WaterNow’s Project Accelerator helps communities jumpstart sustainable water projects. Are you in?
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Project Accelerator Flyer
We work with public drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater agencies to develop and implement affordable, sustainable, climate resilient and equitable water solutions. The Project Accelerator provides cities, towns and utilities with the opportunity to obtain technical assistance tailored to local priorities and their specific needs. Projects range from the support of grassroots community engagement in Cleveland, to the creation of a roadmap towards green streets in New Orleans, to the creation of water efficiency programs in Evans, Colorado.
The Project Accelerator is designed to increase community capacity to get innovative and community-oriented water management projects off the ground. Twice a year, WaterNow holds a competitive application cycle for projects to receive various kinds of technical and program assistance. Selected projects receive up to 250 hours of pro-bono support over 6-9 months. The assistance provided ranges from program design and management to policy and legal analysis, stakeholder outreach, communications, data analysis, sustainability expertise and more!
While the Accelerator is open to all sustainable water initiatives, WaterNow has developed particular expertise around designing, financing, and implementing onsite and decentralized water solutions of various kinds. As communities across the country are leveraging a wider range of solutions to adapt to a changing climate, increase water supply security, and protect water quality and the health of our aquatic resources, these strategies can include green stormwater infrastructure, water reuse and recapture, source water protection, water use efficiency, private lead service line replacements and other approaches that serve the same functions as conventional water infrastructure.
Critically, these approaches can often generate additional benefits, such as job creation, neighborhood greening, cost reduction, local economic development, and enhancements to public health.
Accelerator projects vary widely, depending on each community’s priorities, but they share common goals of implementing innovative, sustainable solutions, particularly those that support under-resourced communities and build climate resilience. We are here to help you move past roadblocks on the path to implementation.
Our summer 2022 application cycle is now open, and will close on July 29, 2022. During this application cycle, we will be focusing, in particular, on projects that advance water equity and support under-resourced communities.
Selected projects receive:
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Tailored support for your program, which can include policy guidance, research and analysis, program design, and/or community stakeholder outreach
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Access to a broad network of water sector experts in program development and innovative financing
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Up to 250 hours of assistance over an approximately 6-9 month period (valued at $25,000)
Previous projects include:
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Evans, CO: Creating a water efficient fixture direct installation program for income-eligible residents
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Santa Rosa, CA: Enhancing outreach and increasing water use efficiency program participation in Latinx communities
- Cleveland, OH: Developing a grassroots outreach program to connect communities with affordability resources
Learn more about previous projects at our website.
If you have any questions about the Project Accelerator program or application process, please contact Amy Weinfurter ([email protected]).