Transcript:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is relatively far from the ocean, but rising seas could still threaten the city’s drinking water.
That’s because much of it comes from the Delaware River, which flows south to Delaware Bay.
As seas rise, more salty water from the bay is creeping up closer to the city’s drinking water intake. And during droughts, it can get uncomfortably close.
Shallcross: “There’s a lot of energy from the ocean pushing that salty water upstream. And when the flows are low, there’s less fresh water to dilute it and push it downstream.”
Amy Shallcross is with the Delaware River Basin Commission.
She says when this happens, officials release fresh water from reservoirs to repel the salt water.
But as seas rise and precipitation becomes more erratic, there may be times when there is not enough water in the reservoirs.
Shallcross: “So after a dry summer, if we have a dry fall, we could get into a situation where we’re really struggling to meet the requirements of that salinity repulsion program.”
To prepare, officials are assessing if they need to build more water storage or even move the drinking water intake upstream.
So Shallcross says Philadelphia’s drinking water is safe. But officials may need to make costly changes to keep it that way.
Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media
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