A wide variety of conservation projects are eligible for funding, such as watershed cleanups, reforestation efforts, biodiversity projects, streamside buffer restoration projects, wellhead protection initiatives and hazardous waste collection efforts.
Every individual and community has the ability to positively impact our water resources, said Kent Turner, president of California American Water. We encourage municipalities, schools, environmental organizations and civic groups to apply for a grant to support projects that will benefit their watersheds.
To qualify, a proposed project must be:
Located within California American Water’s service area;
Completed between June 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009; and
A new community initiative or serve as a significant expansion to an existing program.
Projects will be judged based on criteria that include clarity of project goals and projected impact, strength of collaboration with other community and/or municipal organizations and evidence that the project will provide sustainable environmental results after California American Water’s funding ends.
In 2008, the program supported the Sacramento River Watershed Program and the Community Clean Water Institute. The $5,000 grant awarded to the Sacramento River Watershed Program was used to underwrite two workshops focused on water quality issues and the development of a sustainable regional water quality monitoring program. The same amount was awarded to the Community Clean Water institute to perform quality and in-stream flow monitoring at five locations of the Mark West Creek watershed in the Larkfield and Wikiup areas of Sonoma County.
