American Water Announces 2016 Environmental Grant Award Recipients
August 09 2016 - 4:15PM
Business Wire
Company Awards More Than $150,000 to 42
Community Improvement Projects
American Water (NYSE: AWK), the largest publicly traded U.S.
water and wastewater utility company, announced today the
recipients of the company’s 2016 Environmental Grant Program
awards. A total of 42 projects throughout American Water’s service
areas in ten states will be supported by grants totaling
$153,350.
Established in 2005, American Water’s Environmental Grant
Program offers funds for innovative, community-based environmental
projects that improve, restore or protect the watersheds, surface
water and/or groundwater supplies in the communities it serves.
“Once again, we are inspired by each one of these 42
organizations commitment to making a difference in one our
communities, and we are very proud to partner with them to turn
their plans into a reality,” said Susan Story, president and CEO of
American Water. “Now in its tenth year, our environmental grant
program has provided more than $1.4 million of needed support for
373 projects to help improve, restore and protect our valuable
natural resources through partnerships. We are very proud to
support these programs and the people behind them – many of whom
are volunteers and neighbors in the communities we serve.”
The 2016 grant recipients, which are located throughout American
Water’s service areas, include the following:
California
California American Water is issuing two grants totaling $10,000
to the following organizations:
- Located in its Monterey service area,
the non-profit Carmel River Watershed Conservancy was
awarded $6,500 to fund its Watershed Docent Training Project. The
project promotes the development of a watershed preservation
curriculum and the training of docents to educate and inform the
public and students about becoming better stewards of the Carmel
River and its watershed.
- Outdoor Outreach was awarded
$3,500 for their WatershedConnect Project. As part of the project,
Outdoor Outreach, through recreations and stewardship activities,
will create meaningful and learning activities for underserved and
at-risk teens in the San Diego Region. The program will engage more
than 100 diverse youth from underserved communities in Imperial
Beach, South San Diego and Chula Vista.
Illinois
Illinois American Water is issuing five grants totaling $15,000
to the following organizations:
- The Alton Community School District
#11’s Rock Spring Park Watershed Restoration Project will
receive a $4,000 grant for a bio retention system and rain garden
to be constructed in an outdoor classroom area of Rock Spring Park
to remediate storm water accumulation and resulting stagnant pools.
Middle School students will be involved in the project based
learning on the design, construction and maintenance.
- The City of South Beloit will
receive a $3,000 grant for the community’s Nature At the Confluence
Stream Team Programing, which will educate and engage residents in
clean water and community revitalization. Programming will include
citizen science stream monitoring, rain barrel & container
gardening, watershed interpretive signage and more.
- Urbana Park District Douglas Creek
Restoration Project will receive a $4,000 grant for a project
that will restore native plants, trees and shrubs in the wetland
and creek channel. Interpretative signing will be installed to
educate Meadowbrook Park’s visitors about the important and impact
of local waterways.
- Peoria Park District’s Illinois
River Sweep will receive their full grant request of $1,500 to
fund supplies for the annual Illinois River clean-up effort. Over
100 volunteers are expected to attend the event which removes trash
and debris from the river shorelines.
- The Pekin Park District will
receive a $2,500 grant for the Lick Creek Watershed Invasive
Species Control and Restoration project. This project focuses on
invasive species control and restoration along the Lick Creek
corridor of McNaughton Park. Volunteers will be trained to remove
invasive species along 15 acres of the Lick Creek Corridor.
Indiana
Indiana American Water is issuing four grants totaling more than
$10,000 to the following organizations:
- Schmidt Park Rain Garden &
Nature Scape Project: The City of Franklin is partnering with
several Johnson County organizations to create a rain garden Nature
Scape project at Robert C. Schmidt Park. The project will involve
the construction of a demonstration project that promotes the use
of rain garden type bio-swales as a method of storing and treating
storm water runoff. The project will also include an education
component that includes signage and displays at the project
site.
- Wildcat Experience Expansion:
Funds from the grant will help expand the Wildcat Experience, an
interactive field trip on the Wildcat Creek involving students and
water resource professionals, to include all Howard County freshmen
high school students. The event has previously been offered only to
freshmen taking biology and environmental science classes.
- Reduce, Rehydrate and Educate
Project: The Muncie Sanitary District is partnering with Muncie
Central High School and the Buley Community Center to install
bottle-filling stations and to develop an educational program that
encourages the reduction of disposable plastic water waste, good
hydration, and educates youth about local water resource
issues.
- Biotic Water Quality Testing at
Mulvey Pond & Bachner Nature Preserve: In order to better
understand water quality and introduce watershed stewardship to the
local community, NICHES will be conducting macro-invertebrate
sampling at Mulvey Pond in West Lafayette and Bachner Nature
Preserve located southwest of Crawfordsville, Ind. The testing,
which will be done over a period of time, will be used to measure
the effects of watershed clean-up and habitat restoration efforts
on the native habitat.
Iowa
Iowa American Water is issuing four grants totaling $8,200 to
the following organizations:
- City of Bettendorf will be
awarded $4,000 for its Hopewell Storm Water Pond Water Quality
Improvement Program. Water samples will be collected from the
stream entering from the watershed and at the overflow structure.
Samples will be tested for nitrate levels with the goal of
significant reduction as water passes through the pond and
continues through the watershed. Nitrate concentration is expected
to decrease by 75 percent or more.
- Nahant Marsh Education Center
will be awarded $2,000 for its Sedge Meadow Restoration and
Enhancement project. Nahant Marsh staff and volunteers will survey
7.5 acres of Sedge Meadows. A variety of methods will be used to
reduce invasive species cover, and native plants will be
re-introduced. Volunteers will assist in monitoring and managing
the site.
- Keep Scott County Beautiful will
be awarded $1,700 for its Xstream Cleanup 2016. Xstream Cleanup
(XC) is an annual Quad-City wide cleanup of the Mississippi River.
This year XC will grow larger thanks to a new format that includes
more cleanups scheduled throughout the year. Since 2004, XC
volunteers have removed nearly 1 million pounds of debris from area
waterways and provided more than 44,000 hours of volunteer
labor.
- Clinton High School Chemistry
Department will be awarded a $500 grant for its “Investigating
Dangerous Chemicals in our Watershed” project. Students in a
Clinton High School chemistry class have taken a keen interest in
testing for the chemicals in the local watershed that could
potentially contaminate their drinking water. The grant will help
purchase supplies necessary for student monitoring and
testing.
Kentucky
Kentucky American Water is issuing three grants totaling $11,300
to the following organizations:
- Data Driven Clean Water,
coordinated by the Licking River Watershed Watch in partnership
with Friends of Stoner Creek, Strodes Creek Conservancy, Kentucky
Division of Water, Northern Kentucky University, Morehead State
University, and Fouser Environmental will receive $3,500 for a
project that will involve monitoring water quality for E. coli and
nutrients in the Licking River Watershed.
- Riparian vegetation showcase on Wolf
Run at Clays Mill Road, coordinated by Friends of Parks in
Fayette County, in partnership with Friends of Wolf Run, Bluegrass
Woodland Restoration Center, Fayette County Public Schools and Good
Foods Co-op will receive a $5,000 grant. The project will involve
removing alien weeds and planting native species in former
residential lots that have been acquired by the city of Lexington
using FEMA funds, and now converted to riparian greenways after the
removal of all structures.
- Bourbon County Tire Removal and Tree
Planting, coordinated by Friends of Stoner Creek in partnership
with Bourbon County Road Department, Bourbon County Boy Scouts,
Bourbon County Extension Agency, Future Farmers of America –
Bourbon County, and 4-H Bourbon County, will continue efforts to
remove tires from Stoner Creek and its tributaries and plant trees
along the same, in order to improve water quality. Stoner Creek is
the source of water for the City of Paris and Millersburg. The
grant award is $2,800.
Missouri
Missouri American Water is issuing five grants totaling $20,600
to the following organizations:
- The Open Space Council, located
in St. Louis, will use funds to organize a volunteer clean-up event
in Arnold, MO. to remove debris from the flooding of the Meramec
River in December of 2015.
- Wildcat Glades Conservation and
Audubon Center, in Joplin, will use funds for the annual “Shoal
Creek Water Festival” bringing awareness to the need to protect
Shoal Creek as it is Joplin’s main source of drinking water.
- Missouri River Relief for the “Big
Muddy Home Waters” clean-up will use its funds to organize
community based clean-ups of trash from the Missouri River in Cole,
Callaway and Boone Counties.
- The Missouri Stream Team Watershed
Coalition will use the grant to launch “Paddle Missouri,” a
100-mile journey to inspire, educate and strengthen the
participants’ understanding of roles the Missouri River plays in
our state.
- The St. Joseph Youth Alliance
will use funds for their annual prescription drug drop-off disposal
program.
New Jersey
New Jersey American Water is issuing three grants totaling
$24,500 to the following organizations:
- Berkeley Heights Public Schools
has been awarded $4,500 to build a rain garden at Columbia Middle
School with the potential to catch nearly 6,000 gallons of water in
a typical rain storm. The project will also educate citizens on
building their own rain gardens.
- The New Jersey Tree Foundation,
Inc. will receive $10,000 to reforest schools in Plainfield. As
much as 240 square feet of concrete will be replaced with
approximately 30 trees, which will improve the sustainability of
the Raritan Watershed. The foundation estimates the trees could
filter up to 23,650 gallons of storm water in the first year of the
project.
- Gibbsboro Community Garden
Project has been granted $10,000 to create an organic,
sustainable community garden at Pole Hill Park in the Borough of
Gibbsboro. The garden will also serve as an education facility that
will offer courses on chemical-free gardening to local residents,
school groups and seniors.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania American Water is issuing seven grants totaling
nearly $35,000 to the following organizations:
- Armstrong Conservation District
in Armstrong County will use its grant to develop a website and
outreach program that uses GPS technology and geocaching to draw
geocache seekers to local watershed improvement projects. The
program is designed to highlight best management practices among
watershed restoration and protection projects.
- Audubon Society of Western
Pennsylvania in Butler County will host a workshop for local
municipalities to receive hands-on training on the installation of
a rain garden at a community park. When completed, the rain garden
will not only improve the health of the Connoquenessing Creek but
also serve as a model for local residents.
- Berks Nature in Berks County
will use its grant to provide hands-on environmental education for
students at Wilson West Middle School. The project includes
developing an outdoor learning environment where students will
learn about the watershed, drinking water supplies and stormwater
issues while also conducting water testing and data
collection.
- Lacawac Sanctuary in Wayne
County will develop a water resource program for fourth-grade
classes in Luzerne County that will educate students on the
importance of watersheds and how to protect water sources.
- Lawrence County Conservation
District will develop two youth nature camps to connect local
children to the environment through hands-on lessons, activities
and crafts.
- Lehman Sanctuary in Luzerne
County will fund the building of a field station within the
Huntsville Reservoir watershed to enable environmental education
programs for students, in addition to helping naturalists and
educators conduct research and teaching opportunities.
- Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper
in Union County will use the funding to develop a best practices
manual for planning and measuring stream clean-up projects, as well
as provide training via webinars for watershed associations and
environmental organizations, and a webpage to house the manual and
a calendar of clean-up projects. The project also includes plans to
develop a children's book about taking care of the river.
Tennessee
Tennessee American Water is issuing three grants totaling $8,750
to the following organizations:
- Lookout Mountain Conservancy for
their water quality project in coordination with The Howard School
students.
- Tennessee River Gorge Trust to
expand their water quality monitoring and offer community
education.
- Hamilton County Coalition for
their project with educating the community on proper medication
disposal through Drug Take Back community events and youth
involvement.
West Virginia
West Virginia American Water is issuing six grants totaling
$10,000 to the following organizations:
- Capitol Conservation District is
receiving $2,500 for their Soil Tunnel Trailer.
- Davis Creek Watershed
Association will receive $1,750 to purchase data loggers to
monitor water quality.
- Ernie Nester Chapter Trout
Unlimited is using its $650 grant for temperature monitoring in
Davis Creek and Trace Fork.
- Marshall University will use its
$1,400 grant for the Creek Geek watershed education program.
- Morris Creek Watershed
Association is receiving $1,700 for Japanese Knotweed
eradication.
- Spruce Fork Community Advisory
Panel is being granted $2,000 for the Rockhouse Lake
revitalization project.
Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest publicly traded
U.S. water and wastewater utility company. Marking its 130th
anniversary this year, the company employs more than 6,700
dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based
drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an
estimated 15 million people in 47 states and Ontario, Canada. More
information can be found at www.amwater.com.
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Manager856-309-4690denise.free@amwater.com
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