Environmental Regulators Fear Invasive Alga Along Delaware River

Susan Phillips

Recent Stories

Susan Phillips tells stories about the consequences of political decisions on people's every day lives. She has worked as a reporter for WHYY since 2004. Susan's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election resulted in a story on the front page of the New York Times. In 2010 she traveled to Haiti to cover the earthquake. That same year she produced an award-winning series on Pennsylvania's natural gas rush called "The Shale Game." She received a 2013 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award for her work covering natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. She has also won several Edward R. Murrow awards for her work with StateImpact. In 2013/14 she spent a year at MIT as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. She has also been a Metcalf Fellow, an MBL Logan Science Journalism Fellow and reported from Marrakech on the 2016 climate talks as an International Reporting Project Fellow. A graduate of Columbia School of Journalism, she earned her Bachelor's degree in International Relations from George Washington University.

April 24, 2012 | 5:18 PM

Erik Silldorf / Courtesy of Delaware River Basin Commission

Didymosphenia Geminata on a rock in the Delaware River.

Scientists with the Delaware River Basin Commission are worried about increased sightings of an invasive species known as didymo or “rock snot.” It’s not uncommon to find didymo along the Delaware River. But Erik Silldorf, an aquatic biologist with the DRBC says he just discovered a large swath of blooms extending for 40 miles.

“We knew Didymo occurred in the river,” Dr. Silldorff said in a press release, “but the spatial extent and intensity of this bloom is alarming given its potentially detrimental effect on ecosystems and the ease in which it can be spread to nearby tributaries.”

The DRBC says didymo is not a threat to public health. But its unchecked growth can crowd out other plant life in the riverbed. The commission is urging anglers and hikers to be aware, and clean boots and fishing equipment to prevent its’ spread.