Water sustainability efforts receive grant awards

NEWS RELEASE
NORTHERN WATER
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For a third consecutive year Northern Water has partnered with local 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.

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 about $2,700 to $20,000, which is the maximum awarded. Matching funds are required of the grant recipients. 

Northern Water has now contributed about $400,000 in grants over the past three years to 36 projects, which all together cover nearly 5 million square feet 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 revamped, 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. “That just goes to show you how important efficiency and sustainability has become for so many water users across Northern Colorado.”

Here are the 2021 recipients and the projects that Northern Water’s grant program is currently supporting:

Boulder County

• City of Boulder, renovating a 1,475-square-foot area at the North Boulder Recreation Center into a water-wise landscape

Broomfield County

• City of Broomfield, developing a 5,000-square-foot water-efficient landscape demonstration site at the entryway of one of its primary municipal buildings

Larimer County

• Town of Berthoud, implementing irrigation system improvements across 16.5 acres of its community parks 
• Town of Berthoud, developing a combined 3,000 square feet of water-wise demonstration landscapes across two of its community parks 
• Colorado State University Extension, developing six different water-efficient landscapes at the Larimer County Fairgrounds to serve as demonstrations for the public 
• Harbor Walk Lane HOA in Fort Collins, implementing a nearly 20,000-square-foot, water-wise demonstration landscape across one of its commons area
• High Pointe HOA in Fort Collins, converting about 3,000 square feet of a turf parkway with water-wise plants and irrigation system upgrades 
• Mariana Cove HOA in Loveland, converting 4,300 square feet of cool-season turf on one of their entry-road medians to water-wise plantings with more efficient irrigation systems
• Pelican Ridge HOA in Fort Collins, converting about 20,000 square feet of commons area through turf conversions, wildflower beds and irrigation upgrades

Weld County 

• Country Club Maples HOA in Greeley, conducting irrigation upgrades across a 115,000-square-foot area, and converting about 5,000 total square feet of entryway into water-wise landscapes
• City of Evans, revamping about 18,000 square feet of landscape at one of its primary municipal buildings with water-wise plantings and irrigation upgrades
• Town of Severance, converting about 7,850 square feet of landscape at one of its parks with water-wise plantings and irrigation upgrades  
• St. Vrain Sanitation District, converting nearly 7,000 square feet of landscape through a native-grass conversion, water-wise plantings and irrigation upgrades

New Grant Cycle Underway

Northern Water is already getting the next grant cycle underway.

Here’s an outline of key dates:

• Consultations for applicants: Now through Sept. 30, 2021
• Accepting applications: Oct. 1-Nov. 30, 2021
• Applicants notified: Late 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 [email protected].

Additional details and updates about the grant program are available at www.northernwater.org/grants.

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