Grantees by State

Alaska

• Anchorage School District
  Anchorage, Alaska - Year: 2011-2012

  The Anchorage School District proposes to connect middle school students with the neighboring community and partnering agencies to monitor and promote water quality restoration of Chester Creek, an important Alaskan watershed and urban stream in Anchorage, Alaska.  Begich Middle School serves the Muldoon neighborhood, a densely populated, low-income area with significant stream degradation.

  Award Amount: $30,280

Arizona

• Arizona State University
  Phoenix Metro-Area, Arizona - Year: 2015-2016
  Community Monitoring of Pollutants in Urban Waterways and Recreational Fisheries in Metro-Phoenix
  Students from Arizona State University, the Phoenix Zoo “ZooTeen” Conservation Team, and two Girl Scouts Troops will monitor water quality in seven aquatic areas in metro-Phoenix. Results will be used to develop recommendations for reducing urban runoff and pollution. Results also will be shared with the Arizona Game and Fish Department for improving aquatic resource management.

  Award Amount: $58,227

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California

• Constitutional Rights Foundation
  Los Angeles County, California - Year: 2015-2016
  Scaling Up Community Assessments of Trash and Industrial Stormwater Pollution Through High School Civic Action Projects
  The Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF), in partnership with Los Angeles Waterkeeper (LAW) and UCLA, will work with four high schools in Los Angeles County. College-aspiring students will be taught how to collect data related to trash and industrial stormwater pollution. Up to five seniors from UCLA’s Environmental Sciences bachelors program will serve as peer mentors and role models for participants.

  Award Amount: $59,673

• Heal the Bay
  Los Angeles, California - Year: 2015-2016 
  Heal the Bay’s Urban Stream Team: Los Angeles Freshwater Recreation Monitoring Project
  Heal the Bay will monitor bacterial water pollution at two recreational zones in the Los Angeles River. Water quality data will be made available regularly to the public. Results of the study will be used to make recommendations to agencies and watershed stakeholders for improving water quality and protecting public health.

  Award Amount: $59,998

• Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA)
  Los Angeles Watershed, Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, California - Year: 2013-2014
   

  The Mountains Recreation and conservation Authority (MRCA) will continue to work on its River Ambassadors project, which is an educational and engagement program for communities adjacent to the Los Angeles River. Future project work will include a series of training sessions led by MRCA naturalists. Participants will share their knowledge with their local community by creating outreach presentations and conduction river walks for local schools and communities. The project will conclude with the students giving presentations to staff, local officials, and project partner groups.

  Award Amount: $55,021

• UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
  Los Angeles River Watershed—Los Angeles, California - Year: 2013-2014

  In partnership with the Los Angeles Waterkeeper organization, the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability will conduct neighborhood-scale assessments of industrial sources of pollutants to surface water using multiple data, including on-the-ground surveys, aerial photography, information from websites, and stormwater monitoring efforts. Working with a small group of UCLA students, the team will develop a better understanding of the sources of potential surface-water pollution to the Compton Creek Watershed. In addition, the team will develop and implement a teaching curriculum for high school students that is focused on gaining a better understanding of industrial stormwater pollution in the Los Angeles River and Compton Creek watersheds, and generating ideas for identifying solutions.

  Award Amount: $59,965

• California Coastal Commission
  Santa Cruz County, California - Year: 2011-2012

  This two-year project will reduce specific urban sources of water quality impacts in two targeted sub-watershed areas of Watsonville Sloughs. The project will educate English and Spanish speaking community members about common impacts to these wetland areas from daily pollution generated at the residential level, which can then be carried straight to the sloughs by rain and dry season water flows (such as overwatering, leaky hoses and fixtures, and car washing). Focus will be placed on making direct contact to provide inexpensive “simple solutions” to pollution prevention (i.e., sprinkler timers, proper application of household pesticides and fertilizers, importance of trash can lids) and then connecting residents to extensive local resources for the implementation of various strategies and practices for infiltration (i.e., rain barrels, gardens).

  Award Amount: $57,770

• Council for Watershed Health
  Los Angeles, California - Year: 2011-2012

  The Council for Watershed Health will develop a Los Angeles River Watershed assessment framework and then disseminate the results to the community via multi-media outlets. The Council for Watershed Health will work with the EPA's Urban Waters Partnership and local stakeholders to identify factors and report out to the community.

  Award Amount: $59,925

• Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed
  Brentwood, California- Year: 2011-2012

  The Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed proposes to restore water quality in the Marsh Creek Watershed through increasing understanding and awareness of water quality issues and advancing restoration and stewardship. The main tasks proposed are: 1) Project Management; 2) Water Quality Monitoring; 3) Agricultural Community Outreach and Technical Assistance; 4) Community Member Outreach and Training; 5) Leadership Training; 6) Green Infrastructure Restoration Planning.  The results of this project will lead to significant improvements in water quality, providing multiple benefits to the communities within the project area and the larger Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Revive the San Joaquin
  Fresno, California- Year: 2011-2012

  The Revive the San Joaquin will develop regular citizen-based water quality monitoring events at locations on the San Joaquin River, create baseline data sets that can support San Joaquin River watershed restoration and regional water quality goals, and develop a public participation program that will actively educate adjacent landowners about water quality impacts of contaminated stormwater.

  Award Amount: $59,660

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Colorado

• City and County of Denver
  Denver, Colorado- Year: 2015-2016
  Heron Pond Regional Open Space Master Plan
  The City and County of Denver will develop the Heron Pond Regional Open Space Master Plan. This plan will restore approximately 80 acres of land surrounding Heron Pond, which is within the South Platte River watershed. This effort is expected to reduce urban runoff pollution, improve wildlife habitat, and create recreation opportunities for the highly urbanized, industrial, and under-served Globeville neighborhood.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Groundwork Denver Inc.
  South Platte Watershed—Denver Metropolitan Area, Colorado- Year: 2015-2016
  Lower Bear Creek: Youth Leadership to Solve the Pollution Problem

  Groundwork Denver will investigate the sources of E. coli in Bear Creek in Sheridan, Colorado. Eighteen high school students from Sheridan will be paired with student mentors from Metropolitan State University and trained to collect samples during wet weather events. The goal of the project is to improve the water quality in, access to, and amenities for Bear Creek.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Denver Department of Public Works, Wastewater Management
  South Platte Watershed—Denver Metropolitan Area, Colorado- Year: 2013-2014

  The Denver Department of Public Works, Wastewater Management, will continue and expand the Keep It Clean-Neighborhood Environmental Trios (KIC-NET) outdoor classroom model developed by environmental education nonprofit, Earth Force, in impaired South Platte River and tributary watersheds. The program is expected to help meet pollutant source mitigation needs to protect the South Platte River and Cherry Creek Watersheds while adding value to communities and schools.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Goundwork Denver
  South Platte Watershed—Denver and Sheridan, Colorado- Year: 2013-2014

  Groundwork Denver will develop a Community Stewardship Network, which is expected to improve the water quality of and accessibility to the area surrounding Bear Creek. A key component of this project is the Master River Steward Job Training program, which will engage youth from Denver and Sheridan. These stewards will participate in water quality sampling and engage the broader community through education, outreach, stewardship activities, and recreation activities in the watershed. Outputs—including job training hours, water quality samples collected, households and businesses reached, volunteer hours, and stakeholders joining a Community Stewardship Network—will be tracked.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Earth Force Inc.
  Denver, Colorado- Year: 2011-2012
  Earth Force Inc. will work with Denver Public Works and Denver Public Schools to develop Outdoor Classrooms that reach 750 youth to result in stewardship of the South Platte River. It will also include teacher training workshops and development of an educational toolkit for outdoor classrooms.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Barr Lake & Milton Reservoir Watershed Association
  Denver, Colorado - Year: 2011-2012
  The Barr Lake & Milton Reservoir Watershed Association proposes to bring together the nine watershed associations in the Denver metropolitan area, along with Metropolitan State College of Denver's One World, One Water Center for Urban Water Education and Sustainability (OWOW) and Water 2012 to develop effective, unified, comprehensive clean water messages for a coordinated public outreach campaign (including outreach to communities of color and low-income communities) that partners can implement.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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Connecticut

• Harbor Watch, a Program of Earthplace
  Norwalk, Connecticut- Year: 2011-2012
  Harbor Watch (HW), a program of Earthplace, is a 25-year-old volunteer citizen’s water quality monitoring organization that is proposing a one-year storm drain screening and research project for three major storm drain systems discharging to Norwalk harbor to improve marine water quality at public beaches and for the local shellfish industry. The elimination of contaminating sources will have a clear economic benefit to the Norwalk community that relies on shell fishing for livelihood, and improving the overall water quality for this highly urbanized water body will ultimately lead to a cleaner Long Island Sound.

  Award Amount: $52,637

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Delaware

• Clean Air Council- Year: 2013-2014
  Delaware River Basin—Wilmington, Delaware

  The Clean Air Council will develop and implement a green infrastructure plan to address chronic flooding in the economically disadvantaged Southbridge neighborhood of South Wilmington, Delaware. As part of this project, community members will identify and determine the green policies and infrastructure improvements they would like to incorporate into the neighborhood plan to reduce stormwater runoff and damage.

  Award Amount: $58,106

• Wilderness Inquirty, Inc.- Year: 2013-2014
  Delaware River Basin—Chester and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Camden, New Jersey; and Wilmington, Delaware
  Wilderness Inquiry, Inc., will create opportunities for minority and under-served youth to experience, enjoy, and learn about the Delaware River and its tributaries. A main program component is the Wilderness Inquiry Canoemobile. The Canoemobile is a roving fleet of six 24-foot, 10-passenger Voyageur canoes, staffed by seven highly trained outdoor educators. The Canoemobile will spend three days in each of the four cities (Chester and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Camden, New Jersey, and Wilmington, Delaware) where 2,400 under-served school children will paddle the Delaware River or a major tributary, learn about the watershed and their community, and collect water samples for analysis and study.

  Award Amount: $59,333

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DC

• Anacostia Watershed Society Inc.
  Anacostia Watershed, Washington, DC - Year: 2015-2016
  Saturday Environmental Academy

  The Anacostia Watershed Society will educate and train students from low-income communities in Washington, DC. Students will learn about stormwater runoff and mitigation strategies. The program will include investigative canoe trips on the Anacostia River, tours of LEED-certified buildings and municipal green infrastructure projects, and hands-on restoration activities.

  Award Amount: $50,000

• Living Classrooms of the National Capital Region
  Anacostia Watershed—Washington, DC- Year: 2013-2014

  Living Classrooms of the National Capital Region will engage the third and fifth graders at Watkins Elementary School, located in Washington, D.C., in a comprehensive, hands-on environmental education program during the 2014-2015 school year. The Urban Water Watchers program will consist of three in-class watershed ecology and water quality lessons, a shipboard experience on the Anacostia River aboard the Living Classrooms’ educational vessel, and a recreational boating experience on the Anacostia River using canoes and kayaks.

  Award Amount: $52,062

• Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum
  Anacostia Watershed—Washington, DC- Year: 2013-2014
  Through its Citizen Scientist Project, the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum will engage at-risk high school students in water quality monitoring activities throughout Watts Branch, a tributary to the main basin of the Anacostia Watershed. In addition, the museum will schedule community outreach presentations to discuss the results of these monitoring activities and educate the community on the water quality conditions of the tributary and any associated health effects.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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Georgia

• The Conservation Fund
  Atlanta, Georgia - Year: 2015-2016
  Addressing Stormwater Runoff through Community-Driven Green Infrastructure Projects in the Headwaters of Proctor Creek

  The Conservation Fund (TCF) plans to expand community engagement for two upcoming green infrastructure (GI) projects—Sunset Park and “Boone to Beltline.” A series of educational charrettes will be held to inform the master plans for these projects. Residents also will participate in community tours of GI demonstration sites and flood-prone areas to learn more about urban runoff pollution and GI.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Center for Watershed Protection, Inc.
  Proctor Creek Watershed—Atlanta, Georgia- Year: 2013-2014

  The Center for Watershed Protection, Inc., will provide a replicable blueprint for pollutant load reduction crediting by developing a cost-effective approach to clean urban waters that integrates community-based water monitoring. A stakeholder group will be convened to vet the approach, which is expected to provide significant and quantifiable pollutant reduction to the Proctor Creek watershed in Atlanta. The project team includes the City of Atlanta, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, and Center for Watershed Protection, Inc.

  Award Amount: $59,943

• Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Inc.
  Proctor Creek Watershed—Atlanta, Georgia- Year: 2013-2014
  Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Inc., (CRK) will work with a wide range of partners to engage Proctor Creek Watershed residents to achieve measureable water quality improvements within Proctor Creek and its watershed. CRK will expand its Neighborhood Water Watch Program, in which the community will take an active role in identifying and resolving major pollution problems in the Proctor Creek Watershed. CRK also will implement a water quality education and community organizing initiative where citizens will collect water samples from dozens of locations throughout the watershed and conduct assessments of the collection sites. Samples will be returned to a central lab site where a variety of water quality parameters will be measured. The data will be summarized and mapped; participants will be taught how to interpret results.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Environmental Community Action, Inc.
  Proctor Creek Watershed—Atlanta, Georgia- Year: 2013-2014
  Environmental Community Action, Inc.’s Green Infrastructure Initiative will create a comprehensive “Vision for Action” to reduce flooding and improve water quality in Proctor Creek while revitalizing adjacent low-income neighborhoods. This initiative focuses on the higher-elevation Atlanta University Center (AUC) campuses, which are the sources of much of the contaminated runoff. The project will bring academics together with leaders of under-served communities to better understand the extent and impact of sewage and stormwater flows from the higher-elevation Atlanta University Center campuses on the downstream residential communities.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper  
  Atlanta, Georgia- Year: 2011-2012
  The Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper will expand on the existing Neighborhood Water Watch Program, an existing collaborative partnership of the applicant, civic associations, watershed groups, schools, and government agencies to improve water quality in urban streams and protect public health. Begun in 2010, the program focuses on Atlanta’s urban core, empowering citizens to help improve water quality in their neighborhoods by collecting weekly samples for bacteria in neighborhoods and working with city officials and other appropriate agencies to stop pollution at its source.

  Award Amount: $50,000

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Hawaii

• Malama Maunalua
  Honolulu, Hawaii- Year: 2011-2012
  The health and ecology of Maunalua Bay has been severely impacted by the effects of urban development and population growth during the last 50 years. The goal of the project is to reduce polluted runoff to Maunalua Bay from more than 20,000 households and 6 major commercial centers in the region by creating two highly visible sites to demonstrate stormwater management practices which are intended to increase awareness and influence the behavior of residents, visitors and bay users about the threats to the bay and the need for restoration.

  Award Amount: $59,919

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Illinois

• Openlands
  Chicago, Illinois - Year: 2015-2016
  Space to Grow: Transforming schoolyards into vibrant places that benefit students, communities, and the environment
  Through the Space to Grow program, Openlands will engage communities in the planning and design of schoolyards intended to improve water quality using green infrastructure. A professional development workshop will train teachers to use their new schoolyards as outdoor classrooms and to teach students how native plants and rain gardens contribute to stormwater management. Community events will be held to ensure the community is engaged and empowered to use and maintain the schoolyard.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Friends of the Chicago River
  Chicago, Illinois- Year: 2011-2012
  The Friends of the Chicago River will engage the community in stewardship work that improves water quality, habitat and access, while also providing outreach on stormwater best management practices and river-related water quality issues. The project seeks to increase public understanding and support of the natural value of the Chicago River and open space; increase use of local forest preserves for recreation and restoration activities; and increase use of best management practices (BMPs) by residents.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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Indiana

• Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission
  Northwest Indiana Area—Northwest Indiana- Year: 2013-2014

  The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission will engage community members by establishing a volunteer stream monitoring network in the Little Calumet-Galien sub-basin. In addition to basic water quality parameters, stream staff gauges will be installed so that volunteers can capture flow information to assist with load calculations. The information gathered will be used to support local watershed management planning and implementation efforts and raise awareness of urban water quality issues.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• City of Indianapolis–Office of Sustainability
  Indianapolis, Indiana- Year: 2011-2012
  City of Indianapolis–Office of Sustainability will engage at least 100 individuals in their water currency “demonstration” program to promote watershed friendly choices, educate at least 150 volunteers and land managers about stormwater BMPs at their workshop, and communicate directly with a minimum of 250 landowners to gain interest in the city’s rain garden and native planting area program. 

  Award Amount: $60,000

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Iowa

• City of Iowa City
  Iowa City, Iowa - Year: 2011-2012
  The City of Iowa City will build community consensus around a plan and design alternatives incorporating best practices to modify the Burlington Street Dam for improved water quality, flood mitigation, public safety, and public access to the Iowa River to build a resilient river park system that will store, absorb, and filter polluted runoff and flood waters.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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Kansas

• Kansas State University
  Salina, Kansas- Year: 2011-2012
  The Kansas State University will include educational curriculum for community members to learn to recognize, measure, evaluate, and recommend solutions to reduce pollutant loading into the Old Smoky River channel. They will hold workshops in water quality sampling, stormwater runoff, BMPs/stream bank stabilization methods/green infrastructure, and ending with identifying areas for BMPs which will lead to recommendations into a future restoration plan.

  Award Amount: $ 60,000

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Kentucky

• University of Kentucky
  Lexington, Kentucky - Year: 2011-2012
  The University of Kentucky will engage grade school students, teachers and citizens within the watershed to increase understanding of water quality issues, science career opportunities, and promote urban stream restoration. The project will integrate with a nearby stream restoration project in a city-owned park and a 12-mile streamside walking/biking path in the watershed, presenting a unique opportunity for students and residents to become involved in watershed issues.

  Award Amount: $59,934

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Louisiana

• Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation
  New Orleans, Louisiana - Year: 2015-2016
  Partnering with Under-served Schools and Characterizing Pollutants to Aid Municipal Policy Implementation for Green Infrastructure
  The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) will assess urban runoff from neighborhoods through water sampling, analysis, and modeling of pollutant loads from roofs and parking lots. LPBF will collect water samples during the “first flush” of storm events and analyze them using 15 parameters. Concurrently, partners will install weather stations at three schools near the sampling sites to assess rainfall data and engage the schools to better understand stormwater impacts.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Bayou Land Resource Conservation and Development Council
  Lake Pontchartrain Area—New Orleans, Louisiana- Year: 2013-2014

  The Bayou Land Resource Conservation and Development Council will evaluate the impact of green infrastructure on mosquito breeding and surface water quality in the Pontchartrain Park and Gentilly Woods (“Pontilly”) neighborhoods. The purpose of the project is to ensure that areas where green infrastructure has been constructed are draining properly and thereby preventing mosquito breeding habitats during rain events. The project team will train and work hand-in-hand with local student interns to conduct enhanced mosquito surveillance, and water quantity and quality monitoring in areas where stormwater mitigation programs have been implemented, specifically within the Pontilly project area.

  Award Amount: $59,600

• Global Green USA
  Lake Pontchartrain Area—New Orleans, Louisiana- Year: 2013-2014
  Global Green USA will conduct neighborhood workshops that introduce cost-effective, do-it-yourself stormwater best management practices (BMPs) that can be implemented on homeowners’ lots by the homeowners themselves and organized tours of sites that showcase watershed protection and management through green infrastructure. The tours will provide community members with visual examples of BMPs, some of which are mentioned in the city’s recently established Urban Waters Management Plan.

  Award Amount: $46,884

• Groundwork New Orleans
  Lake Pontchartrain Area—New Orleans, Louisiana - Year: 2013-2014
  Groundwork New Orleans (GWNO) will expand its Green Slice project for continued interdisciplinary development and experiential learning and research within the community and at the Dr. King School. GWNO will involve local governments, stakeholders and partners, and members of the neighborhood—predominantly youths—in green infrastructure design, job training, and skills building. The team’s involvement will enhance the ability of leading stakeholders to address local economic, educational, and recreational needs while improving storm resiliency, addressing water quality issues, and restoring damaged ecosystems and infrastructure.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation
  Lake Pontchartrain Area—New Orleans, Louisiana- Year: 2013-2014
  The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) will implement a project to accelerate the ongoing revitalization of three miles of New Orleans’ lakefront on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Restoring beach access would benefit nearby under-served minority and low-income communities. LPBF also proposes to create a “Guide to the Southshore Lakefront” to promote many types of safe recreation and tell the story of the lake’s recovery. As the growing Hispanic community is discovering the lakefront, new literature and signage will be in Spanish and English.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans
  Lake Pontchartrain Area—New Orleans, Louisiana- Year: 2013-2014
  The Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) will implement a Green Infrastructure Monitoring Project in New Orleans’ Pontilly neighborhoods, which were deeply affected by Hurricane Katrina. The intent of this project is to conduct water quality monitoring in the Pontilly neighborhoods at fixed stations on a flow-stimulated basis. The project team has identified five sites in which to begin pre-construction baseline monitoring of urban runoff, and will continue monitoring at these sites for one year after green infrastructure is installed. The expected results are that the water quality will improve as the green infrastructure sites are implemented.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• The Public Labratory for Open Technology and Science
  Lake Pontchartrain Area—New Orleans, Louisiana- Year: 2013-2014
  In partnership with an existing network of local volunteers and restoration organizations, the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science (Public Lab) will train community members and wetland restoration advocates to monitor and track progress at eight ongoing urban wetland restoration projects in the Lake Pontchartrain area. The project will build capacity in New Orleans, including under-served areas, for citizen-led monitoring of wetlands. The wetland restoration monitoring training will include introduction to basic science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts through real-life application and investigation for sustained engagement in local urban waters issues.

  Award Amount: $52,185

• Groundwork New Orleans
  New Orleans, Louisiana - Year: 2011-2012
  Groundwork New Orleans will use their Urban Waters grant to help transform vacant, underutilized land into an educational demonstration project called The Green Slice, based in the Lower Ninth Ward. The Green Slice will be designed as a demonstration and interdisciplinary research site for water management and water quality improvement, impacting local urban watersheds and developing tools for experiential learning and neighborhood-based outreach.

  Award Amount: $59,824

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Maryland

• University of Maryland
  Anacostia Watershed—Prince Georges County, Maryland- Year: 2013-2014

  The University of Maryland will implement a two-pronged project to help restore impaired sub-watersheds within the Anacostia River Watershed. The first prong will be to design low impact development (LID) solutions to retrofit school roofs, parking lots, service drives, and sport facilities in an effort to reduce runoff discharge and improve water quality. The second prong will be to develop lesson plans that will integrate the LID solutions into outdoor laboratories. The project will be piloted at New Hope Academy in Landover Hills, Maryland.

  Award Amount: $58,648

• University of Baltimore
  Patapsco Watershed—Baltimore, Maryland- Year: 2013-2014
  The University of Baltimore will use DNA-based microbial source tracking to estimate the relative contribution of human and dog fecal bacteria to outfalls from the Mill Corridor, which is a stretch of the lower Jones Falls stream that runs through two historically blue collar neighborhoods. The data from the effort will be provided to the City of Baltimore and the community for prioritizing infrastructure repairs to reduce pet waste. The project team will train community volunteers to monitor water pollution, and educate middle and high school students about their local stream ecosystems. A long-term outcome of the project is expected to be lower bacteria loads in the lower Jones Falls stream and the Inner Harbor.

  Award Amount: $59,827

• Civic Works
  Baltimore, Maryland- Year: 2011-2012
  Civic Works will educate residents in the Patapsco watershed about the benefits of making water-related improvements to their homes through innovative methods such as homeowner-hosted neighborhood meetings and will train community members to perform water retrofits through its B'more Green three-month training program where individuals learn how to reduce a home's water consumption and storm water runoff through installation of various upgrades.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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Massachusetts

• Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
  Holyoke, Massachusetts - Year:2015-2016
  The Secret Stream” - Developing a Green Infrastructure Plan for Day Brook to Reduce CSO Discharges into the Connecticut River

  The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, in partnership with various Holyoke entities, will develop a green infrastructure plan for Day Brook, in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The plan’s objective will be to identify sites where green infrastructure can be installed to reduce combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharges into the Connecticut River. Students from nearby schools will participate through activities that educate them about stormwater and green infrastructure.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Mystic River Watershed Association
  Mystic River Watershed, Massachusetts - Year: 2015-2016 
  A Multimedia Stormwater Education Collaborative On a Watershed Scale

  The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) will create a stormwater education campaign to increase awareness of stormwater pollution. The campaign will include multiple modes of communication to disseminate information about urban runoff pollution. Youth from the under-served communities of Chelsea and Somerville will work closely with MyRWA staff to learn about water quality, urban runoff pollution and their environment.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Alternatives for Community & Environment
  Mystic River Watershed -- Boston, Chelsea, and Revere, Massachusetts - Year: 2013-2014
   

  Alternatives for Community & Environment, Inc., (ACE) will partner with the Chelsea Creek Action Group (CCAG) to assist environmental justice communities in implementing their Chelsea Creek Community Improvement Plan. The project will engage residents in reviewing and updating the community vision for the Chelsea Creek; assist them in understanding existing regulatory mechanisms for protecting water quality; and facilitate them in taking a proactive role in the promotion of the Chelsea Creek as an environmental, recreational, economic, and educational resource. 

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Mystic River Watershed Association
  Mystic River Watershed—Malden, Medford, and Everett, Massachusetts - Year: 2013-2014
  
  The Mystic River Watershed Association will promote green infrastructure in three environmental justice communities bordering the Malden River through education, outreach, planning charettes, GIS analysis, modeling of pollutant source and loads, development of a low impact development (LID) technical document, and analysis of zoning/ordinances. The program will work directly with municipal staff to train them on the principles of green infrastructure, provide a technical green infrastructure guidance document specific to the urban environment, and expose them to the variety of solutions available.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Groundwork Lawrence
  Lawrence, Massachusetts - Year: 2011-2012
  Groundwork Lawrence is proposing to take its successful approach of converting ‘brownfields’ into parks and open space to focus on citizen stewardship and water quality restoration of the Spicket River.  It will bring together the “Spicket River Restoration Partnership” to engage the community through citizen volunteers (Volunteer River Restoration Corps) for water quality testing to establish a water quality baseline and to further characterize the environmental condition of the river.  This project will identify stream channel issues and harmful contamination threats such as stormwater infrastructure and combined sewer overflows.  As volunteers are engaged and water quality conditions are discussed with the city and state, further planning will identify necessary efforts to be undertaken by the Volunteer River Restoration Corps.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Northern Middlesex Council of Governments (NMCOG)
  Lowell, Massachusetts - Year: 2011-2012
  Northern Middlesex Council of Governments will combine efforts with the Merrimack River Watershed Council and partners to be engaged to develop a stormwater education program to touch upon all the communities, neighborhoods and populations in the Merrimack River region and elsewhere in the Commonwealth.   NMCOG and partners will develop a training and outreach program designed to educate community citizens, municipal staff and officials about the effects of stormwater on water quality and solutions available to individuals and communities. It will include educational workshops, trainings, and materials and media outlets.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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Michigan

• Calvin College
  Grand Rapids Area—Grand Rapids Metropolitan Area, Michigan - Year: 2013-2014

  Calvin College will develop a regional "rainscaping" initiative to design green infrastructure (GI) and low-impact development (LID) plans and develop a "green" workforce by training urban youth in the installation and maintenance of GI and other LID projects. This effort will promote GI awareness and implementation among homeowners, landscapers, and contractors. A "water currency" program will be developed as an incentive for potential participants to install GI designs. Green workforce development will focus on one upstream community (Rogue River Watershed) and one downstream community (Plaster Creek Watershed).

  Award Amount: $60,000

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Minnesota

• City of Duluth
  Duluth, Minnesota- Year: 2011-2012
  The City of Duluth proposes to develop a strategic action framework to help determine funding priorities with the St. Louis River Corridor. The project will work to improve water quality, in hopes of accelerating the removal of some of the nine beneficial use impairments of the Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC). It will bring together community planning projects that have already taken place into one integrated platform to help guide future green infrastructure and restoration efforts, protect natural resources, and set funding priorities so that development, restoration and delisting of the AOC can all proceed in an organized fashion together.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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Missouri

• Saint Louis University
  Saint Louis, Missouri - Year: 2015-2016
  Evaluation of Brining as a Chloride Best Management Practice (BMP) in the St. Louis Region

  Saint Louis University seeks to quantify whether the use of brine pretreatment can reduce chloride pollution in its watershed. Chloride concentrations in stormwater will be monitored from watersheds that use either brine or rock salt as an anti-icing agent. Results will be shared with the community.

  Award Amount: $58,793

• Blue River Watershed Association
  Middle Blue River—Kansas City Metropolitan Area, Missouri - Year: 2013-2014

  The Blue River Watershed Association, with its partner agencies, will create and engage eight teams of under-served community youth by involving them in water quality monitoring studies, data collection, and community presentations and projects. Each team will include a high school youth coordinator, an educator, and a mentor who is a professional in the field of water quality, environmental stewardship, engineering, biology, or similar field. Students will share their connection to the watershed with others through presentations and community projects designed by each team.

  Award Amount: $59,940

• Heartland Conservation Alliance, Inc.
  Middle Blue River—Kansas City, Missouri - Year: 2013-2014

  The Heartland Conservation Alliance, Inc., will study 3,000 vacant lands in the Middle Blue River Watershed for the purposes of identifying properties to redevelop with green infrastructure or low impact development. This effort will build upon current work for developing a Blue River watershed restoration strategy. The goal of the project is to improve watershed health and community vitality.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Heartland Conservation Alliance
  Kansas City, Missouri- Year: 2011-2012

  In Kansas City, the Heartland Conservation Alliance will: 1) connect diverse stakeholders and landowners in the Blue River Watershed to discuss water quality protection, 2) prioritize conservation targets from existing conservation plans, 3) create a strategy to protect floodplains and riparian corridors through large-scale land and conservation easements, and 4) teach landowners, the public, and policy makers about the importance of and how to protect the places they love through conservation easement donations and parkland dedication. At project  completion, they hope to be able to solicit 15 donations/easements of land that will filter pollutants, stabilize stream banks, and provide flood storage in the Blue River Watershed.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville
  St. Louis, Missouri- Year: 2011-2012

  The Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville will evaluate the effectiveness of site scale green infrastructure facilities on reducing flows in combined sewers and to develop a protocol program of community outreach and public education on green infrastructure.

  Award Amount: $59,876

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Montana

• Gallatin Local Water Quality District
  Gallatin, Montana- Year: 2011-2012
  The Gallatin Local Water Quality District will establish an integrated stream monitoring program in the East Gallatin River-Bozeman and Bozeman Creek watersheds, in the greater Gallatin watershed, for the purpose of evaluating water quality conditions long-term as part of a larger, planned District-wide monitoring program.

  Award Amount: $ 60,000

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Nebraska

• University of Nebraska – Lincoln
  Omaha, Nebraska - Year: 2015-2016
  Improving Green Infrastructure Training and Assistance for Omaha’s Workforces, Students, and Residents

  The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will provide technical assistance and training on stormwater and green infrastructure to small businesses and residents of under-served communities. They also will develop toolkits to integrate green infrastructure initiatives into local educational institutions. Hands-on training workshops addressing stormwater and green infrastructure initiatives will be offered to under-served communities. The key outcome will be improved dissemination of information to target groups.

  Award Amount: $59,935

• University of Nebraska – Lincoln
  Omaha, Nebraska- Year: 2011-2012

  The University of Nebraska – Lincoln will establish a living laboratory to monitor and assess the effectiveness of green infrastructure strategies and education, develop an innovative, science-based, mobile education application to educate stakeholders, and promote community involvement and multi-organizational partnerships through an integrated research-education outreach model.

  Award Amount: $56,517

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New Jersey

• Groundwork Elizabeth
  Passaic River—Elizabeth, New Jersey - Year: 2013-2014
  Groundwork Elizabeth will continue its effort to develop and complete the Elizabeth River Greenway and renew the communities around it. During the construction of the Phase 1 section of the Elizabeth Greenway, Groundwork Elizabeth engaged the Elizabeth community, especially local youth. Groundwork will build on its experience during Phase I to lead community engagement efforts in the neighborhoods around the Phase II and Phase III sections of the greenway and build momentum for restoring the whole local waterway and the communities around it.

  Award Amount: $59,820

• Ironbound Community Corporation
  Newark, New Jersey- Year: 2011-2012
  The Ironbound Community Corporation plans to engage and education residents, offer free river tours and walkshops, plan riverfront programs, a "RiverDay" and workshops, create a "Back to the River" brochure and map including key access points and riverfront parks and post on-line.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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New Mexico

• Amigos Bravos
  Albuquerque, New Mexico - Year: 2015/2016
  Empowering Under-served Communities and Improving Water Quality with GI/LID in Albuquerque’s South Valley
  Amigos Bravos will hold discussions with local officials and community leaders on green infrastructure priorities for South Valley, an economically distressed area that suffers from chronic flooding due to poor stormwater management. Amigos Bravos will then hold four workshops followed by design charrettes in South Valley neighborhoods. Based on these activities, Amigos Bravos will work with agencies and community leaders to develop an action plan for improving stormwater management in South Valley. Materials will be produced to help other stormwater-impacted communities replicate the process.

  Award Amount: $55,508

• Amigos Bravos
  Middle Rio Grande—Albuquerque, New Mexico - Year: 2013-2014

  Amigos Bravos will conduct 12 student- and community-based water quality monitoring events at the urban Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) across all three sources of surface water: two irrigation ditches, the east riverside drain, and the Rio Grande River. Work will include sampling for nutrients and metals, as well as pharmaceuticals, PCBs, and E. coli. The work will benefit Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permittees in the urban watershed regarding PCB analytical methods and efforts to meet EPA's 2015 goal of eliminating impairments on the river.

  Award Amount: $59,818

• Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program at Bosque School
  Middle Rio Grande- Albuquerque, New Mexico - Year: 2013-2014
  The Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) at the Bosque School, which is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, will combine citizen science with water quality monitoring within the Middle Rio Grande Watershed. Two groups of middle and high school students, in addition to a university student intern, will help collect 658 water samples from 16 sites. Once the samples and data are analyzed, the water quality results will be used to inform pueblos, irrigators, land and water managers, stakeholders, and the public about the health of the river and other watershed features. The sites selected for monitoring and the range of parameters monitored will help determine the greatest threats to the health of the river and groundwater. Presenting the data in a variety of ways and at a number of events will increase awareness of current water quality and allow stakeholders and the public as a whole to become more involved in addressing pollution issues.

  Award Amount: $59,921

• Earth Force
  Middle Rio Grande—Albuquerque, New Mexico - Year: 2013-2014
  This project expands upon Earth Force’s successful EPA Urban Waters Small Grant pilot in the South Platte River from Denver, Colorado, to Albuquerque, New Mexico. The project will improve the water quality of the Middle Rio Grande by involving under-served youth in creating projects that address pressing water quality issues in their community. The approach creates a Neighborhood Environmental Trio: an outdoor learning opportunity at an urban wildlife refuge (Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge), schools (Albuquerque Public Schools), and a municipal authority working to improve water quality (City of Albuquerque). The trio provides an uncommon and comprehensive learning experience for youth, who will utilize water quality data (existing and data they collect) to design project-based solutions to improve the health of the Rio Grande.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District
  Albuquerque, New Mexico- Year: 2011-2012

  Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District’s proposal is to improve the water quality of the Rio Grande on a watershed basis, by educating the public about stormwater management and green infrastructure and by building a constituency that supports a vision for low-impact development, particularly in developed areas while improving the physical “livability characteristics” in neighborhoods. The proposal will also include funding for conducting education at the fifth-grade level, local workshops on neighborhood-oriented green infrastructure and the development of green infrastructure strategies for three neighborhoods.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• New Mexico BASS Chapter Federation
  Roswell, New Mexico- Year: 2011-2012
  The New Mexico BASS Chapter Federation proposes to restore the Spring River Pond to a children’s fishery using natural methods.  The project intends to accelerate research in golden algae management and increase awareness of the impact of invasive aquatic species.
   

  Award Amount: $60,000

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New York

• Sarah Lawrence College
  Rockland and Westchester Counties and the Bronx, New York - Year: 2015-2016
  The Lower Hudson Urban Rivers Collaborative: Promoting Stewardship through Community Science and Engagement
  Sarah Lawrence College aims to improve water quality and increase community engagement in four urban watersheds in the Lower Hudson River region. The college hopes to gain a better understanding of the severity and sources of pollution, and to establish an informed basis for future remediation. A grassroots network will be created to engage stakeholders in hands-on science, training, local workshops, and a regional forum.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• New York/ New Jersey Baykeeper
  Northeastern New Jersey - Year: 2015-2016 
  Reducing Plastic Pollution in an Urban Waterway
  NY/NJ Baykeeper aims to expand its plastic pollution research, outreach, and reduction project. The project will focus on preventing plastic transported via stormwater from reaching the lower Passaic River watershed and Newark Bay complex. Student interns will collect and analyze water samples and produce educational social media clips. The project will result in the development of a database of plastic types and densities collected in the Passaic River.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
  Bronx and Harlem River Watersheds -- Bronx, New York - Year: 2013-2014
  
  The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation will fund a community Engagement Coordinator to create a volunteer monitoring program that engages local community groups and schools to collect important data on oyster reef restoration, awesife migration, and eel populations and to expand awareness on the importance of improving water quality. Monitoring program volunteers will be sought from the Bronx, where 90 percent of residents are minorities and 30 percent of residents live below the national poverty line. The project will help address water quality improvement, aquatic habitat restoration, and community engagement goals identified in multiple region-wide plans.

  Award Amount: $48,150

• Onondaga Environmental Institute
  Onondaga County, New York- Year: 2011-2012
  The goal of this project is to improve the water quality of Onondaga Creek and Onondaga Lake through training of youth and adults in Syracuse's disadvantaged neighborhoods that will prepare them to work on the installation and maintenance of green infrastructure (GI) as well as community engagement around water resource issues. In the short term, two Adult GI boot camp trainings will prepare low-income, underemployed adults for jobs in the installation and maintenance of GI as well as increasing knowledge, skills, and job readiness for green jobs. In the medium-term, this job readiness will lead to a larger workforce of people who are capable of successfully installing and maintaining GI practices that will, in the long-term, lead to a reduction of stormwater runoff and CSOs that impair the water quality of Onondaga Lake.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.
  Dutchess County, New York- Year: 2011-2012
  The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc will design and implement a signage program to educate and inspire their communities, train local youth in the foundations of watershed science and green infrastructure technology so that they can apply this knowledge by designing and implementing a green infrastructure project.

  Award Amount: $59,855

• Groundwork Hudson Valley
  Bronx, New York- Year: 2011-2012
  Groundwork Hudson Valley plans to create a “laboratory” for urban waters projects nationwide. Building a community stewardship of people who live and work along the river will ensure that the water in the neighborhood and the park will be “safe and touchable” and that the people living in environmental justice (EJ) areas understand the challenges facing the river.

  Award Amount: $51,401

• Rocking the Boat
  Bronx, New York - Year: 2011-2012
  Making practical use of its growing fleet of student-built wooden boats, Rocking the Boat’s Bronx River Education Through Restoration engages local students and members of the general public in hands-on restoration, monitoring, and educational activities both on and around the Bronx River. Through this work, Rocking the Boat is simultaneously helping to revitalize the South Bronx community and the River that runs through it. Project activities will include water quality monitoring and conducting aquatic habitat surveys.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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North Carolina

• Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association
  Durham, North Carolina- Year: 2011-2012
  The Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association will build a collaborative partnership with residents, American Rivers, the stormwater utility, other local government agencies, and the USDA Extension agency to improve water quality in Ellerbe Creek and Falls Lake, a public drinking water source. The project will develop a green infrastructure plan in the most urban areas of the city, quantify the pollution reductions that could be achieved through green infrastructure, and provide training and assistance on green infrastructure and low impact development techniques that can protect and improve water quality in the watershed.

  Award Amount: $59,927

• Land of Sky Regional Council
  Brevard, North Carolina- Year: 2011-2012
  Land of Sky Regional Council will build stewardship within the Rosenwald neighborhood through education, hands-on activities, identification of water quality concerns, and the development of a watershed action plan. The project builds on a U.S. Housing and Urban Development Sustainable Communities Initiative to work with the community through an environmental education program, a recreation and access planning process, and a water quality monitoring program to engage local high school students in environmental careers.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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Ohio

• University of Toledo
  Toledo, Ohio - Year: 2015-2016
  Green Stormwater Management at Low Income, Multi-Family Housing Sites In Toledo

  The University of Toledo will develop a plan to incorporate green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) at low income, multi-family housing sites. The University will host design charrettes on GSI planning and design, as well as develop educational materials and demonstrations for residents.

  Award Amount: $59,988

• Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments
  Western Lake Erie Basin—Toledo, Ohio- Year: 2013-2014

  Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) will work with the “Junction Avenue Project” to develop a green infrastructure plan that will help improve water quality and alleviate flooding pressure in Toledo’s Junction Avenue neighborhood. This plan will help manage stormwater runoff using green infrastructure, while increasing neighborhood greenspace and reducing flooding.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Cleveland Botanical Garden
  Cleveland, Ohio - Year: 2011-2012
  This project seeks to provide neighborhood stabilization, and/or reduce maintenance costs associated with vacant land.  Different mixtures of dredge material, compost, and wood chips will be placed on vacant test lots, planted with low-maintenance groundcover to act as bioswale, and monitored for improvements to soil nutrient content, bioavailable lead content, water infiltration, soil moisture, and plant establishment.  The result will be reduced stormwater runoff, stabilized urban neighborhood vacant land, reduced soil lead (Pb) toxicity, and reduced municipal maintenance costs of vacant land.

  Award Amount: $59,680

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Oklahoma

• State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment
  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Year: 2011-2012
  The State of Oklahoma  will provide preliminary evaluation of two urban reservoirs (Lakes Hefner and Overholser) receiving extensive watershed Best Management Practice implementation. Project results will influence Oklahoma City’s decision to address the impaired beneficial uses within each of these offset reservoirs.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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Oregon

• City of Florence
  Florence, Oregon- Year: 2011-2012
  The City of Florence will continue an EPA-funded Siuslaw Estuary Partnership Surface and Groundwater monitoring program for two years. The result of the project will provide protection of the North Florence sole source Dunal aquifer and protection and improvement of the  water quality in Munsel and Ackerly creeks and the Siuslaw River.’ 

  Award Amount: $60,000

• City of Corvallis
  Corvallis, Oregon- Year: 2011-2012
  The City of Corvallis will conduct a comprehensive planning effort for ‘Green Streets’ as a mechanism to treat stormwater, develop alternative transportation routes, expand urban green space, and improve community health.   ‘Green Streets’ collect non-point source pollution from city streets through filtration, detention, and evaporation of stormwater runoff before it enters into the Willamette River and the City’s urban streams. 

  Award Amount: $45,620

• Columbia Slough Watershed Council (CSWC) – Wonders of Whitaker (WOW)
  Portland, Oregon- Year: 2011-2012
  Wonders of Whitaker (WOW) is an educational program in Portland, Oregon that engages minority, low-income, and indigenous student youth in the Columbia Slough Watershed. Students will take part in field science programs at Whitaker Ponds and along Whitaker Slough including water testing, aquatic macro invertebrate sampling, and natural history hikes. Using hands-on professional water testing kits, students will collect water from selected sites at the park and along the slough six times during each school year. Students will create water quality testing and reporting protocol and test the water for dissolved oxygen, PH, and turbidity. By following and tracing the stormwater running into the ponds and slough, they will learn about the connection between rainfall and stormwater runoff. Students will record and report their baseline data information to Oregon Stream Webs and the local community.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Curry County Soil and Water Conservation District
  Gold Beach, Oregon- Year: 2011-2012

  The Curry County Soil and Water Conservation District will provide a scientific- based assessment of the Rogue River Estuary; educate and engage the local community in a continuing education class at the local community college; monitor water and environmental quality; and convene a community/agency Estuary Team to use the assessments in developing a community-driven restoration plan for the Rogue River Estuary. 

  Award Amount: $59,400

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Pennsylvania

• Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
  Delaware River Basin—Chester, Pennsylvania - Year: 2013-2014

  The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) will create training sessions that address the current lack of skills needed to maintain and improve the multi‐functionality of the City of Chester’s green spaces. The trainings will focus on three target audiences: municipal employees, under‐skilled landscape laborers, and at-risk youth. These audiences will learn about basic watershed concepts, tree and perennial vegetation installation and maintenance, invasive plant management, riparian buffer restoration and installation, green stormwater infrastructure, sustainable turf management, and community engagement.

  Award Amount: $41,679

• Schuylkill River Development Corporation
  Delaware River Basin—Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Year: 2013-2014
  Schuylkill River Development Corporation (SRDC) will analyze the feasibility of using a “greenway-systems” approach to stormwater management by extending the Schuylkill River Trail from 58th Street to south of Passyunk Avenue. Plans for the proposed greenway include absorbing and filtering stormwater runoff, reducing nonpoint source pollution, and contributing to the environmental restoration of the Schuylkill River.

  Award Amount: $40,000

• Temple University -- of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education
  Delaware River Basin—Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Year: 2013-2014
  Temple University’s Center for Sustainable Communities will develop a framework for developing a Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) plan through a participatory geodesign process, and then applying the framework in Delaware Direct and Tookany/Tacony-Frankford watersheds. The project team will create a conceptual GSI plan for the study area, visualize three specific GSI project site plans, and conduct three design charettes in lower-income and minority neighborhoods.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Villanova University
  Delaware River Basin—Delaware County, Pennsylvania - Year: 2013-2014
  Villanova University will create two vegetated roof shelters in the Darby Creek Watershed. These roof shelters will function as school bike racks or solar charging stations, as well as living laboratories for conducting research. The results from this project are expected to increase knowledge of stormwater issues in the community, implement stormwater control measures within the member townships of the Eastern Delaware County Stormwater Collaborative, and reduce stormwater volume.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania- Year: 2011-2012
  The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society will provide focused information and training to a variety of constituencies with land management interests/responsibilities within the Tookany/Tacony Frankford watershed to build interest and provide skills needed to implement and maintain simple storm water green infrastructure projects.  This project will encourage the development of more green infrastructure within the watershed, further community beautification efforts, increase capacity of a variety of constituencies to implement and maintain green infrastructure, and ultimately contribute to improved water quality and community involvement.

  Award Amount: $58,000

• Temple University
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania- Year: 2011-2012
  The University's Center for Sustainable Communities will develop a storm water management plan for three urban watersheds that will identify and prioritize storm water improvements to mitigate water quality problems and flooding problems that under-served residents have been facing for many years.  Using environmental justice as an overarching theoretical framework, this project will use mixed methods, community engagement, and a watershed-wide multi-municipal planning approach.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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Puerto Rico

• ENLACE
  San Juan, Puerto Rico- Year: 2011-2012
  ENLACE will promote an understanding of the environmental degradation of an estuarine tidal channel and will continue to engage the community in its restoration and in claiming their right to a healthy environment through education for critical consciousness and democratic action.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Corporación del Proyecto ENLACE del Caño Martín Peña
  Martin Peña Canal -- San Juan, Puerto Rico - Year: 2013-2014
  ENLACE will design a conceptual plan for a new stormwater drainage system. Components of the conceptual plan will include water quality improvements to the Martin Peña Channel and incorporation of green infrastructure initiatives and mechanisms, while taking into consideration new challenges presented by climate change. The scope of work includes creating a participatory design process that will analyze green infrastructure options for a densely populated area.

  Award Amount: 59,999

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Rhode Island

• The Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island
  Providence, Rhode Island- Year: 2011-2012
  The Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island (EJLRI) will team up with experienced social-environmental community organizations (Urban Pond Procession and Groundwork Providence), who will continue efforts to creatively engage Reservoir Triangle’s neighborhood residents through educational and training initiatives to generate citizen energy for restoring water quality in Mashapaug Pond, the last remaining natural pond in Providence, RI.  The project will involve community assessments to understand stormwater impacts to the pond by building on previous coalitions built to clean-up the Gorham Silver Manufacturing site.  Homeowners and school children will learn about stormwater pollution sources at home and receive hands-on education about residential and neighborhood stormwater practices that homeowners can employ..  The project also includes hands-on activities to educate community members and youth on best practices for stormwater management.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association
  Providence, Rhode Island - Year: 2011-2012
  This project involves developing a fish community monitoring program for three wadeable urban rivers and tributaries, the Moshasshuck River, Woonasquatucket River and the Blackstone River, flowing through urban areas around Providence, RI.  Existing historic fish and water quality data will be assembled and analyzed to establish baseline data, develop urban river habitat assessments and identify areas where no previous information is available.   The project will identify issues and related urban conditions and then target locations for water quality restoration actions.  It will engage the urban community to provide citizen-scientist education program(s), develop a monitoring protocol for volunteer monitoring procedures and to hold workshops to provide volunteer training for long term monitoring.

  Award Amount: $57,000

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South Carolina

• Upstate Forever
  South Carolina- Year: 2011-2012

  Upstate Forever proposes a project to prepare detailed plans for the creation of the initial phase of a 400-acre urban park on the Rocky River and development of wetland restoration, education, and recreation plans for the 120-acres of potential park owned by Anderson University, 75 acres of which are wetlands. The wetland restoration and enhancement will filter and treat urban water runoff within the watershed and lead to a reduction of bacteria and turbidity in Rocky River. Ultimately, the project will provide improved community understanding about stormwater runoff, urban pollution, and the benefits that wetlands provide, including water quality improvement and wildlife habitat.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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South Dakota

• South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
  Rapid City, South Dakota - Year: 2015-2016
  Sustaining Urban Waters through Green Infrastructure Planning and Development
  The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDSMT), in partnership with the Rural American Initiatives Agency, will provide training on stormwater management practices and the design of low-impact development and green infrastructure. The project will culminate in a community design charrette for the planning of the proposed Rural America Initiatives development. This project is expected to promote the protection of urban water resources in Rapid City, South Dakota. It also is expected to establish or strengthen partnerships between SDSMT and several key governmental and non-profit organizations.

  Award Amount: $ 58,996

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Tennessee

• University of Tennessee
  Knoxville, Tennessee - Year: 2015-2016
  Engaging the Community and Creating Young Scientists to Restore Nutrient-Impacted Baker Creek
  Through a community-driven effort, the University of Tennessee will engage local middle school students to collect watershed nutrient data from Baker Creek. This data will be provided to the City of Knoxville and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to aid in development of Total Maximum Daily Loads for Baker Creek. Stakeholders will then participate in a half-day workshop to discuss Baker Creek impairments and develop a plan for creek restoration and continued collaboration.

  Award Amount: $ 59,995

• Tennessee Environmental Council
  Springhill, Tennessee- Year: 2011-2012
  Tennessee Environmental Council will establish a stakeholder group to develop a watershed action plan partnering with the local municipal storm sewer system to promote low impact development and green infrastructure techniques in the community to address community priorities such as economic development and water quality restoration. Once the action plan has been developed, the applicant will hold workshops for residents, school groups, businesses and other stakeholders regarding watershed assessment and protection.

  Award Amount: $ 56,999.75

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Texas

• Galveston Bay Foundation
  Galveston Bay, Texas - Year: 2011-2012
  The Galveston Bay Foundation will provide partners with best management practice information and tools to contribute to lowering their bacteria inputs to the Bay. The project will also produce volunteer water quality monitoring data to augment professional data and aid in identifying problem areas and quantifying progress towards water quality improvements.

  Award Amount: $ 60,000

• Upper Colorado River Authority
  San Angelo, Texas- Year: 2011-2012
  The Upper Colorado River Authority (UCRA) plans to conduct a bacteria source tracking study that will be conducted cooperatively with the Department of Physics and Geoscience at Angelo State University (a certified Hispanic serving institution).  In partnership with the San Angelo Independent School District (SAISD), UCRA plans to develop a Water Stewardship Program targeted to schools with lower socioeconomic populations and refine a Watersheds and Nonpoint Source Curriculum Program for all SAISD 7th graders.

  Award Amount: $57,000

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Utah

• Salt Lake County Division of Flood Control and Water Quality, Watershed Planning and Restoration Department
  Salt Lake City, Utah- Year: 2011-2012
  Salt Lake County proposes to improve water quality, support community revitalization, educate the community, and engage and empower some of Salt Lake County’s lowest-income residents through two connected programs. Program 1 utilizes the Center for Documentary Expression and Arts’ “Exhibits That Teach” program to establish school and community-based education outreach efforts in Salt Lake City's Fairpark neighborhood. Program 2 utilizes a “Quick Response” (QR) code and Smartphone app technology to bring education information, developed through Project 1 efforts, to the fingertips of thousand of Salt Lake County residents. The project’s goal is to promote behavioral changes that will positively impact water quality by increasing local residents’ awareness of the watershed, and by engaging and empowering them to make those changes.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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Virginia

• Virginia Commonwealth University
  Richmond, Virginia - Year: 2015-2016
  A Partnership-Focused Community Greening and Green Infrastructure Plan for the VCU and Richmond Community
  Virginia Commonwealth University will develop a green infrastructure plan for its two urban campuses and the Richmond Arts District. Geospatial technology will be used to create a baseline assessment for identifying locations that support best management and greening practices. Community meetings will be held to inform citizens of water quality issues. In tandem, educational modules focused on increasing awareness of urban runoff pollution will be developed and taught to local high school students.

  Award Amount: $59,773

• City of Richmond
  Richmond, Virginia - Year: 2011-2012
  The City of Richmond will assist the residents of Bellemeade Creek watershed to form a coalition of active stakeholders that will work to restore the creek and make it a key asset of a new community school and provide for recreational use by all residents.  Additional objectives of this project include supporting the coalition in developing a detailed Watershed Action Agenda that outlines agency/organizational leads, funding commitments, and phasing and building the coalition's capacity to effectively shepherd implementation and stewardship beyond the life of the grant.

  Award amount: $59,671

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Wasington

• The Lands Council
  Spokane, Washington - Year: 2015-2016
  Green Sleeves: Stormwater and Low Impact Development Education in the Spokane River Watershed
  The Lands Council will offer job training to 50 offenders at the Geiger Correctional Center in Spokane, Washington. Classes will emphasize stormwater management and low-impact development technology. The Council also will work with high school teachers from two alternative, low-income schools to develop and teach a year-long environmental science curriculum. Outreach about urban runoff pollution will be conducted in the underserved, largely immigrant Hillyard neighborhood of Spokane.

  Award Amount: $45,250

• Lummi Indian Business Council
  Lummi Indian Reservation, Washington - Year: 2015-2016
  Lummi Nation Youth: Water Quality, Watersheds and Salmon
  The Lummi Indian Business Council will teach third- through fifth-grade students at the Lummi National Schools how water quality impacts salmon. Fifth-grade students will go on boating trips to learn how to be stewards for the marine environment. Four locations will be visited in Bellingham Bay: the Whatcom Waterway, Post Point, the mouth of Padden Creek, and the Nooksack River Delta.

  Award Amount: $56,433

• Duwamish River Cleanup Coaltion/Technical Advisory Group
  Green-Duwamish River—Seattle, Washington - Year: 2013-2014
  The Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/Technical Advisory Group (DRCC/TAG) will implement the Healthy River/Healthy Communities project. This project will establish a community-based Health Equity and Revitalization Task Force to prioritize, refine, and help implement recommendations for EPA’s proposed cleanup plan for the Lower Duwamish River, a federal Superfund site. These recommendations are expected to include creating greenspace and public access at riverfront cleanup areas; training and hiring local residents for cleanup jobs; providing healthy alternatives to contaminated fish; and protecting residents from gentrification exacerbated by cleanup.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Port Townsend Marine Science Society
  Port Townsend, Washington - Year: 2011-2012
  The Port Townsend Marine Science Society proposes to collect data that will further our understanding of the various pathways and fates of toxic pollution in Puget Sound and to develop a permanent educational exhibit, “Toxics in the Marine Environment” at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC).

  Award Amount: $56,848

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West Virginia

• Friends of Deckers Creek
  Morgantown, West Virginia- Year: 2011-2012
  The Friends of Deckers Creek will initiate a public education campaign to educate residents, business owners, and the economic development community about the pollution issues and the economic potential of a restored Deckers Creek and to design and initiate a study of the mine that is polluting the creek that will ultimately be used to advance eventual construction of a treatment plant to address acid mine drainage.

  Award Amount: $55, 600

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Wisconsin

• Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission
  Green Bay, Wisconsin- Year: 2011-2012
  Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission will perform water quality monitoring at Bay Beach in Green Bay, Wisconsin to identify pollution sources. Monitoring results will drive the development of a restoration action plan that includes an engineering plan for beach redesign to mitigate the issues.

  Award Amount: $ 59,995

• University of Wisconsin – La Crosse
  Crosse County, Wisconsin - Year: 2011-2012
  University of Wisconsin – La Crosse will establish a monitoring program for water quality and biota to examine bioavailability, toxicity, and spatial mobilization of lead in marsh sediments within this urban wetland ecosystem. The project will create and strengthen partnerships between local marsh stakeholders through community outreach and educational programs.

  Award Amount: $59, 979

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Wyoming

• Washakie County Conservation District
  Worland, Wyoming- Year: 2011-2012
  The Washakie County Conservation District will work toward retrofitting the existing storm water system within the City of Worland. The objective of this project is to complete an assessment of the City of Worland's stormwater infrastructure and to use the options for suitable Best Management Practices (BMPs) to complete an implementation plan to retrofit the system.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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Grantees by Year

• 2015/2016 Small Grants Competition
• 2013/2014 Small Grants Competition
• 2011/2012 Small Grants Competition

2015/2016

Through the 2015/2016 Urban Waters Small Grants competition, the Environmental Protection Agency selected 22 organizations to receive grants between $40,000 and $60,000 each, totaling approximately $1.3 million to support such projects.

Read the RFP.

• Arizona State University
  Phoenix-Metro Area, Arizona
  Community Monitoring of Pollutants in Urban Waterways and Recreational Fisheries in Metro-Phoenix
  Students from Arizona State University, the Phoenix Zoo “ZooTeen” Conservation Team, and two Girl Scouts Troops will monitor water quality in seven aquatic areas in metro-Phoenix. Results will be used to develop recommendations for reducing urban runoff and pollution. Results also will be shared with the Arizona Game and Fish Department for improving aquatic resource management.

  Award Amount: $58,227

• Heal the Bay
  Los Angeles, California
  Heal the Bay’s Urban Stream Team: Los Angeles Freshwater Recreation Monitoring Project
  Heal the Bay will monitor bacterial water pollution at two recreational zones in the Los Angeles River. Water quality data will be made available regularly to the public. Results of the study will be used to make recommendations to agencies and watershed stakeholders for improving water quality and protecting public health.

  Award Amount: $59,998

• Constitutional Rights Foundation
  Los Angeles County, California
  Scaling Up Community Assessments of Trash and Industrial Stormwater Pollution Through High School Civic Action Projects
  The Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF), in partnership with Los Angeles Waterkeeper (LAW) and UCLA, will work with four high schools in Los Angeles County. College-aspiring students will be taught how to collect data related to trash and industrial stormwater pollution. Up to five seniors from UCLA’s Environmental Sciences bachelors program will serve as peer mentors and role models for participants.

  Award Amount: $59,673

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• City and County of Denver
  Denver, Colorado
  Heron Pond Regional Open Space Master Plan
  The City and County of Denver will develop the Heron Pond Regional Open Space Master Plan. This plan will restore approximately 80 acres of land surrounding Heron Pond, which is within the South Platte River watershed. This effort is expected to reduce urban runoff pollution, improve wildlife habitat, and create recreation opportunities for the highly urbanized, industrial, and under-served Globeville neighborhood.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Groundwork Denver Inc.
  Denver, Colorado
  Lower Bear Creek: Youth Leadership to Solve the Pollution Problem
  Groundwork Denver will investigate the sources of E. coli in Bear Creek in Sheridan, Colorado. Eighteen high school students from Sheridan will be paired with student mentors from Metropolitan State University and trained to collect samples during wet weather events. The goal of the project is to improve the water quality in, access to, and amenities for Bear Creek.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Anacostia Watershed Society Inc.
  Washington, DC
  Saturday Environmental Academy
  The Anacostia Watershed Society will educate and train students from low-income communities in Washington, DC. Students will learn about stormwater runoff and mitigation strategies. The program will include investigative canoe trips on the Anacostia River, tours of LEED-certified buildings and municipal green infrastructure projects, and hands-on restoration activities.

  Award Amount: $50,000

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• The Conservation Fund
  Atlanta, Georgia
  Addressing Stormwater Runoff through Community-Driven Green Infrastructure Projects in the Headwaters of Proctor Creek
  The Conservation Fund (TCF) plans to expand community engagement for two upcoming green infrastructure (GI) projects—Sunset Park and “Boone to Beltline.” A series of educational charrettes will be held to inform the master plans for these projects. Residents also will participate in community tours of GI demonstration sites and flood-prone areas to learn more about urban runoff pollution and GI.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Openlands
  Chicago, IL
  Space to Grow: Transforming schoolyards into vibrant places that benefit students, communities, and the environment
  Through the Space to Grow program, Openlands will engage communities in the planning and design of schoolyards intended to improve water quality using green infrastructure. A professional development workshop will train teachers to use their new schoolyards as outdoor classrooms and to teach students how native plants and rain gardens contribute to stormwater management. Community events will be held to ensure the community is engaged and empowered to use and maintain the schoolyard.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation
  New Orleans, Louisiana
  Partnering with Under-served Schools and Characterizing Pollutants to Aid Municipal Policy Implementation for Green Infrastructure
  The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) will assess urban runoff from neighborhoods through water sampling, analysis, and modeling of pollutant loads from roofs and parking lots. LPBF will collect water samples during the “first flush” of storm events and analyze them using 15 parameters. Concurrently, partners will install weather stations at three schools near the sampling sites to assess rainfall data and engage the schools to better understand stormwater impacts.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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• Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
  Holyoke, Massachusetts
  “The Secret Stream” - Developing a Green Infrastructure Plan for Day Brook to Reduce CSO Discharges into the Connecticut River
  The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, in partnership with various Holyoke entities, will develop a green infrastructure plan for Day Brook, in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The plan’s objective will be to identify sites where green infrastructure can be installed to reduce combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharges into the Connecticut River. Students from nearby schools will participate through activities that educate them about stormwater and green infrastructure.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Mystic River Watershed Association
  Mystic River Watershed, Massachusetts
  A Multimedia Stormwater Education Collaborative On A Watershed Scale
  The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) will create a stormwater education campaign to increase awareness of stormwater pollution. The campaign will include multiple modes of communication to disseminate information about urban runoff pollution. Youth from the under-served communities of Chelsea and Somerville will work closely with MyRWA staff to learn about water quality, urban runoff pollution and their environment.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Saint Louis University
  St. Louis, Missouri
  Evaluation of Brining as a Chloride Best Management Practice (BMP) in the St. Louis Region
  Saint Louis University seeks to quantify whether the use of brine pretreatment can reduce chloride pollution in its watershed. Chloride concentrations in stormwater will be monitored from watersheds that use either brine or rock salt as an anti-icing agent. Results will be shared with the community.

  Award Amount: $58,793

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• University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  Omaha, Nebraska
  Improving Green Infrastructure Training and Assistance for Omaha’s Workforces, Students, and Residents
  The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will provide technical assistance and training on stormwater and green infrastructure to small businesses and residents of under-served communities. They also will develop toolkits to integrate green infrastructure initiatives into local educational institutions. Hands-on training workshops addressing stormwater and green infrastructure initiatives will be offered to under-served communities. The key outcome will be improved dissemination of information to target groups.

  Award Amount: $59,935

• NY/NJ Baykeeper
  Northeastern New Jersey
  Reducing Plastic Pollution in an Urban Waterway
  NY/NJ Baykeeper aims to expand its plastic pollution research, outreach, and reduction project. The project will focus on preventing plastic transported via stormwater from reaching the lower Passaic River watershed and Newark Bay complex. Student interns will collect and analyze water samples and produce educational social media clips. The project will result in the development of a database of plastic types and densities collected in the Passaic River.

  Award Amount: $48,150

• Amigos Bravos
  Albuquerque, New Mexico
  Empowering Under-served Communities and Improving Water Quality with GI/LID in Albuquerque’s South Valley
  Amigos Bravos will hold discussions with local officials and community leaders on green infrastructure priorities for South Valley, an economically distressed area that suffers from chronic flooding due to poor stormwater management. Amigos Bravos will then hold four workshops followed by design charrettes in South Valley neighborhoods. Based on these activities, Amigos Bravos will work with agencies and community leaders to develop an action plan for improving stormwater management in South Valley. Materials will be produced to help other stormwater-impacted communities replicate the process.

  Award Amount: $55,508

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• Sarah Lawrence College
  Rockland and Westchester Counties and the Bronx, New York
  The Lower Hudson Urban Rivers Collaborative: Promoting Stewardship through Community Science and Engagement
  Sarah Lawrence College aims to improve water quality and increase community engagement in four urban watersheds in the Lower Hudson River region. The college hopes to gain a better understanding of the severity and sources of pollution, and to establish an informed basis for future remediation. A grassroots network will be created to engage stakeholders in hands-on science, training, local workshops, and a regional forum.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• University of Toledo
  Toledo, Ohio
  Green Stormwater Management at Low Income, Multi-Family Housing Sites In Toledo, OH
  The University of Toledo will develop a plan to incorporate green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) at low income, multi-family housing sites. The University will host design charrettes on GSI planning and design, as well as develop educational materials and demonstrations for residents.

  Award Amount: $59,988

• University of Tennessee
  Knoxville, Tennessee
  Engaging the Community and Creating Young Scientists to Restore Nutrient-Impacted Baker Creek
  Through a community-driven effort, the University of Tennessee will engage local middle school students to collect watershed nutrient data from Baker Creek. This data will be provided to the City of Knoxville and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to aid in development of Total Maximum Daily Loads for Baker Creek. Stakeholders will then participate in a half-day workshop to discuss Baker Creek impairments and develop a plan for creek restoration and continued collaboration.

  Award Amount: $59,995

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• South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
  Rapid City, South Dakota
  Sustaining Urban Waters through Green Infrastructure Planning and Development
  The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDSMT), in partnership with the Rural American Initiatives Agency, will provide training on stormwater management practices and the design of low-impact development and green infrastructure. The project will culminate in a community design charrette for the planning of the proposed Rural America Initiatives development. This project is expected to promote the protection of urban water resources in Rapid City, South Dakota. It also is expected to establish or strengthen partnerships between SDSMT and several key governmental and non-profit organizations.

  Award Amount: $58,996

• Virginia Commonwealth University
  Richmond, Virginia
  A Partnership-Focused Community Greening and Green Infrastructure Plan for the VCU and Richmond Community
  Virginia Commonwealth University will develop a green infrastructure plan for its two urban campuses and the Richmond Arts District. Geospatial technology will be used to create a baseline assessment for identifying locations that support best management and greening practices. Community meetings will be held to inform citizens of water quality issues. In tandem, educational modules focused on increasing awareness of urban runoff pollution will be developed and taught to local high school students.

  Award Amount: $59,773

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• Lummi Indian Business Council
  Lummi Indian Reservation, Washington
  Lummi Nation Youth: Water Quality, Watersheds and Salmon
  The Lummi Indian Business Council will teach third- through fifth-grade students at the Lummi National Schools how water quality impacts salmon. Fifth-grade students will go on boating trips to learn how to be stewards for the marine environment. Four locations will be visited in Bellingham Bay: the Whatcom Waterway, Post Point, the mouth of Padden Creek, and the Nooksack River Delta.

  Award Amount: $56,433

• The Lands Council
  Spokane, Washington
  Green Sleeves: Stormwater and Low Impact Development Education in the Spokane River Watershed
  The Lands Council will offer job training to 50 offenders at the Geiger Correctional Center in Spokane, Washington. Classes will emphasize stormwater management and low-impact development technology. The Council also will work with high school teachers from two alternative, low-income schools to develop and teach a year-long environmental science curriculum. Outreach about urban runoff pollution will be conducted in the underserved, largely immigrant Hillyard neighborhood of Spokane.

  Award Amount: $45,250

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2013/2014

Through the 2013/2014 Urban Waters Small Grants competition, the Environmental Protection Agency selected 37 organizations to receive grants ranging from $40,000 to $60,000, totaling approximately $2.1 million for projects that will contribute to improving water quality and community revitalization.

Read the press release here and the archived RFP here.

• Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA)
  Los Angeles River Watershed—Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, California
  The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) will continue to work on its River Ambassadors project, which is an education and engagement program for communities adjacent to the Los Angeles River. Future project work will include a series of training sessions led by MRCA naturalists. Participants will share their knowledge with their local community by creating outreach presentations and conducting river walks for local schools and communities. The project will conclude with the students giving presentations to staff, local officials, and project partner groups.

  Award Amount: $55,021

• UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
  Los Angeles River Watershed—Los Angeles, California
  In partnership with the Los Angeles Waterkeeper organization, the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability will conduct neighborhood-scale assessments of industrial sources of pollutants to surface water using multiple data, including on-the-ground surveys, aerial photography, information from websites, and stormwater monitoring efforts. Working with a small group of UCLA students, the team will develop a better understanding of the sources of potential surface-water pollution to the Compton Creek Watershed. In addition, the team will develop and implement a teaching curriculum for high school students that is focused on gaining a better understanding of industrial stormwater pollution in the Los Angeles River and Compton Creek watersheds, and generating ideas for identifying solutions.

  Award Amount: $59,965

• Denver Department of Public Works, Wastewater Management
  South Platte Watershed—Denver Metropolitan Area, Colorado
  The Denver Department of Public Works, Wastewater Management, will continue and expand the Keep It Clean-Neighborhood Environmental Trios (KIC-NET) outdoor classroom model developed by environmental education nonprofit, Earth Force, in impaired South Platte River and tributary watersheds. The program is expected to help meet pollutant source mitigation needs to protect the South Platte River and Cherry Creek Watersheds while adding value to communities and schools.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Goundwork Denver
  South Platte Watershed—Denver and Sheridan, Colorado
  Groundwork Denver will develop a Community Stewardship Network, which is expected to improve the water quality of and accessibility to the area surrounding Bear Creek. A key component of this project is the Master River Steward Job Training program, which will engage youth from Denver and Sheridan. These stewards will participate in water quality sampling and engage the broader community through education, outreach, stewardship activities, and recreation activities in the watershed. Outputs—including job training hours, water quality samples collected, households and businesses reached, volunteer hours, and stakeholders joining a Community Stewardship Network—will be tracked.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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• Clean Air Council
  Delaware River Basin—Wilmington, Delaware
  The Clean Air Council will develop and implement a green infrastructure plan to address chronic flooding in the economically disadvantaged Southbridge neighborhood of South Wilmington, Delaware. As part of this project, community members will identify and determine the green policies and infrastructure improvements they would like to incorporate into the neighborhood plan to reduce stormwater runoff and damage.

  Award Amount: $58,106

• Wilderness Inquirty, Inc.
  Delaware River Basin—Chester and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Camden, New Jersey; and Wilmington, Delaware
  Wilderness Inquiry, Inc., will create opportunities for minority and under-served youth to experience, enjoy, and learn about the Delaware River and its tributaries. A main program component is the Wilderness Inquiry Canoemobile. The Canoemobile is a roving fleet of six 24-foot, 10-passenger Voyageur canoes, staffed by seven highly trained outdoor educators. The Canoemobile will spend three days in each of the four cities (Chester and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Camden, New Jersey, and Wilmington, Delaware) where 2,400 under-served school children will paddle the Delaware River or a major tributary, learn about the watershed and their community, and collect water samples for analysis and study.

  Award Amount: $59,333

• Living Classrooms of the National Capital Region
  Anacostia Watershed—Washington, DC
  Living Classrooms of the National Capital Region will engage the third and fifth graders at Watkins Elementary School, located in Washington, D.C., in a comprehensive, hands-on environmental education program during the 2014-2015 school year. The Urban Water Watchers program will consist of three in-class watershed ecology and water quality lessons, a shipboard experience on the Anacostia River aboard the Living Classrooms’ educational vessel, and a recreational boating experience on the Anacostia River using canoes and kayaks.

  Award Amount: $52,062

• Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum
  Anacostia Watershed—Washington, DC
  Through its Citizen Scientist Project, the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum will engage at-risk high school students in water quality monitoring activities throughout Watts Branch, a tributary to the main basin of the Anacostia Watershed. In addition, the museum will schedule community outreach presentations to discuss the results of these monitoring activities and educate the community on the water quality conditions of the tributary and any associated health effects.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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• Center for Watershed Protection, Inc.
  Proctor Creek Watershed—Atlanta, Georgia
  The Center for Watershed Protection, Inc., will provide a replicable blueprint for pollutant load reduction crediting by developing a cost-effective approach to clean urban waters that integrates community-based water monitoring. A stakeholder group will be convened to vet the approach, which is expected to provide significant and quantifiable pollutant reduction to the Proctor Creek watershed in Atlanta. The project team includes the City of Atlanta, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, and Center for Watershed Protection, Inc.

  Award Amount: $59,943

• Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Inc.
  Proctor Creek Watershed—Atlanta, Georgia
  Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Inc., (CRK) will work with a wide range of partners to engage Proctor Creek Watershed residents to achieve measureable water quality improvements within Proctor Creek and its watershed. CRK will expand its Neighborhood Water Watch Program, in which the community will take an active role in identifying and resolving major pollution problems in the Proctor Creek Watershed. CRK also will implement a water quality education and community organizing initiative where citizens will collect water samples from dozens of locations throughout the watershed and conduct assessments of the collection sites. Samples will be returned to a central lab site where a variety of water quality parameters will be measured. The data will be summarized and mapped; participants will be taught how to interpret results.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Environmental Community Action, Inc.
  Proctor Creek Watershed—Atlanta, Georgia
  Environmental Community Action, Inc.’s Green Infrastructure Initiative will create a comprehensive “Vision for Action” to reduce flooding and improve water quality in Proctor Creek while revitalizing adjacent low-income neighborhoods. This initiative focuses on the higher-elevation Atlanta University Center (AUC) campuses, which are the sources of much of the contaminated runoff. The project will bring academics together with leaders of under-served communities to better understand the extent and impact of sewage and stormwater flows from the higher-elevation Atlanta University Center campuses on the downstream residential communities.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission
  Northwest Indiana Area—Northwest Indiana
  The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission will engage community members by establishing a volunteer stream monitoring network in the Little Calumet-Galien sub-basin. In addition to basic water quality parameters, stream staff gauges will be installed so that volunteers can capture flow information to assist with load calculations. The information gathered will be used to support local watershed management planning and implementation efforts and raise awareness of urban water quality issues.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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• Bayou Land Resource Conservation and Development Council
  Lake Pontchartrain Area—New Orleans, Louisiana
  The Bayou Land Resource Conservation and Development Council will evaluate the impact of green infrastructure on mosquito breeding and surface water quality in the Pontchartrain Park and Gentilly Woods (“Pontilly”) neighborhoods. The purpose of the project is to ensure that areas where green infrastructure has been constructed are draining properly and thereby preventing mosquito breeding habitats during rain events. The project team will train and work hand-in-hand with local student interns to conduct enhanced mosquito surveillance, and water quantity and quality monitoring in areas where stormwater mitigation programs have been implemented, specifically within the Pontilly project area.

  Award Amount: $59,600

• Global Green USA
  Lake Pontchartrain Area—New Orleans, Louisiana
  Global Green USA will conduct neighborhood workshops that introduce cost-effective, do-it-yourself stormwater best management practices (BMPs) that can be implemented on homeowners’ lots by the homeowners themselves and organized tours of sites that showcase watershed protection and management through green infrastructure. The tours will provide community members with visual examples of BMPs, some of which are mentioned in the city’s recently established Urban Waters Management Plan.

  Award Amount: $46,884

• Groundwork New Orleans
  Lake Pontchartrain Area—New Orleans, Louisiana
  Groundwork New Orleans (GWNO) will expand its Green Slice project for continued interdisciplinary development and experiential learning and research within the community and at the Dr. King School. GWNO will involve local governments, stakeholders and partners, and members of the neighborhood—predominantly youths—in green infrastructure design, job training, and skills building. The team’s involvement will enhance the ability of leading stakeholders to address local economic, educational, and recreational needs while improving storm resiliency, addressing water quality issues, and restoring damaged ecosystems and infrastructure.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation
  Lake Pontchartrain Area—New Orleans, Louisiana
  The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) will implement a project to accelerate the ongoing revitalization of three miles of New Orleans’ lakefront on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Restoring beach access would benefit nearby under-served minority and low-income communities. LPBF also proposes to create a “Guide to the Southshore Lakefront” to promote many types of safe recreation and tell the story of the lake’s recovery. As the growing Hispanic community is discovering the lakefront, new literature and signage will be in Spanish and English.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans
  Lake Pontchartrain Area—New Orleans, Louisiana
  The Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) will implement a Green Infrastructure Monitoring Project in New Orleans’ Pontilly neighborhoods, which were deeply affected by Hurricane Katrina. The intent of this project is to conduct water quality monitoring in the Pontilly neighborhoods at fixed stations on a flow-stimulated basis. The project team has identified five sites in which to begin pre-construction baseline monitoring of urban runoff, and will continue monitoring at these sites for one year after green infrastructure is installed. The expected results are that the water quality will improve as the green infrastructure sites are implemented.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• The Public Labratory for Open Technology and Science
  Lake Pontchartrain Area—New Orleans, Louisiana
  In partnership with an existing network of local volunteers and restoration organizations, the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science (Public Lab) will train community members and wetland restoration advocates to monitor and track progress at eight ongoing urban wetland restoration projects in the Lake Pontchartrain area. The project will build capacity in New Orleans, including under-served areas, for citizen-led monitoring of wetlands. The wetland restoration monitoring training will include introduction to basic science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts through real-life application and investigation for sustained engagement in local urban waters issues.

  Award Amount: $52,185

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• University of Maryland
  Anacostia Watershed—Prince Georges County, Maryland
  The University of Maryland will implement a two-pronged project to help restore impaired sub-watersheds within the Anacostia River Watershed. The first prong will be to design low impact development (LID) solutions to retrofit school roofs, parking lots, service drives, and sport facilities in an effort to reduce runoff discharge and improve water quality. The second prong will be to develop lesson plans that will integrate the LID solutions into outdoor laboratories. The project will be piloted at New Hope Academy in Landover Hills, Maryland.

  Award Amount: $58,648

• University of Baltimore
  Patapsco Watershed—Baltimore, Maryland
  The University of Baltimore will use DNA-based microbial source tracking to estimate the relative contribution of human and dog fecal bacteria to outfalls from the Mill Corridor, which is a stretch of the lower Jones Falls stream that runs through two historically blue collar neighborhoods. The data from the effort will be provided to the City of Baltimore and the community for prioritizing infrastructure repairs to reduce pet waste. The project team will train community volunteers to monitor water pollution, and educate middle and high school students about their local stream ecosystems. A long-term outcome of the project is expected to be lower bacteria loads in the lower Jones Falls stream and the Inner Harbor.

  Award Amount: $59,827

• Alternatives for Community & Environment, Inc.
  Mystic River Watershed—Boston, Chelsea, and Revere, Massachusetts
  Alternatives for Community & Environment, Inc., (ACE) will partner with the Chelsea Creek Action Group (CCAG) to assist environmental justice communities in implementing their Chelsea Creek Community Improvement Plan. The project will engage residents in reviewing and updating the community vision for the Chelsea Creek; assist them in understanding existing regulatory mechanisms for protecting water quality; and facilitate them in taking a proactive role in the promotion of the Chelsea Creek as an environmental, recreational, economic, and educational resource.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Mystic River Watershed Association
  Mystic River Watershed—Malden, Medford, and Everett, Massachusetts
  The Mystic River Watershed Association will promote green infrastructure in three environmental justice communities bordering the Malden River through education, outreach, planning charettes, GIS analysis, modeling of pollutant source and loads, development of a low impact development (LID) technical document, and analysis of zoning/ordinances. The program will work directly with municipal staff to train them on the principles of green infrastructure, provide a technical green infrastructure guidance document specific to the urban environment, and expose them to the variety of solutions available.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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• Calvin College
  Grand Rapids Area—Grand Rapids Metropolitan Area, Michigan
  Calvin College will develop a regional "rainscaping" initiative to design green infrastructure (GI) and low-impact development (LID) plans and develop a "green" workforce by training urban youth in the installation and maintenance of GI and other LID projects. This effort will promote GI awareness and implementation among homeowners, landscapers, and contractors. A "water currency" program will be developed as an incentive for potential participants to install GI designs. Green workforce development will focus on one upstream community (Rogue River Watershed) and one downstream community (Plaster Creek Watershed).

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Blue River Watershed Association
  Middle Blue River—Kansas City Metropolitan Area, Missouri
  The Blue River Watershed Association, with its partner agencies, will create and engage eight teams of under-served community youth by involving them in water quality monitoring studies, data collection, and community presentations and projects. Each team will include a high school youth coordinator, an educator, and a mentor who is a professional in the field of water quality, environmental stewardship, engineering, biology, or similar field. Students will share their connection to the watershed with others through presentations and community projects designed by each team.

  Award Amount: $59,940

• Heartland Conservation Alliance, Inc.
  Middle Blue River—Kansas City, Missouri

  The Heartland Conservation Alliance, Inc., will study 3,000 vacant lands in the Middle Blue River Watershed for the purposes of identifying properties to redevelop with green infrastructure or low impact development. This effort will build upon current work for developing a Blue River watershed restoration strategy. The goal of the project is to improve watershed health and community vitality.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Groundwork Elizabeth
  Passaic River -- Elizabeth, New Jersey
  Groundwork Elizabeth will continue its effort to develop and complete the Elizabeth River Greenway and renew the communities around it. During the construction pof the Phase 1 section of the Elizabeth Greenway, Groundwork Elizabeth engaged the Elizabeth community, especially local youth. Groundwork will build on its experience during Phase I to lead community engagement efforts in the neighborhoods around the Phase II and Phase III sections of the greenway and build momentum for restoring the whole local waterway and the communities around it.

  Award Amount: $59,820

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• Amigos Bravos
  Middle Rio Grande—Albuquerque, New Mexico
  Amigos Bravos will conduct 12 student- and community-based water quality monitoring events at the urban Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) across all three sources of surface water: two irrigation ditches, the east riverside drain, and the Rio Grande River. Work will include sampling for nutrients and metals, as well as pharmaceuticals, PCBs, and E. coli. The work will benefit Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permittees in the urban watershed regarding PCB analytical methods and efforts to meet EPA's 2015 goal of eliminating impairments on the river.

  Award Amount: $59,818

• Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program at Bosque School
  Middle Rio Grande- Albuquerque, New Mexico
  The Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) at the Bosque School, which is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, will combine citizen science with water quality monitoring within the Middle Rio Grande Watershed. Two groups of middle and high school students, in addition to a university student intern, will help collect 658 water samples from 16 sites. Once the samples and data are analyzed, the water quality results will be used to inform pueblos, irrigators, land and water managers, stakeholders, and the public about the health of the river and other watershed features. The sites selected for monitoring and the range of parameters monitored will help determine the greatest threats to the health of the river and groundwater. Presenting the data in a variety of ways and at a number of events will increase awareness of current water quality and allow stakeholders and the public as a whole to become more involved in addressing pollution issues.

  Award Amount: $59,921

• Earth Force
  Middle Rio Grande—Albuquerque, New Mexico
  This project expands upon Earth Force’s successful EPA Urban Waters Small Grant pilot in the South Platte River from Denver, Colorado, to Albuquerque, New Mexico. The project will improve the water quality of the Middle Rio Grande by involving under-served youth in creating projects that address pressing water quality issues in their community. The approach creates a Neighborhood Environmental Trio: an outdoor learning opportunity at an urban wildlife refuge (Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge), schools (Albuquerque Public Schools), and a municipal authority working to improve water quality (City of Albuquerque). The trio provides an uncommon and comprehensive learning experience for youth, who will utilize water quality data (existing and data they collect) to design project-based solutions to improve the health of the Rio Grande.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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• New York Department of Parks and Recreation
  Bronx and Harlem River Watersheds—Bronx, New York
  The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation will fund a Community Engagement Coordinator to create a volunteer monitoring program that engages local community groups and schools to collect important data on oyster reef restoration, alewife migration, and eel populations and to expand awareness on the importance of improving water quality. Monitoring program volunteers will be sought from the Bronx, where 90 percent of residents are minorities and 30 percent of residents live below the national poverty line. The project will help address water quality improvement, aquatic habitat restoration, and community engagement goals identified in multiple region-wide plans.

  Award Amount: $59,532

• Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments
  Western Lake Erie Basin—Toledo, Ohio
  Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) will work with the “Junction Avenue Project” to develop a green infrastructure plan that will help improve water quality and alleviate flooding pressure in Toledo’s Junction Avenue neighborhood. This plan will help manage stormwater runoff using green infrastructure, while increasing neighborhood greenspace and reducing flooding.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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• Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
  Delaware River Basin—Chester, Pennsylvania
  The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) will create training sessions that address the current lack of skills needed to maintain and improve the multi‐functionality of the City of Chester’s green spaces. The trainings will focus on three target audiences: municipal employees, under‐skilled landscape laborers, and at-risk youth. These audiences will learn about basic watershed concepts, tree and perennial vegetation installation and maintenance, invasive plant management, riparian buffer restoration and installation, green stormwater infrastructure, sustainable turf management, and community engagement.

  Award Amount: $41,679

• Schuylkill River Development Corporation
  Delaware River Basin—Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  Schuylkill River Development Corporation (SRDC) will analyze the feasibility of using a “greenway-systems” approach to stormwater management by extending the Schuylkill River Trail from 58th Street to south of Passyunk Avenue. Plans for the proposed greenway include absorbing and filtering stormwater runoff, reducing nonpoint source pollution, and contributing to the environmental restoration of the Schuylkill River.

  Award Amount: $40,000

• Temple University -- of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education
  Delaware River Basin—Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  Temple University’s Center for Sustainable Communities will develop a framework for developing a Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) plan through a participatory geodesign process, and then applying the framework in Delaware Direct and Tookany/Tacony-Frankford watersheds. The project team will create a conceptual GSI plan for the study area, visualize three specific GSI project site plans, and conduct three design charettes in lower-income and minority neighborhoods.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Villanova University
  Delaware River Basin—Delaware County, Pennsylvania
  Villanova University will create two vegetated roof shelters in the Darby Creek Watershed. These roof shelters will function as school bike racks or solar charging stations, as well as living laboratories for conducting research. The results from this project are expected to increase knowledge of stormwater issues in the community, implement stormwater control measures within the member townships of the Eastern Delaware County Stormwater Collaborative, and reduce stormwater volume.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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• Corporación del Proyecto ENLACE del Caño Martín Peña
  Martin Peña Canal—San Juan, Puerto Rico
  ENLACE will design a conceptual plan for a new stormwater drainage system. Components of the conceptual plan will include water quality improvements to the Martin Peña Channel and incorporation of green infrastructure initiatives and mechanisms, while taking into consideration new challenges presented by climate change. The scope of work includes creating a participatory design process that will analyze green infrastructure options for a densely populated area.

  Award Amount: $59,999

• Duwamish River Cleanup Coaltion/Technical Advisory Group
  Green-Duwamish River—Seattle, Washington
  The Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/Technical Advisory Group (DRCC/TAG) will implement the Healthy River/Healthy Communities project. This project will establish a community-based Health Equity and Revitalization Task Force to prioritize, refine, and help implement recommendations for EPA’s proposed cleanup plan for the Lower Duwamish River, a federal Superfund site. These recommendations are expected to include creating greenspace and public access at riverfront cleanup areas; training and hiring local residents for cleanup jobs; providing healthy alternatives to contaminated fish; and protecting residents from gentrification exacerbated by cleanup.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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2011/2012

Through the 2011/2012 Urban Waters Small Grants competition, the Environmental Protection Agency selected 55 organizations in 36 states and Puerto Rico to receive grants ranging from $30,280 to $60,000, totalling $3.2 million for projects that will contribute to imrpoving water quality and community revitalization. 

Read the press release here.

• Anchorage School District    
  Anchorage, Alaska
  The Anchorage School District proposes to connect middle school students with the neighboring community and partnering agencies to monitor and promote water quality restoration of Chester Creek, an important Alaskan watershed and urban stream in Anchorage, Alaska.  Begich Middle School serves the Muldoon neighborhood, a densely populated, low-income area with significant stream degradation.

  Award Amount: $30,280

• California Coastal Commission
  Santa Cruz County, California

  This two-year project will reduce specific urban sources of water quality impacts in two targeted sub-watershed areas of Watsonville Sloughs. The project will educate English and Spanish speaking community members about common impacts to these wetland areas from daily pollution generated at the residential level, which can then be carried straight to the sloughs by rain and dry season water flows (such as overwatering, leaky hoses and fixtures, and car washing). Focus will be placed on making direct contact to provide inexpensive “simple solutions” to pollution prevention (i.e., sprinkler timers, proper application of household pesticides and fertilizers, importance of trash can lids) and then connecting residents to extensive local resources for the implementation of various strategies and practices for infiltration (i.e., rain barrels, gardens).

  Award Amount: $57,770

• Council for Watershed Health
  Los Angeles, California 
  The Council for Watershed Health will develop a Los Angeles River Watershed assessment framework and then disseminate the results to the community via multi-media outlets. The Council for Watershed Health will work with the EPA's Urban Waters Partnership and local stakeholders to identify factors and report out to the community.

  Award Amount: $59,925

• Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed
  Brentwood, California
  The Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed proposes to restore water quality in the Marsh Creek Watershed through increasing understanding and awareness of water quality issues and advancing restoration and stewardship. The main tasks proposed are: 1) Project Management; 2) Water Quality Monitoring; 3) Agricultural Community Outreach and Technical Assistance; 4) Community Member Outreach and Training; 5) Leadership Training; 6) Green Infrastructure Restoration Planning.  The results of this project will lead to significant improvements in water quality, providing multiple benefits to the communities within the project area and the larger Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Revive the San Joaquin
  Fresno, California
  The Revive the San Joaquin will develop regular citizen-based water quality monitoring events at locations on the San Joaquin River, create baseline data sets that can support San Joaquin River watershed restoration and regional water quality goals, and develop a public participation program that will actively educate adjacent landowners about water quality impacts of contaminated stormwater.

  Award Amount: $59,660

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• Earth Force Inc.
  Denver, Colorado 
  Earth Force Inc. will work with Denver Public Works and Denver Public Schools to develop Outdoor Classrooms that reach 750 youth to result in stewardship of the South Platte River. It will also include teacher training workshops and development of an educational toolkit for outdoor classrooms.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Barr Lake & Milton Reservoir Watershed Association
  Denver, Colorado 
  The Barr Lake & Milton Reservoir Watershed Association proposes to bring together the nine watershed associations in the Denver metropolitan area, along with Metropolitan State College of Denver's One World, One Water Center for Urban Water Education and Sustainability (OWOW) and Water 2012 to develop effective, unified, comprehensive clean water messages for a coordinated public outreach campaign (including outreach to communities of color and low-income communities) that partners can implement.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Harbor Watch, a Program of Earthplace
  Norwalk, Connecticut
  Harbor Watch (HW), a program of Earthplace, is a 25-year-old volunteer citizen’s water quality monitoring organization that is proposing a one-year storm drain screening and research project for three major storm drain systems discharging to Norwalk harbor to improve marine water quality at public beaches and for the local shellfish industry. The elimination of contaminating sources will have a clear economic benefit to the Norwalk community that relies on shell fishing for livelihood, and improving the overall water quality for this highly urbanized water body will ultimately lead to a cleaner Long Island Sound.

  Award Amount: $52,637

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• Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper  
  Atlanta, Georgia
  The Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper will expand on the existing Neighborhood Water Watch Program, an existing collaborative partnership of the applicant, civic associations, watershed groups, schools, and government agencies to improve water quality in urban streams and protect public health. Begun in 2010, the program focuses on Atlanta’s urban core, empowering citizens to help improve water quality in their neighborhoods by collecting weekly samples for bacteria in neighborhoods and working with city officials and other appropriate agencies to stop pollution at its source.

  Award Amount: $50,000

• Malama Maunalua
  Honolulu, Hawaii
  The health and ecology of Maunalua Bay has been severely impacted by the effects of urban development and population growth during the last 50 years. The goal of the project is to reduce polluted runoff to Maunalua Bay from more than 20,000 households and 6 major commercial centers in the region by creating two highly visible sites to demonstrate stormwater management practices which are intended to increase awareness and influence the behavior of residents, visitors and bay users about the threats to the bay and the need for restoration.

  Award Amount: $59,919

• Friends of the Chicago River
  Chicago, Illinois
  The Friends of the Chicago River will engage the community in stewardship work that improves water quality, habitat and access, while also providing outreach on stormwater best management practices and river-related water quality issues. The project seeks to increase public understanding and support of the natural value of the Chicago River and open space; increase use of local forest preserves for recreation and restoration activities; and increase use of best management practices (BMPs) by residents.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• City of Indianapolis–Office of Sustainability
  Indianapolis, Indiana
  City of Indianapolis–Office of Sustainability will engage at least 100 individuals in their water currency “demonstration” program to promote watershed friendly choices, educate at least 150 volunteers and land managers about stormwater BMPs at their workshop, and communicate directly with a minimum of 250 landowners to gain interest in the city’s rain garden and native planting area program. 

  Award Amount: $60,000

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• City of Iowa City
  Iowa City, Iowa 
  The City of Iowa City will build community consensus around a plan and design alternatives incorporating best practices to modify the Burlington Street Dam for improved water quality, flood mitigation, public safety, and public access to the Iowa River to build a resilient river park system that will store, absorb, and filter polluted runoff and flood waters.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Kansas State University
  Salina, Kansas
  The Kansas State University will include educational curriculum for community members to learn to recognize, measure, evaluate, and recommend solutions to reduce pollutant loading into the Old Smoky River channel. They will hold workshops in water quality sampling, stormwater runoff, BMPs/stream bank stabilization methods/green infrastructure, and ending with identifying areas for BMPs which will lead to recommendations into a future restoration plan.

  Award Amount: $ 60,000

• University of Kentucky
  Lexington, Kentucky 
  The University of Kentucky will engage grade school students, teachers and citizens within the watershed to increase understanding of water quality issues, science career opportunities, and promote urban stream restoration. The project will integrate with a nearby stream restoration project in a city-owned park and a 12-mile streamside walking/biking path in the watershed, presenting a unique opportunity for students and residents to become involved in watershed issues.

  Award Amount: $59,934

• Groundwork New Orleans
  New Orleans, Louisiana 
  Groundwork New Orleans will use their Urban Waters grant to help transform vacant, underutilized land into an educational demonstration project called The Green Slice, based in the Lower Ninth Ward. The Green Slice will be designed as a demonstration and interdisciplinary research site for water management and water quality improvement, impacting local urban watersheds and developing tools for experiential learning and neighborhood-based outreach.

  Award Amount: $59,824

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• Civic Works
  Baltimore, Maryland
  Civic Works will educate residents in the Patapsco watershed about the benefits of making water-related improvements to their homes through innovative methods such as homeowner-hosted neighborhood meetings and will train community members to perform water retrofits through its B'more Green three-month training program where individuals learn how to reduce a home's water consumption and storm water runoff through installation of various upgrades.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Groundwork Lawrence
  Lawrence, Massachusetts 
  Groundwork Lawrence is proposing to take its successful approach of converting ‘brownfields’ into parks and open space to focus on citizen stewardship and water quality restoration of the Spicket River.  It will bring together the “Spicket River Restoration Partnership” to engage the community through citizen volunteers (Volunteer River Restoration Corps) for water quality testing to establish a water quality baseline and to further characterize the environmental condition of the river.  This project will identify stream channel issues and harmful contamination threats such as stormwater infrastructure and combined sewer overflows.  As volunteers are engaged and water quality conditions are discussed with the city and state, further planning will identify necessary efforts to be undertaken by the Volunteer River Restoration Corps.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Northern Middlesex Council of Governments (NMCOG)
  Lowell, Massachusetts 
  Northern Middlesex Council of Governments will combine efforts with the Merrimack River Watershed Council and partners to be engaged to develop a stormwater education program to touch upon all the communities, neighborhoods and populations in the Merrimack River region and elsewhere in the Commonwealth.   NMCOG and partners will develop a training and outreach program designed to educate community citizens, municipal staff and officials about the effects of stormwater on water quality and solutions available to individuals and communities. It will include educational workshops, trainings, and materials and media outlets.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• City of Duluth
  Duluth, Minnesota
  The City of Duluth proposes to develop a strategic action framework to help determine funding priorities with the St. Louis River Corridor. The project will work to improve water quality, in hopes of accelerating the removal of some of the nine beneficial use impairments of the Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC). It will bring together community planning projects that have already taken place into one integrated platform to help guide future green infrastructure and restoration efforts, protect natural resources, and set funding priorities so that development, restoration and delisting of the AOC can all proceed in an organized fashion together.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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• Heartland Conservation Alliance Kansas City, Missouri

  In Kansas City, the Heartland Conservation Alliance will: 1) connect diverse stakeholders and landowners in the Blue River Watershed to discuss water quality protection, 2) prioritize conservation targets from existing conservation plans, 3) create a strategy to protect floodplains and riparian corridors through large-scale land and conservation easements, and 4) teach landowners, the public, and policy makers about the importance of and how to protect the places they love through conservation easement donations and parkland dedication. At project  completion, they hope to be able to solicit 15 donations/easements of land that will filter pollutants, stabilize stream banks, and provide flood storage in the Blue River Watershed.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville
  St. Louis, Missouri
  The Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville will evaluate the effectiveness of site scale green infrastructure facilities on reducing flows in combined sewers and to develop a protocol program of community outreach and public education on green infrastructure.

  Award Amount: $59,876

• Gallatin Local Water Quality District
  Gallatin, Montana
  The Gallatin Local Water Quality District will establish an integrated stream monitoring program in the East Gallatin River-Bozeman and Bozeman Creek watersheds, in the greater Gallatin watershed, for the purpose of evaluating water quality conditions long-term as part of a larger, planned District-wide monitoring program.

  Award Amount: $ 60,000

• University of Nebraska – Lincoln
  Omaha, Nebraska
  The University of Nebraska – Lincoln will establish a living laboratory to monitor and assess the effectiveness of green infrastructure strategies and education, develop an innovative, science-based, mobile education application to educate stakeholders, and promote community involvement and multi-organizational partnerships through an integrated research-education outreach model.

  Award Amount: $56,517

• Ironbound Community Corporation
  Newark, New Jersey
  The Ironbound Community Corporation plans to engage and educate residents, offer free river tours and walkshops, plan riverfront programs, a “RiverDay” and workshops, create a “Back to the River” brochure and map including key access points and riverfront parks and post on-line.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District
  Albuquerque, New Mexico
  Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District’s proposal is to improve the water quality of the Rio Grande on a watershed basis, by educating the public about stormwater management and green infrastructure and by building a constituency that supports a vision for low-impact development, particularly in developed areas while improving the physical “livability characteristics” in neighborhoods. The proposal will also include funding for conducting education at the fifth-grade level, local workshops on neighborhood-oriented green infrastructure and the development of green infrastructure strategies for three neighborhoods.
   
  Award Amount: $60,000
• New Mexico BASS Chapter Federation
  Roswell, New Mexico

  The New Mexico BASS Chapter Federation proposes to restore the Spring River Pond to a children’s fishery using natural methods.  The project intends to accelerate research in golden algae management and increase awareness of the impact of invasive aquatic species.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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• Onondaga Environmental Institute
  Onondaga County, New York
  The goal of this project is to improve the water quality of Onondaga Creek and Onondaga Lake through training of youth and adults in Syracuse’s disadvantaged neighborhoods that will prepare them to work on the installation and maintenance of green infrastructure (GI) as well as community engagement around water resource issues. In the short term, two Adult GI boot camp trainings will prepare low‐income, underemployed adults for jobs in the installation and maintenance of GI as well as increasing knowledge, skills, and job readiness for green jobs. In the medium‐term, this job readiness will lead to a larger workforce of people who are capable of successfully installing and maintaining GI practices that will, in the long‐term, lead to a reduction of stormwater runoff and CSOs that impair the water quality of Onondaga Lake.   
   
  Award Amount: $60,000
• Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.
  Dutchess County, New York

  The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc will design and implement a signage program to educate and inspire their communities, train local youth in the foundations of watershed science and green infrastructure technology so that they can apply this knowledge by designing and implementing a green infrastructure project.

  Award Amount: $59,855

• Groundwork Hudson Valley
  Yonkers, New York 
  Groundwork Hudson Valley plans to create a “laboratory” for urban waters projects nationwide. Building a community stewardship of people who live and work along the river will ensure that the water in the neighborhood and the park will be “safe and touchable” and that the people living in environmental justice (EJ) areas understand the challenges facing the river. 

  Award Amount: $51,401

• Rocking the Boat
  Bronx, New York 
  Making practical use of its growing fleet of student-built wooden boats, Rocking the Boat’s Bronx River Education Through Restoration engages local students and members of the general public in hands-on restoration, monitoring, and educational activities both on and around the Bronx River. Through this work, Rocking the Boat is simultaneously helping to revitalize the South Bronx community and the River that runs through it.  Project activities will include water quality monitoring and conducting aquatic habitat surveys.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association
  Durham, North Carolina
  The Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association will build a collaborative partnership with residents, American Rivers, the stormwater utility, other local government agencies, and the USDA Extension agency to improve water quality in Ellerbe Creek and Falls Lake, a public drinking water source. The project will develop a green infrastructure plan in the most urban areas of the city, quantify the pollution reductions that could be achieved through green infrastructure, and provide training and assistance on green infrastructure and low impact development techniques that can protect and improve water quality in the watershed.

  Award Amount: $59,927

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• Land of Sky Regional Council
  Brevard, North Carolina
  Land of Sky Regional Council will build stewardship within the Rosenwald neighborhood through education, hands-on activities, identification of water quality concerns, and the development of a watershed action plan. The project builds on a U.S. Housing and Urban Development Sustainable Communities Initiative to work with the community through an environmental education program, a recreation and access planning process, and a water quality monitoring program to engage local high school students in environmental careers.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Cleveland Botanical Garden
  Cleveland, Ohio 
  This project seeks to provide neighborhood stabilization, and/or reduce maintenance costs associated with vacant land.  Different mixtures of dredge material, compost, and wood chips will be placed on vacant test lots, planted with low-maintenance groundcover to act as bioswale, and monitored for improvements to soil nutrient content, bioavailable lead content, water infiltration, soil moisture, and plant establishment.  The result will be reduced stormwater runoff, stabilized urban neighborhood vacant land, reduced soil lead (Pb) toxicity, and reduced municipal maintenance costs of vacant land.

  Award Amount: $59,680

• State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment
  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 
  The State of Oklahoma  will provide preliminary evaluation of two urban reservoirs (Lakes Hefner and Overholser) receiving extensive watershed Best Management Practice implementation. Project results will influence Oklahoma City’s decision to address the impaired beneficial uses within each of these offset reservoirs.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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• City of Florence
  Florence, Oregon
  The City of Florence will continue an EPA-funded Siuslaw Estuary Partnership Surface and Groundwater monitoring program for two years. The result of the project will provide protection of the North Florence sole source Dunal aquifer and protection and improvement of the  water quality in Munsel and Ackerly creeks and the Siuslaw River.’ 

  Award Amount: $60,000

• City of Corvallis
  Corvallis, Oregon
  The City of Corvallis will conduct a comprehensive planning effort for ‘Green Streets’ as a mechanism to treat stormwater, develop alternative transportation routes, expand urban green space, and improve community health.   ‘Green Streets’ collect non-point source pollution from city streets through filtration, detention, and evaporation of stormwater runoff before it enters into the Willamette River and the City’s urban streams. 

  Award Amount: $45,620

• Columbia Slough Watershed Council (CSWC) – Wonders of Whitaker (WOW)
  Portland, Oregon
  Wonders of Whitaker (WOW) is an educational program in Portland, Oregon that engages minority, low-income, and indigenous student youth in the Columbia Slough Watershed. Students will take part in field science programs at Whitaker Ponds and along Whitaker Slough including water testing, aquatic macro invertebrate sampling, and natural history hikes. Using hands-on professional water testing kits, students will collect water from selected sites at the park and along the slough six times during each school year. Students will create water quality testing and reporting protocol and test the water for dissolved oxygen, PH, and turbidity. By following and tracing the stormwater running into the ponds and slough, they will learn about the connection between rainfall and stormwater runoff. Students will record and report their baseline data information to Oregon Stream Webs and the local community.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Curry County Soil and Water Conservation District
  Gold Beach, Oregon

  The Curry County Soil and Water Conservation District will provide a scientific- based assessment of the Rogue River Estuary; educate and engage the local community in a continuing education class at the local community college; monitor water and environmental quality; and convene a community/agency Estuary Team to use the assessments in developing a community-driven restoration plan for the Rogue River Estuary.

  Award Amount: $59,400

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• Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society will provide focused information and training to a variety of constituencies with land management interests/responsibilities within the Tookany/Tacony Frankford watershed to build interest and provide skills needed to implement and maintain simple storm water green infrastructure projects.  This project will encourage the development of more green infrastructure within the watershed, further community beautification efforts, increase capacity of a variety of constituencies to implement and maintain green infrastructure, and ultimately contribute to improved water quality and community involvement.

  Award Amount: $58,000

• Temple University
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  The University's Center for Sustainable Communities will develop a storm water management plan for three urban watersheds that will identify and prioritize storm water improvements to mitigate water quality problems and flooding problems that under-served residents have been facing for many years.  Using environmental justice as an overarching theoretical framework, this project will use mixed methods, community engagement, and a watershed-wide multi-municipal planning approach.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• ENLACE
  San Juan, Puerto Rico
  ENLACE will promote an understanding of the environmental degradation of an estuarine tidal channel and will continue to engage the community in its restoration and in claiming their right to a healthy environment through education for critical consciousness and democratic action.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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• The Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island
  Providence, Rhode Island
  The Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island (EJLRI) will team up with experienced social-environmental community organizations (Urban Pond Procession and Groundwork Providence), who will continue efforts to creatively engage Reservoir Triangle’s neighborhood residents through educational and training initiatives to generate citizen energy for restoring water quality in Mashapaug Pond, the last remaining natural pond in Providence, RI.  The project will involve community assessments to understand stormwater impacts to the pond by building on previous coalitions built to clean-up the Gorham Silver Manufacturing site.  Homeowners and school children will learn about stormwater pollution sources at home and receive hands-on education about residential and neighborhood stormwater practices that homeowners can employ..  The project also includes hands-on activities to educate community members and youth on best practices for stormwater management.

  Award Amount: $60,000

• Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association
  Providence, Rhode Island 
  This project involves developing a fish community monitoring program for three wadeable urban rivers and tributaries, the Moshasshuck River, Woonasquatucket River and the Blackstone River, flowing through urban areas around Providence, RI.  Existing historic fish and water quality data will be assembled and analyzed to establish baseline data, develop urban river habitat assessments and identify areas where no previous information is available.   The project will identify issues and related urban conditions and then target locations for water quality restoration actions.  It will engage the urban community to provide citizen-scientist education program(s), develop a monitoring protocol for volunteer monitoring procedures and to hold workshops to provide volunteer training for long term monitoring.

  Award Amount: $57,000

• Upstate Forever
  South Carolina
  Upstate Forever proposes a project to prepare detailed plans for the creation of the initial phase of a 400-acre urban park on the Rocky River and development of wetland restoration, education, and recreation plans for the 120-acres of potential park owned by Anderson University, 75 acres of which are wetlands. The wetland restoration and enhancement will filter and treat urban water runoff within the watershed and lead to a reduction of bacteria and turbidity in Rocky River. Ultimately, the project will provide improved community understanding about stormwater runoff, urban pollution, and the benefits that wetlands provide, including water quality improvement and wildlife habitat.
   
  Award Amount: $60,000

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• Tennessee Environmental Council
  Springhill, Tennessee
  Tennessee Environmental Council will establish a stakeholder group to develop a watershed action plan partnering with the local municipal storm sewer system to promote low impact development and green infrastructure techniques in the community to address community priorities such as economic development and water quality restoration. Once the action plan has been developed, the applicant will hold workshops for residents, school groups, businesses and other stakeholders regarding watershed assessment and protection.

  Award Amount: $ 56,999.75

• Galveston Bay Foundation
  Galveston Bay, Texas 
  The Galveston Bay Foundation will provide partners with best management practice information and tools to contribute to lowering their bacteria inputs to the Bay. The project will also produce volunteer water quality monitoring data to augment professional data and aid in identifying problem areas and quantifying progress towards water quality improvements.

  Award Amount: $ 60,000

• Upper Colorado River Authority
  San Angelo, Texas
  The Upper Colorado River Authority (UCRA) plans to conduct a bacteria source tracking study that will be conducted cooperatively with the Department of Physics and Geoscience at Angelo State University (a certified Hispanic serving institution).  In partnership with the San Angelo Independent School District (SAISD), UCRA plans to develop a Water Stewardship Program targeted to schools with lower socioeconomic populations and refine a Watersheds and Nonpoint Source Curriculum Program for all SAISD 7th graders.

  Award Amount: $57,000

• Salt Lake County Division of Flood Control and Water Quality, Watershed Planning and Restoration Department
  Salt Lake City, Utah
  Salt Lake County proposes to improve water quality, support community revitalization, educate the community, and engage and empower some of Salt Lake County’s lowest-income residents through two connected programs.  Program 1 utilizes the Center for Documentary Expression and Arts’ “Exhibits That Teach” program to establish school and community-based education outreach efforts in Salt Lake City's Fairpark neighborhood. Program 2 utilizes a “Quick Response” (QR) code and Smartphone app technology to bring education information, developed through Project 1 efforts, to the fingertips of thousand of Salt Lake County residents. The project’s goal is to promote behavioral changes that will positively impact water quality by increasing local residents’ awareness of the watershed, and by engaging and empowering them to make those changes. 

  Award Amount: $60,000

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• City of Richmond
  Richmond, Virginia 
  The City of Richmond will assist the residents of Bellemeade Creek watershed to form a coalition of active stakeholders that will work to restore the creek and make it a key asset of a new community school and provide for recreational use by all residents.  Additional objectives of this project include supporting the coalition in developing a detailed Watershed Action Agenda that outlines agency/organizational leads, funding commitments, and phasing and building the coalition's capacity to effectively shepherd implementation and stewardship beyond the life of the grant.

  Award amount: $59,671

• Port Townsend Marine Science Society
  Port Townsend, Washington 
  The Port Townsend Marine Science Society proposes to collect data that will further our understanding of the various pathways and fates of toxic pollution in Puget Sound and to develop a permanent educational exhibit, “Toxics in the Marine Environment” at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC).

  Award Amount: $56,848

• Friends of Deckers Creek
  Morgantown, West Virginia
  The Friends of Deckers Creek will initiate a public education campaign to educate residents, business owners, and the economic development community about the pollution issues and the economic potential of a restored Deckers Creek and to design and initiate a study of the mine that is polluting the creek that will ultimately be used to advance eventual construction of a treatment plant to address acid mine drainage.

  Award Amount: $55, 600

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• Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission
  Green Bay, Wisconsin 
  Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission will perform water quality monitoring at Bay Beach in Green Bay, Wisconsin to identify pollution sources. Monitoring results will drive the development of a restoration action plan that includes an engineering plan for beach redesign to mitigate the issues.

  Award Amount: $ 59,995

• University of Wisconsin – La Crosse
  Crosse County, Wisconsin 
  University of Wisconsin – La Crosse will establish a monitoring program for water quality and biota to examine bioavailability, toxicity, and spatial mobilization of lead in marsh sediments within this urban wetland ecosystem. The project will create and strengthen partnerships between local marsh stakeholders through community outreach and educational programs.

  Award Amount: $59,979

• Washakie County Conservation District
  Worland, Wyoming
  The Washakie County Conservation District will work toward retrofitting the existing storm water system within the City of Worland. The objective of this project is to complete an assessment of the City of Worland's stormwater infrastructure and to use the options for suitable Best Management Practices (BMPs) to complete an implementation plan to retrofit the system.

  Award Amount: $60,000

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