Water Supply Land Protection Grants
The Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund Commission recently announced it will be making up to $5 million available this year from the Trust Fund for water supply land protection grants. This news affirms what the Forest Society and our conservation partners have been saying regarding the central role natural landscapes, especially forested ones, play in maintaining safe drinking water. On March 12, members of the Commission gave final approval to the process by which they will make awards to projects eligible for the Trust Fund’s Water Supply Land Protection Grant Program. In doing so, they in effect announced that one of the top priorities of our state’s environmental policy is the protection of the sources of drinking water.
We would encourage all those who have been following this issue to thank the members of the Commission, especially Senator Chuck Morse who led it, for their leadership on this important issue. Click HERE for the Committee roster.
In related news, the Department of Environmental Services is hosting a workshop on April 18 for land trusts, conservation commissions, municipal and regional planners, and others interested in source water protection and land conservation projects. Although this workshop is directed towards those groups with the expertise to put together the often complex conservation projects, it is another indication of the State’s strengthened commitment to source water protection.