The Delaware River’s salt line is moving | Morning Newsletter
🚰 What it means for drinking water
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The Morning Newsletter
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Hi, Philly.
We’re finally going to see some rain starting Wednesday night. It won’t push us out of a drought, but it hints at a change in weather patterns on the way.
As the region endures very dry conditions, the Delaware River’s water levels have dropped to 60%, and the salt front — commonly called the “salt line” — is now in territory well above normal. Our top story explores what this all means and where our drinking water comes into play.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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In recent weeks, the salt line along the Delaware has advanced northward, the result of the last three extremely dry months.
🧂 The salt line is a metric that separates salt and fresh water. The fluctuating boundary shows salinity in the tidal portion of the river.
🌊 When there’s little to no rain, the flow of the Delaware weakens, allowing salt to intrude.
📍 Right now, the salt line is near Philadelphia International Airport. That’s about 20 miles north of average this time of year, and about 20 miles south of the Baxter water treatment plant in Torresdale.
🚰 Philadelphia pulls its drinking water from that treatment plant. If the salt line gets as far as the Ben Franklin Bridge, the water department says “very small increases in chloride” could be evident. But reservoir releases would keep it from getting too close.
Read the full report from Frank Kummer on current river conditions, the state of reservoir storage, and what officials are saying and doing. Plus, Tony Wood explains why we should care about the salt line.
The boxing gym on North Broad Street was a home for all — until it wasn’t.
Joe Frazier, a legendary heavyweight champion, constantly fixed his gym, seen as a historic sanctuary to many. It was the very place where Frazier trained for his fights against Muhammad Ali.
But Frazier lost the building in 2011 after owing the city about $127,000 in unpaid taxes. He died later that same year. Under new owners, the gym was turned into a discount furniture store, then later acquired again in 2022 for $850,000.
The building is rapidly deteriorating. It has failed three consecutive city inspections. The Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections recently declared it “unsafe.” Now, it could face demolition, despite its landmark status.
Alex Coffey and Ryan W. Briggs dive into the crumbling gym’s storied past as its fate remains uncertain.
What you should know today
Leaders of three distinct unions that represent SEPTA operators and municipal workers say they are coordinating strategy amid separate contract negotiations, which could include a united-front strike.
Officials are investigating after a Northeast Philly man found a burning body on the driveway of a home early Tuesday morning.
A 77-year-old woman has died after police officers and a firefighter pulled her from a car submerged in the Schuylkill near Bala Cynwyd on Tuesday morning, according to the Lower Merion Police Department.
Police are investigating after two people were left injured following a stabbing at a Northeast Philadelphia middle school on Tuesday afternoon.
An altercation involving a knife vs. a gun led to a 68-year-old man getting shot and critically wounded on a SEPTA subway platform in Center City late Tuesday morning, authorities said.
President-elect Donald Trump tapped Haverford College mega-donor and Wall Street financial executive Howard Lutnick to serve as secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro defended U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s decision to move forward with a recount, pointing to Republican Dave McCormick’s own unsuccessful recount in 2022 in a much closer election.
Drexel University this month laid off 60 professional staff employees, as it continues to address a budget crunch. And layoffs at aerospace company Boeing will impact workers in Delco and Western Pennsylvania.
Three former Philadelphia elected officials who were convicted on corruption charges and left office in disgrace have found a second chance — with taxpayer-funded jobs.
Veteran restaurateur Matt Rossi closed both Nick’s Roast Beef in Northeast Philly and Dockside Bensalem in Bucks County over the weekend.
Starting Dec. 2, two Philly neighborhoods will begin testing twice-weekly trash pickup programs.
🧠 Trivia time
Mike Hauke of the Atlantic City-based sub and pizzeria chain Tony Boloney has been working on reinventing this deep-fried favorite.
A) French fries
B) mozzarella sticks
C) cheese curds
D) chicken tenders
Think you know? Check your answer.
What (and who) we’re...
📺 Excited to see: Two stars from the Philly region join forces on a new Netflix special.
🧀 Meeting: The supergroup behind the new cheesesteak stand at Reading Terminal Market.
👀 Wondering: Are we bougie enough for a caviar kiosk?
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Wildwood’s iconic wood-and-steel roller coaster with a 150-foot drop
EIGHT WATER
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Jim Diamond who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Philadelphia Orchestra. Eighty years ago, its musicians were recording underground, anonymous albums. No one knew that until recently.
Penn is giving out free gun safes to help Philadelphians secure their firearms. The program is part of a long-running effort at Penn Medicine to help keep guns away from children.
👋🏽 See you again tomorrow with the latest news.
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