PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A new grant program has challenged residents of Delaware and Chester counties to personally protect their drinking water.
The Pennsylvania Environmental Council and Aqua PA came together this week to announce the “Protect Your Drinking Water” grants.
“Utilities have a responsibility to provide clean water to their customers, but customers can be involved in keeping that water clean,” says PEC Executive Vice President Patrick Starr. “That’s what this program is about. It’s empowering residents and customers to be able to participate in keeping their own water clean.”
Starr says this round of grants — ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 — encourage people to do that by coming up with solutions such as stream bank stabilization or land protection.
This year’s grants target upstream areas of the Chester, Ridley, and Crum Creek watersheds in Delaware and Chester counties, all of which get drinking water from local sources.
“This is for local watershed champions, people who are interested in clean water,” said Starr. “That can include nonprofit organizations as well as local governments.”
The goal of the program, he says, is to raise awareness of and engage new partners in source water protection, which Starr believes is the first barrier against contamination of public water supplies.
Applications for the grants are open at PEC’s website. The deadline to apply is April 15.