Drought and sea level rise are causing salty oceanwater to creep into the Delaware River, threatening a source of drinking water for Philadelphia and millions…
Drought and sea level rise are causing salty oceanwater to creep into the Delaware River, threatening a source of drinking water for Philadelphia and millions of other people.Drinking water isn’t a major threat yet, but officials are monitoring the effects of the drought on the river.
Salty oceanwater is creeping up the Delaware River, the source for much of the drinking water for Philadelphia and millions of others, brought on by drought conditions and sea level rise, and prompting officials to tap reservoirs to push the unpotable tide back downstream.Officials say drinking water isn't imminently at risk yet, but they're monitoring the effects of the drought on the river and studying options for the future in case further droughts sap the area.
The Delaware River provides drinking water for some 14 million people, including most of Philadelphia but also New Jersey and New York. Still, the line is south of those intakes and below the level it traveled in the 1960s during record drought conditions. Desalination of saltwater, which people cannot safely drink, is costly, energy intensive and can create new issues like where to dispose of the highly concentrated salt brine pulled from the water. It's also not a feasible option, officials say.
“There are alternative sources, but we don't want to be trucking in bottled water for people,” said Amy Shallcross, the water resource operations manager at the Delaware River Basin Commission. “We get nervous when it starts to get up near Philadelphia. It’s only 18 miles right now from the drinking water intakes. And sometimes it can shoot upstream really quickly.”Officials control the salt line by releasing water from two reservoirs, which pushes the front downriver.
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