White Clay Creek
Delaware, Pennsylvania
In 1991, citizens of the White Clay Creek area requested that the creek and its tributaries be considered for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The White Clay Creek study represents the first time an entire watershed was studied for designation. In 2000, the White Clay Creek and several tributaries—including parts of the East Branch and all of West Branch, Pike and Mill Creeks, and Middle Run—were added to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Building on that success, another nine miles of the watershed were designated in 2014.
The White Clay Creek Scenic & Recreational River flows through southwestern Chester County, Pennsylvania, and northwestern New Castle County, Delaware. The urban center of Newark, Delaware, is located in the southern end of the watershed.
The White Clay Creek watershed is an exceptional resource in the bi-state area, renowned for its scenery, opportunities for birdwatching and trout fishing, and for its historic features, such as lime kilns and 19th century mills. Other important resources include the federally listed endangered bog turtle, the most extensive mature Piedmont forests remaining in the state of Delaware, and the Cockeysville Marble Formation, an exceptional aquifer.
The watershed is an important source of drinking water for residents in both Pennsylvania and Delaware. Part of the Christina River Basin, White Clay Creek is a critical link to the Delaware Estuary, which is nationally and internationally important. Municipalities, counties, states and federal agencies, together with private organizations and landowners, participate in maintaining the high quality of the White Clay Creek watershed through a committee representing all watershed interests. A key principle of the administrative framework is that existing institutions and authorities will play the primary roles in the long-term protection of the watershed. Watershed residents are active stewards of the river area and must be especially vigilant due to environmental impacts from the proximity of the Philadelphia and Wilmington-Newark metropolitan areas. These impacts to the watershed include pollution, fewer migrating birds, and receding forests.
Designated Reach
October 24, 2000, and December 19, 2014. Numerous river segments (including tributaries of White Clay Creek and all second order tributaries of the designated segments) in the states of Delaware and Pennsylvania. The main stem, excluding Lamborn Run, but including all second order tributaries outside the boundaries of the White Clay Creek Preserve and White Clay Creek State Park:
- The main stem from the confluence of the East and Middle Branches in London Britain Township, Pennsylvania, to the northern boundary of the city of Newark, Delaware, including Lamborn Run.
- The main stem from the Paper Mill Road to the Old Route 4 Bridge.
- The main stem from the southern boundary of United Water Delaware Corporation's property to the confluence with the Christina River.
- The East Branch, including Trout Run, from its headwaters within West Marlborough Township to 500 feet north of the Borough of Avondale's wastewater treatment facility.
- The East Branch, including Walnut Run and Broad Run, from the southern boundary of the Borough of Avondale to the boundary of the White Clay Creek Preserve, including Walnut Run, Broad Run, and Egypt Run.
- The East Branch from the northern boundary of London Britain Township to the confluence of the Middle and East Branches.
- The Middle Branch from its headwaters within Londonderry Township to the downstream boundary of the White Clay Creek Preserve, excluding 500 feet on either side of the Borough of West Grove's wastewater treatment facility.
- The West Branch from its headwaters within Penn Township to the confluence with the Middle Branch.
- The Middle Run from its headwaters to its confluence.
- All of Pike and Mill Creeks.
Outstandingly Remarkable Values
Botany
The intrinsic botanical value of the White Clay Creek watershed is largely due to the many plants and plant communities that survive here, having virtually disappeared from many nearby river systems. The complex geology of the watershed has produced a variety of soil types that support a diversity of native plants. The area contains rich flora, comprising some 60 tree and shrub species, more than 20 ferns and more than 200 wildflowers, including nine native orchids.
Culture
The White Clay Creek watershed has been occupied by various peoples for more than 10,000 years. The indigenous Lenni-Lenapes, or Delaware Indians, lived along the banks of White Clay Creek, where abundant game and fertile lands provided the resources for intermittent village settlements. European settlements by Dutch and Swedes began around 1625-1650 in Delaware and Pennsylvania. Early settlers in Delaware built the first grist and saw mills on White Clay Creek in the late 17th century.
Historic and architecturally important sites abound in the watershed. There are eight sites in Pennsylvania, including Primitive Hall and Lunn's Tavern, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (the federal listing of significant historic properties). In Delaware, 30 properties representing the fields of commerce, architecture, religion, and agriculture are listed on the National Register.
Fish
The waters of the White Clay Creek support some 21 species of fish. This is Delaware's premier trout-fishing stream, stocked annually by both Delaware and Pennsylvania. Freshwater fisherman cast in its pools and riffles throughout the year. Although water quality is somewhat degraded downstream due to the impact of various human activities, the good health of the upstream portions of the creek is demonstrated by clouds of various insects, including mayflies and stoneflies.
Recreation
Fishing, hiking, and jogging are three of the watershed's most popular sports. In addition, White Clay Creek is commonly used for swimming, and the valley for bird watching, picnicking, horseback riding, cross country skiing, skating, sledding, photography, nature observation, and limited deer hunting. Because of the small size of watershed streams, canoeing is limited and not very popular. The only truly suitable canoeing area is the mainstem of the White Clay Creek in Delaware, and that area is limited by flow conditions.
Wildlife
Old fields, mature woodlands, streams, freshwater marshes, seeps, swamps, vernal pools, wooded floodplains, thickets, and glades support a profusion of birds and animals. An estimated 93 species of birds nest in the watershed. Many are neotropical migrants that breed within the deep, continuous forests, hiding from predators among the trees. Migrants include the hooded and cerulean warblers, the latter a rare northern species that breeds in Delaware only in the Piedmont Plateau section of the White Clay Creek. Other neotropical birds found here are thrushes, vireos, orioles, and grosbeaks. In addition to the nesters, more than 100 other species of birds live and feed in the area, or settle briefly as they skim the busy Atlantic Flyway. Thirty-three species of small mammals live in the watershed. Twenty-seven species of reptiles and amphibians live in the watershed, among them the rare Muhlenberg's (bog) turtle.
Hydrology
The presence of Cockeysville marble makes the White Clay Creek watershed an important source of drinking water. Cockeysville marble serves as a regionally important groundwater recharge area and contributes to maintaining base flow, especially during dry periods, which helps to maintain critical plant and wildlife habitat.
Water Quality
The quality and quantity of water that flows on the surface and underground make the White Clay Creek watershed an important regional source of drinking water; the water quality also supports a rich and diverse array of plant communities and wildlife habitats. The State of Delaware has designated a portion of the main stem of the White Clay Creek as waters of "Exceptional Recreational or Ecological Significance", and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has identified a portion of the East Branch as an "Exceptional Value Stream."
Managing Partners And Contacts
Classification/Mileage
