The William Penn Foundation recently announced that they are going to conduct a series of watershed improvement projects along the Delaware River.
These projects aim to ensure the quality of drinking water coming from the river. The Philadelphia philanthropy dubbed this initiative as an "unprecedented collaboration" which is participated by over 40 national and regional groups.
"This is one of the largest philanthropic investments in watersheds ever," executive vice president of the Open Space Institute, based in New York, Peter Howell told The Inquirer.
The project will be funded by about $35 million in grants and possibly over $200 million coming from leveraged money. The money will be distributed to groups and research initiatives that will help find solutions, collect data, and restore the parts of the river which were damaged.
Most of the fund is allocated for land conservation while the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will receive a $7 million fund to help mobilize groups that will restore the stream banks, plant more trees, and educate farmers in decreasing water pollution. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is allocated with $3.2 million to help collecting data on all related projects.
A large number of scientists were also commissioned to study the streams and conduct a baseline research. This team will be tweeting from the field, and their output is expected to be published in peer-reviewed journals.
The Delaware River is the longest river without any damn in the East. It is considered as the most productive basins in the country, and it helps in providing drinking water for at least 15 million people, or five percent of the United States' population. Over the years, the water quality has declined due to infrastructure and agricultural projects done within the river's banks. This William Penn initiative will ensure that the water quality will be restored and that the river will be able to provide water for future generations.
The projects will also be used as a way to reach out to the communities living along the banks of the river.
"What's important is that we're going to be doing actual restoration projects in these communities, and tying that back to community education and awareness," executive vice president with the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Patrick Starr told The Inquirer.
