Northern Water provided about $145,000 in funding this year through its Collaborative Water Efficient Landscape Grant Program For a third consecutive year Northern Water has partnered with municipalities, homeowners associations and other entities to bring more sustainable landscapes and water-efficiency education opportunities to the region. Northern Water provided about $145,000 in funding this year through its Collaborative Water Efficient Landscape Grant Program, going to 13 projects that are now underway throughout Northern Water’s boundaries.
Irrigation Systems
Projects include irrigation-system upgrades, implementation of Colorado climate-friendly plants, and conversions of water-intensive grasses to more efficient turf options. Grants ranged from $2,700 to $20,000, the maximum awarded. Matching funds are required of the grant recipients. Northern Water has now contributed about $400,000 in grants over the past 3 years to 36 projects, which all together cover nearly 5 million sq-ft of landscape. In addition to helping fund the projects, Northern Water also provides signage at each site, in an effort to help educate the public about the many benefits of these water-efficient landscapes.
“This past year obviously presented potential challenges and logistics issues for any entity wanting to take on a landscape renovation, but we still received a great deal of interest in the grant program and are funding another amazing round of high-caliber, water saving projects,” said Frank Kinder, Water Efficiency Department Manager at Northern Water.
The 2021 recipients and projects that the grant program is currently supporting:
• Boulder County, City of Boulder, renovate a 1,475-sq-ft area at the North Boulder Recreation Center into a water-wise landscape
• Broomfield County: City of Broomfield, developing a 5,000-sq-ft water-efficient landscape demonstration site at the entryway of one of its primary municipal buildings.
• Larimer County: 1) Town of Berthoud, implementing irrigation system improvements across 16.5 acres of its community parks. 2) Town of Berthoud, developing a combined 3,000 sq-ft of waterwise demonstration landscapes in two of its community parks, 3) Colorado State University Extension, developing six water-efficient landscapes at the Larimer County Fairgrounds to serve as demonstrations, 4) Harbor Walk Lane HOA in Fort Collins, implementing a nearly 20,000-sq-ft, water-wise demonstration landscape across one of its commons area, 5) High Pointe HOA in Fort Collins, converting 3,000 sq-ft of a turf parkway with water-wise plants and irrigation system upgrades, 6) Mariana Cove HOA in Loveland, converting 4,300 sq-ft of turf on one of their entry-road medians to water-wise plants with more efficient irrigation systems 7) Pelican Ridge HOA in Fort Collins, converting about 20,000 sq-ft of commons area through turf conversions, wildflower beds and irrigation upgrades.
• Weld County: 1) Country Club Maples HOA in Greeley, conducting irrigation upgrades across a 115,000-sq-ft area, and converting about 5,000 total sq-ft of entryway into waterwise landscapes 2) City of Evans, revamping about 18,000 sq-ft of landscape at one of its primary municipal buildings with water-wise plants and irrigation upgrades 3)Town of Severance, converting about 7,850 sq-ft of landscape at one of its parks with water-wise plants and irrigation upgrades 4) New Grant Cycle Underway. Northern Water has already started the next grant cycle.
Here’s a list of key dates:
• Consultations for applicants: Now through Sept. 30, 2021
• Accepting applications: Oct. 1-Nov. 30, 2021
• Applicants notified: January 2022
• Contracts signed and projects can start: Spring 2022
• Project completion deadline: Sept. 30, 2022 Potential applicants are required to take part in a consultation with Northern Water prior to submitting an application. Anyone wanting to schedule a pre-application consultation can do so by contacting Chad Kuhnel at 970-292-2566
or at ckuhnel@northernwater.org. Additional details and updates about the grant program are available at www.northernwater.org/ grants.thoughts. Courtesy Longmont Leader