Current Projects
Working on the Stormwater Problem in the Appoquinimink
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control along with the Delaware Department of Transportation, New Castle County, the Town of Middletown, and the Appoquinimink River Association, are partnering on an important stormwater modeling project for the Appoquinimink Watershed. This stormwater modeling project will address current and projected stormwater runoff issues that the Appoquinimink area faces and will make suggestions for better stormwater runoff management. The overall goal of the project is to use computer models to develop a Watershed Management Plan that discusses how to maintain or improve water quality and habitat, maintain or increase water filtration into the ground, reduce stream erosion and manage flooding events throughout the watershed.
If your community is interested in the project or is having issues with stormwater and would like to address these issues with project partners, fill out our "Contact Us" section on this website. By sharing your concerns with us, your community will enable the project to be more successful in addressing your community's stormwater runoff concerns.
What is stormwater?
Stormwater is the water that flows over the land and various surfaces (like roads, driveways, roofs, and even bare soils) that is not able to be absorbed into the ground. The water will eventually flow directly into nearbystreams or into stormwater drains that lead directly to streams. (That's right, the water enters the streams untreated!).
How does stormwater affect my community?
Stormwater flow can lead to flooding issues because there is more water traveling over paved surfaces than there would be if the water would travel and be absorbed into natural surfaces. Since there will be a larger and faster amount of water flowing toward one area, the end result is increased flooding.However, flooding is not the only water issue that increased amounts of stormwater
create. The increased volume of water flowing into local streams during a rain storm can cause stream bank erosion and the stormwater itself can carry water pollutants with it. Fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, oils, sediments, and other pollutants collect on roads, soils, and driveways until they are washed away by runoff and flow into streams or stormwater runoff drains.
What else can I do to make a difference?
Here are a few things that you can encourage your fellow community members to do in their own back yards:
- Aim downspouts onto grassy areas of your yard, not on driveways or walkways. This allows the ground to absorb the water instead of having the water flow into storm drains.
- Use a broom instead of a hose to clean off sidewalks.
- Use rain barrels which collect rain from your downspouts for outdoor watering needs.
- Do not discard or dump any trash, oil, leaves, or chemicals into storm drains. Storm drains lead directly into our waterways.
- Plant a rain garden. Rain gardens contain native plant species that retain stormwater runoff and allow the water to soak back into the ground at a natural rate.
What has been done so far in the Appoquinimink Stormwater Modeling Project?
- Data has been collected by consultants to aid the preparation of a management plan for the Appoquinimink watershed.
- This data was used to create many maps including those that show current stormwater facilities, floodplains, wetlands, existing and future land cover, soils, and aerial photographs of the watershed.
- A report has been begun that details all the tasks involved in the stormwater modeling project.
- Citizen, municipal and county input has been solicited to pinpoint areas of concern throughout the watershed.
- A stream bank erosion inventory has begun to confirm and identify new nontidal stream bank erosion problems.
- The data collected is beginning to be used to set up the model creation.
Keep checking back to see what is happening with the modeling project!For more information on stormwater for parents and kids, check out the following links:
All partners on this project do a great deal to protect our waterways. For more information on what they do check out the following links:
P.O. Box 341 | Middletown, DE 19709
(302) 382-0335