Clean Water: Delaware’s Clear Choice

Status
PLANNING IN PROGRESS COMPLETE
75%
December 2024

What is the Clean Water Campaign?

The Clean Water Campaign is a statewide effort to secure funding to improve Delaware’s water – clean water is critical to our economy, environment, wildlife, food supply, and public health.

The Center, along with the Delaware Nature Society and the University of Delaware’s Water Resources Center, is one of three steering committee members of the Alliance, which has launched a campaign to improve the quality of Delaware’s water by educating people about the importance of clean water and advocating for better policies on the local, state, and federal levels.

Dedicated funding for clean water is essential for a cleaner environment, healthier crops and food sources, and a healthy and growing economy. Additional clean water funding will be used for upgrades to wastewater treatment facilities and stormwater systems; environmentally sound solutions to remove contaminants from our water; and protection of wetlands and open space. Increased funding for statewide clean water initiatives ensures a better, stronger Delaware.

Find out how you can get involved at cleanwaterdelaware.org.

 

Why is the Clean Water Campaign Needed?

Polluted waterways, tainted drinking water, and failing infrastructure can be found throughout the state of Delaware. In some cases, former industrial operations led to toxins entering waterways. In other cases, historical and current uses of agricultural fertilizers have impacted the groundwater sources that feed people’s drinking water wells.

In 2015, Delaware’s Clean Water and Flood Abatement Task Force released a report outlining the state’s water quality needs and shortfalls. It found that more than 90% of Delaware’s rivers, streams, bays, and ponds are polluted. This includes the Inland Bays watershed, where excess nutrients have significantly impacted water quality.

That means many waterways are not safe for swimming, drinking, or for eating the fish caught from them. At least 100 miles of waterways in Delaware have fish consumption advisories due to unsafe levels of PCBs, metals, and pesticides.

As more people move to Delaware, especially Sussex County, more land is being developed, meaning more impervious surfaces like roads and parking lots that can collect oil, grease, and litter than can then be carried to waterways with stormwater runoff. More development and more residents also means more pressure on existing infrastructure like wastewater treatment facilities. The Task Force found Delaware faces a $100 million annual shortfall to address issues like failing or outdated wastewater and drinking water treatment systems.

Currently, nutrient pollution that results in algal blooms and low oxygen is the biggest threat to Delaware’s Inland Bays. Financial support for clean water projects statewide could provide funding for projects to help mitigate this problem.

Important Updates

In 2021, the Clean Water for Delaware Act (House Bill 200) successfully passed and the $50 million now invested in the Clean Water Trust created by the new law will support:

    • A new Clean Water Initiative for Underserved Communities
    • Upgrades to water and wastewater infrastructure
    • Investment in green solutions and enhancing natural systems
    • Drainage, waterway management, and beach preservation

Legislator Contact Information

An important step in securing funding for clean water is ensuring that Delaware’s lawmakers know how important this issue is to voting residents like you. Call, email, or write to your lawmaker to encourage them to support clean water initiatives and funding. Below are maps of Delaware’s 151st General Assembly House and Senate districts, followed by a list of the corresponding elected officials and ways to get in touch with them. This information is current as of February 2021.

House of Representatives

District 1 (Wilmington area)
Rep. Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha
[email protected]
302-744-4138

District 4 (Wilmington area)
Rep. Gerald L. Brady
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 7 (Brandywine Hundred, Claymont, Arden)
Rep. Larry Lambert
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 10 (Brandywine Valley, Claymont)
Rep. Sean Matthews
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 13 (Elsmere area)
Rep. John L. Mitchell
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 16 (New Castle, Southbridge, Wilmington)
Rep. Franklin D. Cooke
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 19 (Christiana, DelCastle, Newport, Stanton)
Rep. Kimberly Williams
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 22 (Yorklyn)
Rep. Michael F. Smith
[email protected]
302-744-4171

District 25 (Newark)
Rep. John A. Kowalko
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 28 (Little Creek, Smyrna, Woodland Beach)
Rep. William J. Carson
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 31 (Dover)
Rep. Sean M. Lynn
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 34 (Camden, Wyoming, Viola)
Rep. Lyndon D. Yearick
[email protected]
302-744-4171

District 37 (Georgetown, Long Neck)
Rep. Ruth Briggs King
[email protected]
302-744-4251

District 40 (Delmar, Laurel)
Rep. Timothy D. Dukes
[email protected]
302-744-4171

District 2 (Wilmington)
Rep. Stephanie T. Bolden
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 5 (Christiana, Newark)
Rep. Kendra Johnson
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 8 (Middletown)
Rep. Sherae’a Moore
[email protected]
302-744-4171 or 302-256-9313

District 11 (Hartly, Kenton)
Rep. Jeffrey N. Spiegelman
[email protected]
302-744-4171

District 14 (Dewey Beach, Henlopen Acres, Lewes, Rehoboth Beach)
Rep. Peter C. Schwarzkopf
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 17 (Christiana, New Castle)
Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 20 (Lewes, Harbeson, Milton)
Rep. Stephen T. Smyk
[email protected]
302-744-4171

District 23 (Newark)
Rep. Paul S. Baumbach
[email protected]
302-744-4221

District 26 (Bear, Glasgow, southeast of Newark)
Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 29 (Cheswold, Clayton, Pearsons Corner)
Rep. William Bush
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 32 (Dover, Kitts Hummock, Little Creek, Magnolia)
Rep. Andria L. Bennett
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 35 (Bridgeville, Ellendale, Greenwood)
Rep. Jesse R. Vanderwende
[email protected]
302-744-4267

District 38 (Bethany Beach, Fenwick Island, Ocean View, Selbyville, South Bethany)
Rep. Ronald E. Gray
[email protected]
302-744-4171

District 41 (Dagsboro, Frankford, Millsboro, Selbyville)
Rep. Richard G. Collins
[email protected]
302-744-4082

District 3 (Wilmington)
Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 6 (Brandywine Hundred, Bellafonte, southern Claymont)
Rep. Debra Heffernan
[email protected]
302-744-4378

District 9 (Middletown, Odessa, Port Penn, St. George’s, Townsend)
Rep. Kevin S. Hensley
[email protected]
302-744-4171

District 12 (Brandywine Valley, Hockessin)
Rep. Krista Griffith
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 15 (Bear, Delaware City, Red Lion)
Rep. Valerie Longhurst
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 18 (Bear, Christiana, Newark, New Castle)
Rep. David Bentz
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 21 (Hockessin, Newark, Pike Creek)
Rep. Michael Ramone
[email protected]
302-744-4171

District 24 (Newark)
Rep. Edward S. Osienski
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 27 (Glasgow, Newark, Red Lion)
Rep. Eric Morrison
[email protected]
302-744-4351

District 30 (Felton, Harrington)
Rep. W. Shannon Morris
[email protected]
302-744-4171

District 33 (Bowers Beach, Frederica, Little Heaven, Magnolia, Milford)
Rep Charles S. Postles Jr.
[email protected]
302-744-4081

District 36 (Broadkill Beach, Ellendale, Milford, Primehook, Slaughter Beach)
Rep. Bryan W. Shupe
[email protected]
302-744-4171

District 39 (Blades, Seaford)
Rep. Daniel B. Short
[email protected]
302-744-4172

Senate

District 1 (Claymont, northern Wilmington)
Sen. Sarah McBride
[email protected]
302-744-4147

District 4 (Alapocas, Hockessin, Montchanin, Talleyville)
Sen. Laura V. Sturgeon
[email protected]
302-744-4135

District 7 (Elsmere, Newport)
Sen. Spiros Mantzavinos
[email protected]
302-744-4133

District 10 (Glasgow, Middletown, Mt. Pleasant)
Sen. Stephanie L. Hansen
[email protected]
302-744-4138

District 13 (Bear, Wilmington Manor)
Sen. Marie Pinkney
[email protected]
302-744-4167

District 16 (Bowers Beach, Camden-Wyoming, Frederica, Kitts Hummock)
Sen. Colin R. J. Bonini
[email protected]
302-744-4169

District 19 (Bridgeville, Georgetown, Long Neck)
Sen. Brian Pettyjohn
[email protected]
302-744-4117 or
302-858-0694

District 2 (Edgemoor, South Wilmington, Collins Park)
Sen. Darius J. Brown
[email protected]
302-744-4286

District 5 (Talleyville, Talleys Corner)
Sen. Kyle Evans Gay
[email protected]
302-744-4137

District 8 (Newark, North Star)
Sen. David P. Sokola
[email protected]
302-744-4139

District 11 (Newark, Ogletown)
Sen. Bryan Townsend
[email protected]
302-744-4165

District 14 (Leipsic, Smyrna, Woodland Beach)
Sen. Bruce C. Ennis
[email protected]
302-744-4310

District 17 (Dover)
Sen. Trey Charles Paradee
[email protected]
302-744-4162

District 20 (Bethany Beach, Dagsboro, Fenwick Island, Frankford, Millville, South Bethany)
Sen. Gerald Hocker
[email protected]
302-744-4144
302-537-6016
302-539-4140

District 3 (Wilmington)
Sen. S. Elizabeth Lockman
[email protected]
302-744-4168

District 6 (Dewey Beach, Henlopen Acres, Lewes, Milton, Rehoboth Beach)
Sen. Ernesto “Ernie” B. Lopez
[email protected]
302-744-4136

District 9 (Christiana)
Sen. John “Jack” Walsh
[email protected]
302-744-4163

District 12 (Delaware City, New Castle, St. George’s)
Sen. Nicole Poore
[email protected]
302-744-4164

District 15 (Felton, Hartly)
Sen. David G. Lawson
[email protected]
302-744-4237

District 18 (Ellendale, Greenwood, Harrington, Milford, Slaughter Beach)
Sen. David L. Wilson
[email protected]
302-744-4048

District 21 (Bethel, Blades, Delmar, Laurel, Seaford)
Sen. Bryant L. Richardson
[email protected]
302-744-4298

Fact Sheets and Resources