Aqua Pennsylvania’s efforts to protect its communities’ water sources continue, having revealed the second round of grants for the “Protect Your Drinking Water” program.

In partnership with the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC), the 2025 program will expand beyond the Chester/Ridley/Crum watershed, which was the focus in 2024, to include the Neshaminy Creek and the East Branch of Brandywine Creek, benefitting Aqua customers throughout southeast Pennsylvania.

The Protect Your Drinking Water program will award grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 for watershed protection and education projects that address pollutants of concern to public water supplies, such as fertilizer runoff, road salts, and bacteria.

PEC’s Water Team will continue to administer this grant program in partnership with Aqua, thanks to a generous $60,000 donation through the company’s Essential Foundation.

“2024 grant awardees are now hard at work protecting riparian buffers, installing green infrastructure, monitoring stream health, and providing public education and outreach programming,” said PEC Senior Program Manager Paul Racette. “We look forward to seeing new source water protection programs developed and delivered in the upcoming 2025 grant round, further protecting source water, restoring stream health, and reducing public health risks, and water treatment costs.”

Grants will fund projects such as green stormwater infrastructure, stream bank stabilization, agricultural best management practices, spill prevention planning, water quality monitoring, and educational programming. Outcomes could include on-the-ground projects, as well as the development and implementation of citizen, municipal, and student educational programs.

“Our goal is to raise awareness of the importance of source water protection and engage new partners in stewardship activities,” said PEC Executive VP Patrick Starr. “Across the Commonwealth, PEC collaborates with partners to protect and restore healthy watersheds. This collaboration with Aqua is a great example of that!”

PEC is also committed to empowering the public to be active, informed stewards. Educating people about where their drinking water comes from is an essential step toward improving the health and function of our local waterways.

“Presenting the grantees with checks during our first round of grants was a rewarding experience, and we are excited to be able to expand the program in our next round to engage more partners in our mission to protect and provide our customers with quality drinking water,” said Aqua Pennsylvania President Marc Lucca. “We are proud to partner with the Pennsylvania Environmental Council on this important program.”

The grant application will be open on PEC’s Grants & Awards webpage starting on Oct. 21, 2024. Organizations interested in applying for funding should visit PEC at that time. Applications are due by Jan.15, 2025, at 5:00 PM EST.

Learn more at Aqua. Aqua’s infrastructure work contributes to the company’s overarching commitment to providing high-quality, reliable drinking water and safe wastewater solutions to its customers.