The salt front—where ocean saltwater meets river freshwater—has moved about 20 miles north toward Philadelphia due to drought, threatening drinking water supplies.
Officials' monitoring reveals that while drinking water isn’t immediately threatened, future droughts could strain freshwater resources, necessitating urgent action.
"We get nervous when it starts to get up near Philadelphia. It's only 18 miles right now from the drinking water intakes," warns Amy Shallcross.
Desalination is costly and problematic, and officials prefer to manage salt encroachment with restored reservoirs rather than resorting to trucking bottled water.
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