Editorial: Vote for the Delaware as Pennsylvania’s River of the Year

Every day should be a day to celebrate the Delaware River.

What other river can boast that it’s the source of drinking water to more than 14 million people? Think about that! That’s greater than the population of the entire state of Pennsylvania alone.

What other river can boast of making such a comeback in its quality from decades ago, when it was essentially an open pit of smelly sewage and pollution to today in which it is a hotbed for recreational users, like canoeists, rafters and anglers, as well as tourists. Yes, it does still have its environmental challenges in some pockets, but it’s come a long, long way.

And what other river watershed can boast of being host to nine National Park Service units, including jewels like the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River, Independence National Historical Park and Valley Forge National Historical Park?

But now comes a particularly important moment to recognize the ways that the Delaware River enhances our quality of life, and sustains life itself.

The Delaware is among three nominees to be Pennsylvania’s 2025 River of the Year. The River of the Year program is administered by the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers with funding from Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and National Resources to celebrate Pennsylvania’s waterways while raising awareness of conservation needs.

Now, with all due respect to the other nominees — the Youghiogheny River, which is described as a hub for water recreation, flowing from the Laurel Highlands into West Virginia, and Perkiomen Creek a 37.7-mile tributary of the Schuylkill River, stretching through Berks, Lehigh, and Montgomery Counties — this really isn’t a close contest.

One of the nominees is hard to pronounce and the other is a creek, not even a river! Although, props to the Perkiomen for being in the Delaware River watershed but it’s still a weaker contender when compared to the Delaware.  

Consider the vast natural resources that the Delaware affords us, its rich history and what it delivers for industry and commerce. As I’ve said so often, if you had a banana with breakfast this morning, it likely came through one of the ports on the Delaware. 

We can’t hope to match an overwhelming get-out-the-vote effort led by John Oliver, host of “Last Week Tonight,” to get the Pūteketeke named as New Zealand’s Bird of the Century. (If you’re not familiar with this campaign, this video explains more. Trust me, it’s as weird and funny as it sounds.) 

But we can encourage you to show your (much-deserved) love for the Delaware, which is, inexplicably, only in the middle of the pack of votes cast as of this writing.

Vote here and crown the Delaware River as Pennsylvania’s River of the Year for 2025. It deserves to be No. 1!

Please forward this story to your friends and explain to them why the Delaware is worthy of their vote. One vote per email address is allowed.

Voting ends on Jan. 24, 2025, but don’t delay!

Did we mention you should vote here?

And in case you missed it, this is the link where you should vote.

Really, you should vote now.

Let’s go, Delaware River!