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Chester-Sassafras Watershed
8 Digit Hydrologic Unit Code - 02060002
Description of Watershed
The Chester-Sassafras
8-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) sub basin covers 36,263 acres.
Approximately 70 percent of the sub basin is located in New Castle County
and the remaining 30 percent is in Kent County. There are 76 farms
located in the sub basin . The average farm size is 200 acres, but about
5 percent of the farms are between 500 and 1,000 acres and another 6
percent exceed 1,000 acres in size.
There are 17,352 acres in farms in the watershed with 93 acres
enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. Approximately 84 percent
of the farmland or 14,600 acres is cropland. Corn, soybeans and wheat
are the primary crops grown on about 94 percent of the acreage.
Vegetables are grown on 2 percent of the acreage and hay and pasture
account for the remaining one percent. Horse farms are the primary type
of livestock operation in the watershed.
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Physical Description
| Land Use |
Urban |
Agriculture |
Confined Feeding |
Forest |
Wetland |
Water |
Other |
Total |
| Acres |
1,019 |
17,001 |
18 |
17,000 |
0 |
32 |
1,193 |
36,263 |
| Percent |
2.8 |
46.9 |
0.1 |
46.9 |
0 |
0.1 |
3.2 |
100.0 |
Soils
Digitized soils map information suitable for use in Toolkit is available for
the entire watershed.
Primary soils in the watershed include:
- Matapeake-Sassafras
- Sassafras-Fallsington-Matapeake
The Matapeake-Sassafras association accounts for about 27 Percent of the
soils in New Castle County. The Matapeake and Sassafras soils are deep and well
drained. They are mainly nearly level but range from nearly level to steep.
Farming is both intensive and extensive in this association. Except for slope
and the hazard of erosion in some areas, the soils have few limitations for
farming and nonfarm uses.
The Sassafras-Fallsington-Matapeake association makes up about 12 percent of the
soils in New Castle County. The Sassafras and Matapeake soils are well drained,
and the Fallsington soils are poorly drained. The Sassafras and Matapeake soils
have only slight or moderate limitations to farming and to nonfarm uses. Because
Fallsington soils are generally wet, they have moderate or severe limitations
for most uses. If drained, Fallsington soils generally are more suitable for
farming than for community development.
Resource Concerns
The primary resource concern in the watershed is nutrient loading to ground
and surface waters. In order to meet the basic Tier I requirement for inclusion
in the CSP program farm operators must be addressing nutrient and erosion issues
in their conservation plans. To qualify for Tier II farm operators must be
focused on addressing wildlife habitat issues in their farm plans. The state has
designated both the surface and ground waters in the watershed to be of medium
concern for water quality. Ground water provided through private and municipal
wells is the major source of water for agriculture, industry and residential
drinking water in the watershed. Base flow provided by ground water is also
considered the primary supplier of fresh water to streams and is a very direct
source of nutrients and other pollutants to surface waters.
Common Resource Areas
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The Common Resource Areas for the watershed have been designated as 149A and 153C |
Studies and Assessments
The state of Delaware’s Division of Natural Resources has completed Total
Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Assessments of the major stream systems and water
bodies in the watershed. Water quality data has been collected for the
Chesapeake & Delaware Canal and the Sassafras River and its tributaries. Non
point sources of pollution from nutrients and bacteria have been identified as
the primary stressors to water quality in this watershed. Fish consumption
advisories have been posted for the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal which
traverses the watershed.
Census and Social Data
The total population of the watershed based on the 2000 census is 66,200
people. The annual median household income in the area is $52,420. Approximately
8.4 percent of the people have living standards below the national poverty
level. The estimated number and percentage of people by race in the watershed is
as follows:
Land Cover/Use
| Watershed |
Total |
White |
Black or African Americans |
American Indian |
Asian |
Some other Race |
Hispanic or Latino |
| Chester-Sassafras |
66,200 |
46,803 |
13,372 |
132 |
1,721 |
662 |
3.509 |
| Percent |
100.0 |
70.7 |
20.2 |
0.2 |
2.6 |
1.0 |
5.3 |
Farm Community
The information in the following table was compiled based on data from the
2002 Census of Agriculture. It can be used to estimate the potential number of
limited resource, and beginning or new farmers in the watershed.
| Watershed |
Total Farms |
Number of Farms |
Principal Operators |
Operators |
| Less than median size |
With sales less than $40,000 |
Male |
Female |
Non-white |
Less than 3 years on farm |
| Chester-Sassafras |
66,200 |
46,803 |
13,372 |
132 |
1,721 |
662 |
3.509 |
| Percent |
100.0 |
70.7 |
20.2 |
0.2 |
2.6 |
1.0 |
5.3 |
Based on median size of farm, and sales less than $40,000, 60 to 74 percent
of the Farms would qualify as limited resource. Vegetable operations and
intensive broiler production can be profitable on less than median size acreage
which makes size a poor indicator of limited resource farmers. For farmers whose
main source of income is farming, sales less than $40,000 would be a good
indicator. Farm operators who generate the majority of their income off farm would probably not qualify as limited resource. Based on race and
gender about 6 to 16 percent of the farms would qualify as limited resource. The
high cost of farm land and equipment in an urbanizing area make it difficult to
enter farming. This would account for new or beginning farmers only representing
about one percent of the farm operators in the watershed. Focusing on farms with
farming as their principal occupation with sales less than $40,000, minority and
female operators, and beginning farmers, would be the best strategy for
identifying farmers with limited resources in the watershed.
States and Counties in the Chester-Sassafras Watershed
Technical Information Maps of the River Watershed
The Following Documents Require
Adobe Acrobat
NOTE: Some Files are Large and will require time to Download
| File Description |
Map Thumbnail |
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chessasshydro.pdf
(374 KB)
– This map portrays the network of streams that run through the
Chester-Sassafras Watershed. The base layer is comprised of the
topographic layer of the watershed. Some, but not all, of the major
branches found throughout this watershed are labeled. |
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chessasslulc.pdf
(86 KB)
– This map portrays the different uses of land in the
Chester-Sassafras Watershed. Farming and forestry are the two
biggest land uses. The legend file shows what the colors stand for
and can be looked at in PDF format.
lulclegend.pdf
(15 KB)
– Note: This file is the legend for the chessasslulc.pdf file. |
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chessassroads.pdf
(384 KB)
– This map portrays the network of roads that run through the
Chester-Sassafras Watershed. The base layer is comprised of the
topographic layer of the watershed. The roads layer was created by
DelDOT last year and the centerlines match up perfectly with each
road. Some, but not all, of the major roads found throughout this
watershed are labeled. |
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chessassncsid.pdf
( MB)
– This map portrays USDA’s 2006 NAIP Ortho product for the New
Castle County portion of the Chester-Sassafras Watershed. The
imagery is true-color, which means it lacks the reddish tint of the
2002 ortho. The map scale is 1:12,000 and has a 1-meter resolution. |
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chessassksid.pdf
(219 KB)
– This map portrays USDA’s 2006 NAIP Ortho product for the Kent
County portion of the Chester-Sassafras Watershed. The imagery is
true-color, which means it lacks the reddish tint of the 2002 ortho.
The map scale is 1:12,000 and has a 1-meter resolution. |
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chessassksoils.pdf
(197 KB)
– This map portrays the most up-to-date soils for the Kent County
portion of the Chester-Sassafras Watershed. The legend file shows
what the colors stand for and their symbols.
chessassksoilslegend.pdf
(15 KB) – Note: legenmd document for the ChesSassKsoils.pdf file. |
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chessassscpsoils.pdf
(76 KB) – This map portrays CSP soils of the whole watershed. New
Castle County soils have yet to be completed.
chessasscspsoilsLegend.pdf
(34 KB) – Note: Legend document for the chessasscspsoils.pdf file. |
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chessasstopo.pdf
(361 KB) – This map portrays the elevation and contour lines that
makes up the Chester-Sassafras Watershed. Some, but not all, roads,
various landmarks, and water bodies labeled. |
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chessassncwaterbody.pdf
(362 KB) – There is one significant body of water found throughout
the Chester-Sassafras Watershed. This canal is located in the
northern portion of the watershed. It stretches across Delaware from
the Delaware Bay to the Chesapeake Bay. |
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Watershed Contact - Delaware
Paul Petrichenko, Assistant State Conservationist for Programs
Phone: 302-678-4180
Art Walker, GIS Specialist
(302) 678-4183
(302) 678-0843 (Fax)
(302) 233-2555 (Work Cell)
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