July 15, 2026
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
Camden announced a $400 million plan to improve county waterways. Above, wildlife at Cooper River.
In discussing the potential impact of Camden County's $400 million water cleanup plan that was unveiled Tuesday, Commissioner Jeff Nash highlighted the regattas long held on the Cooper River. The boat races bring people from all over the world, he said, and they never would have happened without the enactment of the Clean Water Act in 1972.
"That's a good example of what clean water will do for an economy," Nash said. "The regattas bring an enormous economic benefit to the community, people come in from outside, the people who live here and work here take advantage of these amenities, all of our parks are packed on a nice day."
The driving force of the proposal is to rejuvenate waterways to support recreational activities like fishing, kayaking and swimming, and to protect the roads from flooding and other infrastructure issues. Atco Lake, Big Timber Creek, the Cooper River, Evans Pond, Kirkwood Lake, Pennsauken Creek and Wallworth Lake would receive treatment.
The plan starts with repairing and replacing municipal sewer lines that are leaking wastewater, then fixes stormwater outfalls that can cause backup and flooding when they're under stress. It also includes separating combined sewer systems, especially in Camden and Gloucester, and adding green infrastructure repairs like rain gardens that help stop runoff. Finally, Nash said it involves dredging lakes and streams to improve the water quality.
After that's all complete, officials want to add boat launches, kayak rentals and boat and fishing piers for water recreation. And the ultimate goal is to make the rivers and lakes swimmable, and provide swimming lessons to residents.
However, how the plan is funded remains to be seen. Officials want to raise the Open Space Tax from two cents to three cents, which they say is still less than the same tax in Burlington and Gloucester counties. Voters will have the chance to approve or deny that increase in November. If it gets approved, Camden County would be allowed to borrow from the state's water bank, which funds large-scale capital projects involving water. The plan would cost $400 million in total, and Nash said that newly announced grants from the state might also help fund the project.
All in all, the changes will tentatively take 10 years to complete, but that timeline is also dependent on receiving the funds from the tax increase, Nash said.
Nash said the plan was in response to two recent reports about Cooper River and Big Chipper Creek, which showed that both had infrastructure in need of repairs. The reports also showed that Cooper River, which was last dredged in 2017, already needs to be dredged again.
For Nash, making those improvements is crucial for the county's future. He said polling has shown that its parks are very popular, and that Cooper River draws over $20 million annually in economic benefits for restaurants, hotels and shops.
"We have an obligation to maintain our recreational areas, not only the parks but also the water bodies, and so people feel very good about everything that we've seen," Nash said. "People feel very good about what they have today, but the trick is to maintain it. And when things become older and broken down, either we can shrug our shoulders and pass the problem onto the next generation, or we can roll up our sleeves and fix the problem today for the benefit of tomorrow."
