Iowa American Water Now Accepting Applications for 2017 Environmental Grant Program

Iowa American Water announced today that it is now accepting applications for its 2017 Environmental Grant Program to support innovative, community-based environmental projects that improve, restore or protect watersheds and community drinking water supplies. The program is designed to support diverse types of activities, such as watershed cleanups, reforestation efforts, biodiversity projects, streamside buffer restoration projects, wellhead protection initiatives and hazardous waste collection efforts.

"Our Environmental Grant Program has been very successful in helping local organizations carry out meaningful, sustainable initiatives that benefit our watersheds,” said Randy Moore, president of Iowa American Water, "We encourage municipalities, schools, environmental organizations and civic groups to apply for a grant to support projects that will benefit a watershed in their community."

To qualify, proposed projects must be located in an Iowa American Water service area which includes Bettendorf, Clinton, Davenport, LeClaire, Dixon, Panorama Park and Riverdale, Iowa and:

• address a source water or watershed protection need in the community
• be completed between May 1, 2017 and November 30, 2017
• be a new or innovative program for the community, or serve as a significant expansion to an existing program
• be carried out by a formal or informal partnership between two or more organizations
• provide evidence of sustainability (continued existence after the Iowa American Water grant monies are utilized)

Grant awards will be judged on the program’s innovation for the community, the partnership with other organizations and program sustainability.

Grant information and application forms can be found online at www.iowaamwater.com. Applications should be postmarked by Monday, March 27, 2017 and mailed to Lisa Reisen, external affairs manager at Iowa American Water, 5201 Grand Avenue, Davenport, IA 52807. Applications can also be emailed to Lisa.Reisen@amwater.com.

In 2016, Iowa American Water issued four grants totaling $8,200 as follows:

• City of Bettendorf was awarded $4,000 for its Hopewell Storm Water Pond Water Quality Improvement Program. Pond management practices were installed during summer 2016. Water samples were collected from the stream entering from the watershed and at the overflow structure. Samples are being tested for nitrate levels with the goal of significant reduction as water passes through the pond and continues through the watershed. Nitrate concentration is expected to decrease by 75% or more.
• Nahant Marsh Education Center was awarded $2,000 for its Sedge Meadow Restoration and Enhancement project. Nahant Marsh staff and volunteers surveyed 7.5 acres of Sedge Meadows. A variety of methods were used to reduce invasive species cover, and native plants were re-introduced. Volunteers assisted in monitoring and managing the site.
• Keep Scott County Beautiful was awarded $1,700 for its Xstream Cleanup 2016. Xstream Cleanup (XC) is an annual Quad-City wide cleanup of the Mississippi River. In 2016, XC grew larger thanks to a new format that included more cleanups scheduled throughout the year. Since 2004, XC volunteers have removed nearly 1 million pounds of debris from area waterways and provided more than 44,000 hours of volunteer labor.
• Clinton High School Chemistry Department was awarded a $500 grant for its “Investigating Dangerous Chemicals in our Watershed” project. Students in a Clinton High School chemistry class have taken a keen interest in testing for the chemicals in the local watershed that could potentially contaminate their drinking water. The grant helped purchase supplies necessary for student monitoring and testing.

About Iowa American Water

Iowa American Water, a subsidiary of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water services to approximately 200,000 people. American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs 6,700 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in 47 states and Ontario, Canada. More information can be found at www.amwater.com.