The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) is pleased to announce a new grant program for projects focused on improving water availability and water quality in the Susquehanna River Basin during droughts. The Commission anticipates awarding a total of $4 to $6 million in grant funding in this first year of the grant program.
The grant program is based on SRBC’s 2020 Consumptive Use Mitigation Policy . Consumptive use (CU) refers to water that is used but not returned to the river basin. The program is intended to attract the following projects that will improve resiliency of the Basin’s water resources:
- Water storage and release projects that can enhance supply and reliability during drought (e.g., impoundments, inactive quarries, and underground mine pools);
- Projects that modify current operations or implement new practices that increase instream flows or improve flow resilience during drought (e.g., reservoir conservation releases, aquifer storage and recovery, and coordinated use of surface water and groundwater);
- Demand modification projects (e.g., projects that achieve water conservation, reuse and/or recycling); and,
- Environmental and water quality improvement projects that support the resiliency of water resources (both in terms of water quality and quantity) during drought conditions (e.g., groundwater recharge, restoring wetlands/streams/floodplains, improving stormwater management, and treating abandoned mine drainage).
This is a new, competitive grant program. All applications submitted will be reviewed by the Commission to determine project eligibility as well as the competitiveness of the proposal.
The call for proposals will open on November 1, 2021, and they are due by January 28, 2022.
For all of the details and to register for the informational webinar on Tuesday, November 16 at 1:00 p.m. (and repeated on December 8, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.), please visit the SRBC grant program website: https://www.srbc.net/our-work/grants/consumptive-use-mitigation-grant.html
Still have questions? You can reach us at [email protected] or (717) 238-0423 ext. 1017 |
