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The goal of the Common Waters Healthy Forests, Healthy Watersheds Program is to collaborate with water utilities to link water consumers in downstream communities with the resources in the Upper Delaware River watershed that provide clean water. Upstream, the program will provide forest landowners with financial incentives to sustainably manage and conserve forests in order to protect sources of high-quality drinking water. Downstream, an educational program for local governments and the general public on the connections between forests and the faucet will be implemented to encourage participation by water users. The acceleration of sustainable forest management in the Upper Delaware River region will conserve critical sources of drinking water for millions of people while also benefiting wildlife habitat, the production of forest products, and the health of forest-reliant communities. This work is supported by a generous grant from the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities.

Map of the Upper Delaware River Basin

The program has four components:

1. Program development and landscape prioritization

• The Common Waters Partnership, in conjunction with state and federal agency partners and local stakeholders, will select a set of eligible forest management practices and criteria for selecting projects. This process will mirror what is already in place for government conservation programs, such as forestry practices under the Farm Bill. In addition, a priority landscape will be established based on available source water protection models to target funds to areas that will have the most impact for source water protection. To learn more about the source water protection model, click here. Finally, basic program rules will be established (contract lengths, payment structure, etc.).

2. A Clean Drinking Water Fund

• In collaboration with water utilities in the Lower Delaware River Basin, a Clean Drinking Water Fund will be established to finance the implementation of forest management practices that improve and maintain water quality in high priority conservation areas. The fund will be supported by donations from water users and grant funds.

3. Education and Outreach

• Common Waters, in collaboration with partner water utilities, will develop information to educate downstream water users about the importance of sustainably managed forests for clean drinking water. In addition, the Common Waters Partnership will use new and existing programs in the Upper Delaware River Basin to reach landowners with information about the program, the importance of forest management for water quality protection, and to encourage participation in the Greenway Fund through implementation of practices.
  

4. Program Evaluation and Expansion

• Drawing on what it has learned in the early stages of the project, the Common Waters Partnership (in the Delaware Basin) and the Pinchot Institute (outside of the Delaware Basin) will seek to develop new partnerships with water utilities to expand the reach of the program.