Environmental Navigator (SiteIndex) Database

About the Environmental Navigator

The Environmental Navigator is a web-based interactive mapping application that provides access to DNREC's store of information about Delaware . Use it to answer questions such as "What regulated facilities are near my home?" or "Are there any historic buildings near a planned development?" or "Where are the parks in my county?"

Today the Navigator contains primarily information about specific sites of interest to DNREC but it will eventually include additional information such as aerial photos, wetlands, land use, biodiversity indices, soil types, air and water ambient monitoring results, and facility violations. 

The Environmental Navigator includes summary information on over 8000 sites of more than twenty types. Information on each site includes site name, ID number, status, location (XY, county, basin, watershed), and a hyperlink to more information about that site if it exists. Potential contaminant source sites also include a Contaminant Source Potential Rating and monitoring status information by media and contaminant class. Click on the links below to find out more about:

Getting Started

To begin using the Environmental Navigator, select a starting map view from the list on the left side of the title page. There are currently three map views available: open space sites, historical sites, and potential contaminant sites. The main page of the Environmental Navigator allows the user to interactively create a map or zoom to a location of interest and access site-specific information. To help you get started using the Environmental Navigator, steps to perform some common operations are listed in the examples below. We suggest that you try these examples following the step-by-step instructions to quickly get started using the Environmental Navigator.


Example 1. Finding historical sites in a town.

1. From the title page, select "Historical Sites' as the starting map view.

2. Select a town from the drop-down list of Towns and click on the 'Go' button next to the drop-down list.

3. Click on the 'Update Map' button above the map. Any historical sites in the map view extent will be shown.

4. To identify a site, click on the 'Identify' button at the top of the map, and then click on a historical site shown on the map. The site that you click on will be listed to the right of the map view in the 'Identified Sites' section. Click on the site name to access additional information related to the site.

NOTE: To find potential contaminant sites or open space (recreational) sites, repeat the steps outlined above using the desired site type map layer. In addition to zooming to a town, you can also zoom to a county, basin, or watershed using the drop-down lists. If your area of interest is outside of a listed zoom-to area, use the 'Zoom-in' and 'Recenter' operations to move around the map OR use the 'Find an address...' feature to locate a specific address.


Example 2. Finding contaminated sites in a watershed.

1. From the title page, select "Potential Sources of Contamination' as the starting map view.

2. The sites in the selected watershed need to be filtered based on contaminant rating. A rating of 5 or 6 corresponds to a known contaminated site (see Contaminant Source Potential Ratings). In the contaminant site display options section, place a check in the box labeled 'Apply spatial filter' to filter by watershed. Next, select '5' to '6' in the drop-down lists labeled 'Site Rating:' to filter for sites with ratings from 5 to 6. Next click on the 'Update map' button to apply the filter. All sites matching the filter will be shown on the map.

3. Select a watershed from the drop-down list of Watersheds in the zoom to frame in the lower left of the map view.

4. To identify a site, click on the 'Identify' button at the top of the map, and then click on a site shown on the map. The site that you click on will be listed to the right of the map view in the 'Identified Sites' section. Click on the site name to access additional information related to the site.


Hint: After applying filters click on the 'Reset' button to reset the filter to the default settings.


Example 3. Finding a specific address.

Use the Find Address frame in the lower right of the map view to locate a specific address. You can enter a street address or intersection and zoom to the matching addresses found. You can also specify a zoom radius to determine how much of the surrounding area you want to view.
 

Contaminant Source Potential Ratings

CSPRs are ratings of a site's potential to release contaminants to surface water (SW), ground water (GW), soil, sediments (SED) and air by contaminant class. Ratings are based on monitoring data and/or best professional judgment. Monitoring and sampling status at each site are also included.

Possible ratings for each media / contaminant class combination are:

Potential / Possible Sources (Ratings 1-3):

Known Sources (Ratings 4-6):

Contaminant Classes

Nutrients: Nitrate, ammonia, phosphate
Pathogens: Bacteria and other pathogens
Petroleum: Gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, waste oil
Organics: chlorinated solvents, degreasers, alcohols, paint thinners, other organics
Pesticides: Pesticides and/or herbicides
PCBs: Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Metals: Iron, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, manganese, nickel, lead, zinc,. . . .
Inorganics: Other contaminants not listed above including chloride, sulfate, TDS, pH, heat

 


Finding an address

The 'Find Address' option is located in the lower right frame of the Map View. The Find Sites option allows you to find a specified street address or intersection.

To find an address:

1. Enter the street address (ex. 123 Main Street ) in the box for Street Address.
2. Enter the zip code (if known),
3. Select a zoom radius from the drop-down list. The map extent will be set to the selected radius.
4. Click on the 'Submit' button to locate the specified address.

To find an intersection:

1. Enter the first street (ex. Main Street ) in the box for Street Address 1.
2. Enter the second street ( ex. Center Street ) in the box for Street Address 2.
3. Enter the zip code (if known),
4. Select a zoom radius from the drop-down list. The map extent will be set to the selected radius.
5. Click on the 'Submit' button to locate the specified intersection.

Notes: If multiple matching sites are found, you will be presented a list of the matching sites. Click on a site to zoom to the site.

The search radius will be displayed as a gray circle on the map. To clear the search radius, click on the 'Reset' button.


Frequently Asked Questions

Where Is It? <http://www.dnrec.state.de.us/> (Select Environmental Navigator under the Environmental Databases section)

What Do I Need To Access The Site? Any computer with an Internet connection and at least Internet Explorer 4.0 or Netscape 3.0. The site is designed to work with a resolution of 800 X 600 but will be easier to use at a higher resolution.

How often is the data updated? Update frequency varies by site type. To view the date of the last update and the update frequency, identify a site of the type you are interested in and then click the site hyperlink to access the site report. The desired information will be in the metadata section near the bottom of the page.

How do I find out more about a site? First, look for a site web link in the report for a site. If it is present, follow the link to an online database about the site. If no site web link is present, then check for a site type web link near the bottom of the report page. If no site web link is present, look for a phone number to call for the responsible agency near the bottom of the page.

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