Upper Nanticoke - Public Input Meeting

NRCS Seeks Public Input on Tax Ditch System in Upper Nanticoke Watershed

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is seeking public input to identify and improve infrastructure deficiencies in Delaware’s tax ditch system within the Upper Nanticoke Watershed of Kent and Sussex Counties.

This meeting will allow stakeholders to provide invaluable feedback on tax ditches that:

• require regular repair or maintenance,
• are experiencing significant erosion,
• have failing structures, such as bridges and culverts,
• have poor water quality conditions during low-flow periods,
• have areas where flooding and ponding in adjacent land persist more than 24 hours following a rain event resulting in property or crop damage, and
• have locations where the tax ditch is regularly blocked or clogged.

The USDA NRCS will analyze feedback to prepare a Supplemental Watershed Project Plan-Environmental Assessment (Plan-EA) with project sponsors Delaware Natural Resources and Environmental Control - Tax Ditch Program, Kent Conservation District and Sussex Conservation District (SCD). 

Stakeholder participation and feedback will help target priority areas, ensuring the Plan-EA is effective and maximizes results to improve drainage, reduce flooding and improve water quality within the watershed. 

Register for the public meeting below or call Siobhan Kelley, communications and outreach specialist at SCD, at (302) 856-2105, ext. 122.

For project specific information, contact Ann Baldwin, USDA NRCS State Conservation Engineer, at 302-678-4190 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 View the tax ditch watersheds in the Upper Nanticoke Project

Use the search bar to search by street address or select the magnifying button to select by tax ditch watershed name or tax parcel ID to dive a little deeper into an area of interest. Be sure to turn on the DE_Tax Ditch Layer (click upper right hand, stack of paper button) so the channels and their associated rights of ways will populate when navigating the map.