The State of New York has funding available!
Consolidated Funding Application Grants
Certain grant programs (e.g., WQIP, Non-Agricultural Non-Point Source) offer higher points for communities who are working within the critical and/or source water area of their accepted DWSP2 Plan. Review the scoring rubric specific to the project type(s) of interest to determine whether an accepted DWSP2 plan could collect more points for your community.
Grant Opportunities Now Available
The NYS Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) is accepting grant applications now until 4:00 p.m. on July 31, 2024, for many funding programs. The State’s largest funding opportunity collects multiple grant programs under the umbrella of a single application. The grants are available for municipalities, not-for-profits, or other qualified groups to improve water quality and the environment.
Accessing and utilizing grant funding can be essential to implement source water protection actions at the local level. This month’s Drinking Water Source Protection Program (DWSP2) newsletter highlights the funding opportunities available through the CFA. Many of these funding opportunities may be helpful to your community as you work to protect your source of drinking water.
Be sure to review the grant announcement and all associated materials thoroughly before applying.
Tools to Help You Get Started
Do you want to learn how to be successful at securing and managing grants? Check out DEC Division of Water’s webinar, Navigating Grant Funding: Municipal Success Stories to learn strategies and methods from your peers on accessing grant funding.
Each presenter either works directly for a municipality or partners with municipalities to support them in applying and managing grant funds. They provide examples on how grant funding helped solve problems in their community and reduce costs.
Additionally, DEC’s Funding Finder is a helpful tool designed to simplify the process of finding grant opportunities. The tool enables grant seekers to filter grant opportunities based on criteria (e.g., eligible applicants, project type, project phase, etc.) that meets their specific needs.
Another great way to stay up to date is to sign up for newsletters that often include these grant program announcements such as MakingWaves and the DWSP2 Newsletter.
Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) Program
The Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) grant program funds projects to directly improve water quality or aquatic habitat, promote flood risk reduction, restoration, and enhanced flood and climate resiliency, or protect a drinking water source. There are eight eligible project types in Round 20 with maximum award amounts ranging from $100,000 to $15,000,000.
If you would like to know more about how to access funding from the eligible project types below, please register for the WQIP Land Acquisition for Source Water Protection Funding webinar on Thursday, June 6, 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.