Brandywine Creek || Christina River || Naamans Creek || Red Clay Creek || Shellpot Creek || White Clay Creek
Brandywine Creek
Background ▲ The Brandywine Creek watershed is one of four major watersheds in the Christina Basin. The Christina Basin is part of the Delaware River Basin. The Brandywine Creek is a tributary of the Christina River and flows southward out of Pennsylvania and into Delaware near Wilmington. The creek flows through Wilmington and enters the Christina River just before the Delaware River. The majority of the watershed is located in Chester County (PA). Lower portions of the Brandywine Creek are under tidal influence. Major land use areas in the Brandywine include agriculture followed by forest/wetland, and urban uses. Collectively the White Clay, Red Clay, and Brandywine creeks and Christina River are used to supply drinking water to more than 50% of New Castle County's population. The Brandywine Creek has six surface water intakes and numerous public water supply wells located within the watershed for public water supplies. The Brandywine Creek serves as a major source of drinking water supplies with four reservoirs (Chambers Lake, Marsh Creek, Rock Run, and Hoopes) supplying water to central Chester and northern New Castle Counties. All together there are 48 municipalities in the two states that are either fully or partially within the watershed. DNREC's Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program (WMAP) has been developing scientifically robust methods to monitor and evaluate wetlands in Delaware on a watershed basis. Learn more about the health of the wetlands in this watershed from the DNREC Wetlands Monitoring and Assessment Program.
Water Quality ▼
Plants and Wildlife ▼
Recreation and Culture ▼
Further Resources ▼ ![]() View of Breck's Mill on the Brandywine Creek Photo credit: Duane Loveland | Quick facts ▲ Square Miles (total): 324.2 Square Miles (DE): 23.0 Population (total)*: 266,582 Population (DE)*: 47,254 States: DE, PA Counties: DE: New Castle PA: Chester, Delaware, Lancaster *Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2019.
Land cover (total)† ▲
Land cover within Delaware† ▲ †Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office for Coastal Management. 2016 C-CAP Regional Land Cover. Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) Regional Land Cover.. |