder Interview Process ........................................................................................................ 15 E.S.7. Communications .................................................................................................................................... 16 E.S.8. Conclusions .............................................................................................................................................. 16 E.S.9. Recommendations ................................................................................................................................ 20 CHAPTER ONE—Watershed Characterization ......................................................................... 22 1.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 22 1.2. The Brandywine-Christina Watershed ............................................................................................ 25 1.3. Watershed Management Planning Documents ............................................................................ 34 1.4. Existing Watershed Restoration Initiatives ..................................................................................