Water quality grants distributed to area organizations
Participants in Asheville GreenWorks’ Youth Environmental Leadership Program look for aquatic creatures. Asheville Greenworks photo
Environmental groups working to improve water quality in Haywood, Buncombe and Madison counties recently received 10 grants totaling $285,190 from The Pigeon River Fund of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina.
Awards are:
• $65,840 to Haywood Waterways Association, including $15,840 to repair failing septic systems and educate Haywood County residents about water quality issues in the Pigeon River Watershed, as well as $50,000 for program and administrative support during the 2024 calendar year.
• $26,450 to Junaluska Sanitary District to complete urgent manhole repairs on its main trunk line, which parallels the Pigeon River.
• $26,250 to Tuscola High School to buy and install watering systems for livestock, a stock trail road and a riparian border fence on the agriculture education property.
• $47,000 to Asheville GreenWorks, including $30,000 to support its Youth Environmental Leadership Program and water quality-related experiential education and conservation activities during the summer program, as well as $17,000 to restore the ecology and address runoff on 2 acres of the Hominy Creek Greenway at the confluence of Buttermilk and Hominy creeks.
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• $46,650 to Mountain Valleys RC&D Council for the 2024 operating expenses of Ivy River Partners.
• $45,000 to the Environmental Quality Institute for programs supporting volunteer stream monitoring in Haywood, Buncombe and Madison counties.
• $15,000 to Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District for three hands-on environmental education programs in the county.
• $10,000 to Laurel Community Center Organization for administrative and project support so the center can serve as a site on the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s new Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail.
Since 1996, the Pigeon River Fund has distributed more than $9.5 million in grants. The money comes from Duke Energy in exchange for the company’s damming the Pigeon River for hydropower. The fund is managed by the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. The next application deadline for grant funds is March 15, 2024. Learn more at cfwnc.org .
