The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Citizen Education Fund through its Water Resources Education Network is pleased to announce the opening of the 2015 Source Water Protection Collaborative Grants.  Applications are due March 20.

Funding is available to help launch or strengthen community partnerships that raise awareness and educate citizens about ways to keep Pennsylvania drinking water resources clean and healthy.

If your proposal meets our criteria, we'll work together with you to help make your project a success. 

Source Water Protection Collaborative grant awards are available up to $8,000 per project to foster and support the formation of coalitions that will educate local officials and residents about ways to protect public drinking water resources from contamination, improve emergency response coordination and ensure the community water supply will be sustainable. 

For 2015, applicants can select from three tiers for source water protection grants: 

-- Local Project: Application submitted by a partnership (comprised of at least one community water system and one or two additional organizations) that form a Local Source Water Collaborative to conduct source water protection public education and implement a priority protection action within the recharge or aquifer area. Maximum funding: $3,000/project.

-- Expanded Local Project: Application submitted by a partnership (comprised of two or more community water systems and one or two additional organizations) that form an Expanded Local Source Water Collaborative to conduct source water protection public education and implement a priority protection action within a shared aquifer recharge area or upstream/downstream watershed intake area. Maximum funding: $5,000/project.

-- County SWP Collaborative Project: Application submitted by a partnership comprised of two or more community water systems and two additional organizations, one of which must be a county level entity. The partnership will form a County Source Water Collaborative (with commitment of County Commissioners and/or County Planning Department, etc.) to conduct source water protection public education and implement a priority drinking water protection action within the County. Maximum funding: $8,000/project.

Details about the three-tiered SWP grant track, as well as grant guidance information and application forms are available at the WREN Source Water Protection Collaborative Grants webpage.

2/2/2015