NEWS RELEASE
NORTHERN WATER
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BERTHOUD – Northern Water is once again partnering with local entities throughout Northern Colorado to bring more sustainable landscapes and water-efficiency education opportunities to the region.
Nearly $175,000 was awarded this year through Northern Water’s Collaborative Water-Efficient Landscape Grant Program, going to 16 projects that are now underway.
The recipients of this grant funding include local government entities and homeowners associations located throughout Northern Water’s boundaries. Projects consist of irrigation-system upgrades, incorporating Colorado climate-friendly plants into landscapes, and turf-to-native-grass conversions. In addition to helping fund the projects, Northern Water will also provide signage at these sites in an effort to help educate the public.
The amount of funding support awarded to each entity this year ranges from about $2,300 to the maximum of $15,000, depending on the scope of the project. A 50 percent match is required of the grant recipients.
Combined with the $130,000 that was distributed in 2019 during its first year, Northern Water’s Collaborative Water-Efficient Landscape Grant Program has now contributed more than $300,000 to 26 projects in just two years.
“It’s been incredibly rewarding to already see the effectiveness of the program,” said Frank Kinder, the Water Efficiency Department manager at Northern Water. “With last year’s projects having successfully come to fruition, in combination with the high-caliber projects that are underway now, it’s quite apparent that the grant program is serving its intended purpose.”
Here is a list of the 2020 recipients and the projects that the grant program is currently supporting.
Boulder County
• Frasier Meadows Retirement Community in Boulder - constructing two courtyards, about 16,600 square-feet combined, that will feature water-wise landscapes.
• Hover Woods Homeowners Association in Longmont - converting 1,000 square feet of Kentucky bluegrass to a more water-efficient, Colorado climate-friendly landscape.
• City of Longmont - converting 1.25 acres of Kentucky bluegrass to a native wheatgrass blend at the Longmont Service Center.
• Saddlebrook Homeowners Association in Superior - upgrading irrigation equipment across six of its landscape areas.
Larimer County
• CSU Extension - developing six mini residential landscapes to compare and demonstrate to the public the amount of water required to maintain each one.
• Harbor Walk Homeowners Association in Fort Collins - converting 10,454 square feet of cool-season turf grass to a xeriscape demonstration garden.
• Harvest Gold Village Homeowners Association in Westminster - completing upgrades and maintenance of an irrigation system that waters 16.4 acres of green space.
• Mariana Cove Homeowners Association in Loveland - converting 4,300 square feet of Kentucky bluegrass to xeric plantings and converting its irrigation system to drip.
• Meadowbrook Heights Homeowners Association in Loveland - repairing and upgrading its irrigation system.
• Oakridge Village 2 Homeowners Association in Fort Collins - converting 22,750 square feet of Kentucky bluegrass to native grass and forbs.
• On the Vine Farm in Fort Collins - incorporating expanded shale and biochar products over 18,700 square feet across different sections of organic farm ground to compare and contrast soil-health differences.
Weld County
• Town of Eaton - completing a 1.3-acre “Colorado Native Educational Park” that will serve as an educational site on native plant material, pollinators and waterwise landscaping.
• City of Evans - renovating about 3,000 total square-feet of landscape, taking place at one of the city’s welcome signs and at two of the community’s cemetery entrances.
• Highpointe Vista Metropolitan District No. 2 in Windsor - upgrading its irrigation system.
• St. Vrain Sanitation District in Firestone - upgrading irrigation systems and renovating 4,600 square-feet of cool-season turf to native grasses and water-wise shrubs and perennials.
• Town of Severance - developing a 1,964-square-foot educational water-efficient demonstration garden at Town Hall.
The next round
Northern Water is already getting the next cycle of Collaborative Water-Efficient Landscape Grants underway. Here’s an outline of key dates:
• Consultations for applicants July 20-Sept. 30, 2020
• Accepting applications Oct. 1-Nov. 20, 2020
• Applicants notified Jan. 20, 2021
• Contracts signed/projects can start March 31, 2021
• Project completion deadline Sept. 1, 2021
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 [email protected].
Additional details and updates about the grant program are available at www.northernwater.org/grants.
About Northern Water
Northern Water, a public agency created in 1937, provides water for agricultural, municipal, domestic and industrial uses to an eight-county service area with a population of about 980,000. Northern Water and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation operate the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, which collects water on the West Slope and delivers it to Northeastern Colorado through a 13-mile tunnel beneath Rocky Mountain National Park. It and the Municipal Subdistrict are currently developing the Chimney Hollow Reservoir Project and the Northern Integrated Supply Project to enhance Front Range water supplies for the future.
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