Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Drinking Water and Groundwater Advisory Commission is targeting up to $2 million from the Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund for grants to protect public water supply sources in 2020. The grant application process, administered by the Commission through the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), begins with brief eligibility applications due on June 26. Projects eligible for funding under the program involve permanent protection of land from which water flows to public water supply sources – specifically wellhead protection areas and land designated as “hydrologic areas of concern” within water supply watersheds. Projects that involve the protection of land for future water supply sources will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. After NHDES reviews the eligibility applications, applicants will be asked to submit a more extensive funding application by September 10. The Trust Fund can cover up to 50 percent of eligible costs, up to $500,000 per project.
Since its first grant round in 2018 the Commission has provided $3.56 million to protect 5,429 acres of water supply land and $112 million in loans and grants for water quality projects, mainly water supply infrastructure.
More information is available at https://www4.des.state.nh.us/nh-dwg-trust/?page_id=98 or contact Sandy Crystall at WSLP@des.nh.gov or (603) 271- 2862.