As part of ongoing programs designed to protect water quality and assess compliance with regulatory standards for toxic substances, the DRBC conducts periodic monitoring of ambient water toxicity in the Delaware Estuary. DRBC staff were most recently out collecting ambient water samples in the estuary on October 9, 2013.

Monitoring is completed to ensure no toxics in toxic amounts; in other words, no adverse effects should be observed in toxicity tests with undiluted ambient water. DRBC's numeric water quality criteria protects against short-term (i.e. acute), as well as long-term (i.e. chronic), effects on aquatic life from toxic pollutants such as pesticides, dioxins/furans, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). As part of ongoing programs to control toxic substances in the Delaware Estuary, in addition to periodic monitoring, the DRBC also has requested monitoring of acute and chronic effluent toxicity by dischargers.

View additional photos on DRBC's Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/drbc1961/sets/72157636629444853/.

View a time lapse video of this monitoring excursion on DRBC's YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2dS3rHCX_s.