By Susan Phillips WHYY
Taking a trip to the banks of the Delaware River on a warm summer day these past couple of years, you may have seen people paddling kayaks, floating on inflatable pink flamingos, racing by on jet skis, and even swimming. It’s a sign that the river, once known as a “stinky ugly mess,” is now much cleaner and more inviting.
It’s also the result of an effort by advocates and environmentalists to encourage more recreational use of the river.
But not everyone is cheering a recreational return to the Delaware. Each year, about 4,000 large cargo ships carry everything from plywood to steel to grapes, delivering material to 30 different marine terminals in the 27-mile stretch between the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge and the Commodore Barry Bridge. Thousands of workboats, including barges and tugs, also travel that stretch each year.
The Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay, a trade association for the commercial shipping industry that helps manage the traffic, says the increased recreational activities risk fatal collisions with container ships that ply the Delaware. The group is pushing back against efforts to upgrade the river’s regulatory designation under the Clean Water Act.
“Even were the water quality improved, the area would still not be safe for primary contact recreation,” Maritime Exchange president Lisa Himber wrote in a letter to Philadelphia City Council in December
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