Dragon Run Creek
Delaware City
Photo credit:John M Lewis
Photo credit:John M Lewis
Other watersheds in the Delaware Bay and Estuary Basin
Square Miles: 10.4
Population*: 7,484
States: DE
Counties: DE: New Castle
Land use† in Dragon Run Creek
Appoquinimink River • Army Creek • Blackbird Creek • Broadkill River • C & D Canal East • Cedar Creek • Delaware Bay Drainage • Delaware River Drainage • Leipsic River • Little Creek • Mispillion River • Murderkill River • Red Lion Creek • Smyrna River • St. Jones River
Background
The Dragon Run Creek watershed is located in eastern New Castle County. The 7.7-mile-long mainstem of the creek rises in a swampy area north of Lums Pond and flows due east to its outfall in the Delaware River. The Dragon Run is free flowing but has a tidegate at its mouth, allowing discharge to the Delaware River only at low tide. Thus, there are no tidal influences on Dragon Run.
The land use in the watershed is dominated by urban and agriculture uses.
The land use in the watershed is dominated by urban and agriculture uses.
Water Quality
There are nutrient and bacteria TMDLs for the Dragon Run Creek Watershed that require 40% reductions in nitrogen and phosphorus loads and 15% reduction in bacteria loads. There are several point source facilities in the watershed but because of the outfall locations that do not discharge to Dragon Run Creek, there are only nonpoint sources of pollution in this watershed.
The designated uses set for the Dragon Run Creek watershed include primary recreation, secondary recreation, fish, aquatic life, and wildlife, industrial water supply, and agricultural water supply and public water supply sources in the freshwater segments.
This watershed has sites sampled for a consistent suite of environmental contaminants. These contaminants are broadly classified as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs), Pesticides, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Metals as listed using USEPA and DNREC defined standards. When sites are adjacent to water bodies sediment samples are collected to assess potential impact from a site on the health of the waters. Learn more information specific to this watershed from the DNREC Advanced Facility Search Tool.
The designated uses set for the Dragon Run Creek watershed include primary recreation, secondary recreation, fish, aquatic life, and wildlife, industrial water supply, and agricultural water supply and public water supply sources in the freshwater segments.
This watershed has sites sampled for a consistent suite of environmental contaminants. These contaminants are broadly classified as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs), Pesticides, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Metals as listed using USEPA and DNREC defined standards. When sites are adjacent to water bodies sediment samples are collected to assess potential impact from a site on the health of the waters. Learn more information specific to this watershed from the DNREC Advanced Facility Search Tool.
Plants and Wildlife
Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), Division of Fish and Wildlife conducts on-going inventories of natural communities as well as rare and declining species, (e.g., state and globally-rare plants, birds, insects, mussels, reptiles, and amphibians). It maintains a database, both electronic and manual, of its findings throughout the state. Learn more about the wildlife and plant communities in this watershed from the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Programs.
In addition, the Division of Fish and Wildlife, working with the University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration – Water Resources Center, maintains online databases about plants and plant communities in Delaware. Learn more about the plant communities in this watershed from the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife.
In addition, the Division of Fish and Wildlife, working with the University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration – Water Resources Center, maintains online databases about plants and plant communities in Delaware. Learn more about the plant communities in this watershed from the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife.
Further Resources
For more detailed information on this watershed, its water quality and resources, check out the following resources:
Delaware TMDLs
Delaware Whole Basin Reports
CCMP for the Delaware Estuary
Delaware TMDLs
Delaware Whole Basin Reports
CCMP for the Delaware Estuary
Dragon Run Creek
Dragon Run Creek quick stats
Square Miles: 10.4
Population*: 7,484
States: DE
Counties: DE: New Castle
*US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 5-year estimates, 2019
Land use† in Dragon Run Creek
†Land use source: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 2024, Annual NLCD Collection 1 Science Products (ver. 1.1, June 2025): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P94UXNTS.