The Forum brought together conservation organizations, community leaders, scientists, practitioners, advocates, and other watershed partners working across the Delaware River Basin to focus on the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of the watershed.
The Delaware River Watershed provides drinking water to 14.2 million people, approximately 4% of the U.S. population, including nearly 800,000 Delaware residents.
Click Here for a summary of the Forum events and activities.
“The strength of the Delaware River Watershed is rooted in the strength of the people and organizations working across it,” said Meagan Birkenmaier, Director of the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed. “The Forum is one of the places where that network comes together most powerfully, creating space for important conversations, new connections, and the exchange of ideas that can move our work forward. As we think about what comes next for the watershed, these conversations and this network will be essential to shaping a future where the Delaware River and the communities that depend on it can thrive.”
“The Delaware River Watershed is critical to the mid-Atlantic region, providing over 14 million people with clean drinking water and generating more than $25 billion each year for local economies,” said US Senator Blunt Rochester. “I’m proud to see the Forum come together to produce policies that will shape a strong future of the watershed and push back against ongoing efforts to weaken conservation. I look forward to continuing efforts to strengthen and protect this vital resource.”
The 14th Delaware River Watershed Forum, themed “Shaping the Future of Our Watershed,” brought a range of pressing watershed issues to the forefront, from climate resilience and community planning to recreational access, water quality, restoration, and policies that protect the region’s land and water resources.
Across the Forum, conversations focused on what it will take to address these needs in practice, including how communities can prepare for increasing flood risk, how conservation projects can be sustained over the long term, and how public access and stewardship can be strengthened.
The discussions provided an opportunity to consider what is working, where gaps remain, and how the watershed community can build on that work moving forward.
"Every single day, conservation efforts across the Delaware River Watershed are bringing us closer to creating a vibrant, healthy future where people and wildlife can thrive for generations to come. It’s inspiring that 250 of the leading advocates across the basin’s four-state region are coming together to forge solutions that will help secure clean water, restore healthy habitat, and support thriving communities,” said Collin O'Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation.
“The Delaware River Watershed provides vital resources that connect communities and ecosystems throughout our multi-state region, and protecting its health requires a true team effort,” said Delaware State Sen. Stephanie Hansen. “That means bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders, building consensus, and refining our environmental protection and conservation efforts to develop solutions that are balanced, focused, and thoughtful. We’ve made tremendous progress towards protecting its natural resources and identifying challenges, and we must continue building on that work to ensure a healthy and vibrant watershed for generations to come.”
"We were fortunate to have the Forum in Delaware this year," said Jen Adkins, Executive Director of the Delaware Nature Society. "Collaboration with others upstream is particularly important here since we are at the bottom of the Delaware River Watershed and reliant on partners in other states to keep many of our waterways clean and healthy."
Click Here for a summary of the Forum events and activities.
Visit the Delaware River Watershed Forum webpage for more background.
Related Articles This Week:
-- House Hearing I: DEP Allows The Use Of Contaminated Water From New 'Mineral Brine' Conventional Wells On Roads, While Prohibiting Contaminated Water With The Same Harmful Pollutants On Roads From Other Conventional Oil & Gas Wells [PaEN]
-- House Hearing II: Road Dumping Contaminated Water From Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Creates An Aerosol Mist Carrying Pollution Through The Air And Into My Lungs - By Siri Lawson, Warren County Resident [PaEN]
-- House Hearing III: Protect PT: For Too Long The Oil & Gas Industry Has Used Our Southwest PA Communities As Dumping Grounds For Their Waste - Road Dumping Contaminated Water From Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Must Be Banned [PaEN]
-- PA Environmental Council, Aqua Accepting Applications For Protect Your Drinking Water In Southeast PA Starting Oct. 21 [PaEN]
-- Penn State Master Watershed Steward Stefanie Green Helps Conserve Natural Resources In Northampton County [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Decades Later, A Big Gap Persists For Key Chesapeake Bay Pollution Reduction Goals
-- Stroud Water Research Center Comments On DEP Biosolids Permits: High Rate Of PFAS Contamination Already Found On Most Farm Fields Treated With Biosolids, Tighter Controls Needed
-- Tribune-Democrat: PFAS ‘Forever Chemical’ Banned From Firefighting Foam, With Exceptions, In Sen. Yaw’s Legislation
-- ABCNews: Abandoned Mines Causing Sinkholes, Other Incidents Across The Country [PA Included]
-- Tribune-Democrat: DEP Awards $347,832 Grant To Clearfield Creek Watershed Assn. For Mine Drainage Treatment Project In Cambria County
-- The Center Square: 4 Of Top 10 Most Expensive Water Companies Are In PA, Study Finds
[Posted: October 7, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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