Little Creek

The Little Creek watershed drains about 23 square miles in east-central Kent County. The five-mile-long mainstem of the creek rises east of Dover and flows toward the east through the town of Little Creek to the Delaware Bay. The lower three miles of the creek are saline wetlands.

Little Creek Watershed is largely made of agriculture, forest and wetland land uses.

The nutrient and bacteria TMDLs for the Little Creek Watershed require 40% reductions in phosphorus and nitrogen loads and 75% reduction in bacteria loads. The designated uses for the Little Creek include primary recreation, secondary recreation, fish, aquatic life and wildlife, industrial water supply, and agricultural water supply in freshwater segments.

The Little Creek Watershed has two sites listed in the Site Investigation and Restoration Section database. One site is a National Priorities List (NPL) site, and one site is in the Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP).

Each of the sites is sampled through the program listed above for a consistent suite of environmental contaminants. These contaminants are broadly classified as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs), Pesticides, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Metals as listed using USEPA and DNREC defined standards. When sites are adjacent to water bodies sediment samples are collected to assess potential impact from a site on the health of the waters.

If you would like to view reports for any of the sites in the SIRS program please follow the link the DNREC Environmental Navigator to search by map for the Little Creek Watershed.

State-owned areas that provide access to water-based recreation include the Little Creek Wildlife Area and the Port Mahon boat ramp.

Delaware Bay and Estuary Assessment Report

Little Creek Watershed Proposed TMDLs