NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL

May 28, 2010
Vol. 40, No. 181

Contact:  Lara Allison, Watershed Assessment Section, Division of Water Resources, 302-739-9939; or Melanie Rapp, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902. Photos available by contacting Public Affairs at 302-739-9902.

Buffer established along mill pond at the Delaware Agricultural Museum grounds will improve health of St. Jones Watershed

A buffer of more than 250 native trees, shrubs and flowering perennials was planted May 27 along the banks of the mill pond that empties into Silver Lake on the grounds of the Delaware Agricultural Museum in Dover. The planting event, organized by DNREC’s Watershed Assessment Section, is part of a multi-phased restoration plan to reduce pollution from entering the St. Jones Watershed.

Volunteers from Polytech High School worked alongside DNREC staff to plant native vegetation that included Virginia sweetspire, winterberry, purple coneflower and Persimmon trees, among others. Native plants were used because they are self-sustaining, tolerate local weather conditions and provide natural habitat for wildlife and other animals, including beneficial insects, pollinators and native birds.

“The native vegetation we planted has extensive root systems that will hold soil and slow stormwater run-off,” said Lara Allison, planting coordinator with DNREC’s Watershed Assessment Section. “The new buffer plants will not only add beauty to the landscape, but will improve the health of the St. Jones Watershed for years to come.”

The planting was funded by the Clean Water Advisory Council’s Community Water Quality Improvement Grant Program developed to benefit water quality in an impaired watershed. 

The St. Jones Watershed is considered impaired, because its waterways do not meet water quality standards for its designated uses. As a result, Delaware is required to develop pollution limits or TMDLs (total maximum daily loads) for the watershed.

The St. Jones Tributary Action Team, a group of concerned citizens, developed a pollution control strategy for reducing pollution to meet TMDL limits and funded a watershed assessment of the St. Jones River and its tributaries. The study identified projects, including this buffer planting, to improve water quality in the watershed.

To learn more about efforts underway by DNREC’s Watershed Assessment Section and the St. Jones Tributary Action Team, contact Lara Allison at 302-739-9939.