On April 30, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission announced the award of $8 million to support 27 Consumptive Use Mitigation Projects to improve water availability and quality during critical low flow periods.

Thirteen of the projects funded are in environmental justice communities.

Click Here for a list of grants awarded and a project descriptions.

"Each year we seek out innovative projects that will inspire and promote water supply enhancement activities into an uncertain future climate,” said Andrew Dehoff, SRBC Executive Director. “And each year the exceptional pool of applicants does not disappoint. We’re excited to again fund some truly beneficial projects that will strengthen the water resiliency of our basin, especially during periods of drought.”

Consumptive use refers to water that is used but not returned to rivers and streams because it is evaporated, transpired, incorporated into products or otherwise lost.

The grants are funded by fees paid to SRBC through regulated projects as mitigation for their consumptive water use.

Awardees will use the funding to reduce water use or enhance supply, therefore helping to protect public health and safety, avoid water use conflicts, prevent water quality impacts, support economic production and sustain ecological flows.

Collectively these projects are bringing nearly $5 million in matching dollars to the table, underscoring tremendous partnerships and the strength of leveraging Commission funds for the common goal of an enhanced river basin.

Awardees include municipalities, golf courses, industry and non-profits seeking to implement forward-thinking projects for the benefit of their communities.

For example, the Borough of Hanover [PA] is receiving funds to improve its dam’s damaged intake tower which will allow the Borough to quickly respond during rain events, improving safety while increasing water capture, and more precisely control the outflow during dry periods.

These grant funds will also reduce future rate increases for their water customers, who are located in a potentially stressed area and environmental justice community.

Cargill Meat Solutions [Wyalusing, PA] aims to save approximately 30 million gallons of water a year by installing a condensate recovery system.

 By collecting condensate from their process facility and feeding it to their boiler system, they’ll reduce the amount of water withdrawn from wells at the plant.

Other benefits include reducing the amount of energy used to boil water and reducing the amount of salt and chemicals used each year.

In its first two years, the program funded 37 projects with a total of $12.7 million.

To learn more about this program, visit SRBC's Consumptive Use Mitigation Project Grant Program webpage.

For more information on programs, training opportunities and upcoming events, visit the Susquehanna River Basin Commission website.  Click Here to sign up for SRBC’s newsletter.   Follow SRBC on Twitter, visit them on YouTube.

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[Posted: May 1, 2024]

5/6/2024