The Water Collaborative
The Water Collaborative
The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans works to ensure a lifetime of living, thriving, and loving water for every resident with actions meant to 
spur long-term change and create movement infrastructure. To help New Orleans combat its flooding challenges, the Collaborative supports widespread adoption of green stormwater infrastructure, which reduces and treats stormwater at its source while delivering environmental, social, and economic benefits.
As a key project to implement its mission, in partnership with the Business Council, The Water Collaborative is working to establish a stormwater fee improve funding structures in New Orleans to cover increasing cost-related to aging infrastructure, increasing flood events from rainfall, tropical storms, and sea level rise. The Water Collaborative is also partnering with Sustaining Our Urban Landscape and the Pontchartrain Park Neighborhood Association to plant 700 trees throughout the Pontchartrain Park community between October 2021-March 2022.
Click the link below to learn more about The Water Collaborative.
MWRD: Green Infrastructure Call for Projects
MWRD: Green Infrastructure Call for Projects
In 2014, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District established the Green Infrastructure Partnership Opportunity Program to increase the acceptance 
and investment of green infrastructure throughout Cook County. Since that time, the Green Infrastructure Partnership Opportunity Program has partnered with dozens of agencies to fund GI projects such as rain gardens, bioswales/bioretention areas, permeable pavement systems, and rain water harvesting systems.
Starting in 2017, MWRD has solicited applications from various governmental agencies within its jurisdiction for GI projects on an annual basis. Since then the district has partnered with municipalities, townships, school districts, park districts, and other governmental organizations for over 60 GI projects to help alleviate flooding. These projects will provide over 6.6 million gallons of storage for stormwater runoff for over 3,700 benefiting structures with the use of rain gardens, bioswales, and permeable pavement in parking lots, alleys, and residential streets.
Click the link below to learn more about MWRD's program.
Space to Grow
Space to Grow
Through the Space to Grow program, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, City of Chicago Department of Water Management, Healthy Schools Campaign, Openlands, and other partners work with many of Chicago's low-income communities of color to transform underutilized schoolyards into inspired playgrounds for students and vital outdoor places for the whole neighborhood to get together and reconnect with nature. Transform schoolyards also serve as water infrastructure incorporating landscape features that capture a significant amount of rainfall, helping keep the city’s water resources clean and resulting in less neighborhood flooding. Schoolyard transformations prioritize physical activity, outdoor learning and community engagement.
As of 2019, Space to Grow has built 34 green schoolyards. The program aims to expand its reach in Chicago and serve as a model for green schoolyards across the nation, benefiting kids, neighborhoods, and the environment.
Click the link below to learn more about Space to Grow.
Aurora Water Cares
Aurora Water Cares
Aurora Water created Aurora Water Cares to provide bill payment assistance so that limited-income customers experiencing challenges don’t need to 
worry about whether they can take a shower, do laundry or wash the dishes. Under this initiative, homeowners and renters who are past due on their bills can receive up to $125 in assistance once a year, with a limit of four total awards.
The program is funded by individuals’ donations as well as one-time CARES Act funds provided to the city as part of the federal COVID-relief package. To implement the program, the utility partners with a local non-profit that runs the day-to-day operations including processing applications and determining eligibility. This partnership has been a staple of the success of Aurora Water Cares. Other foundations for success include the utility’s coordination with energy assistance programs and internal billing system with flexibility to accept donations. To evaluate the program’s impact, Aurora Water uses a data dashboard to measure shutoffs avoided and number of participants.
Click the link below to learn more about Aurora's program.
Philadelphia Water Financial Assistance Programs
Philadelphia Water Financial Assistance Programs
Philadelphia Water Department's mission is "to provide all Philadelphians with access to clean, safe water." To this end, in 2015, Philadelphia’s city 
council authorized creation of Philadelphia Water Department’s Tiered Assistance Program. Launched in 2017, this first-in-the-nation income-based rate structure was established in response to growing unaffordability for nearly 40% of PWD’s customers and shutoffs disproportionately impacting black and Latinx households. In a complete shift away from its prior approach, Philadelphia’s TAP provides customers that need help paying their bills before they fall behind and go into debt. The program works by setting a resident’s bill as percentage of their household income and size rather than water consumption. So households with a monthly income of 150% of the federal poverty level, e.g., about $3,075 (as of 2017) for a family of 4—or those with a special hardship are eligible to enroll. For example, a family of 4 with ~$12,300 annual income would have a monthly water bill of $20.50.
In addition to TAP, Philadelphia offers a number of assistance programs including payment agreements, zero interest loans for lead service line replacements, zero interest repair loan for homeowners in imminent danger of shutoff because PWD inspectors have issued a Notice of Defect after finding a leaking water line or sewer lateral, and free plumbing devices that can help prevent basement flooding that occurs during heavy rainstorms. Notably, PWD integrates localized infrastructure into their assistance programs by providing free water conservation devices and education to low-income customers (at or below 150 percent of poverty level), yielding average water usage savings of more than 25 percent for participants and offering stormwater tools at a reduced cost to help residents manage stormwater and beautify their homes.
Click the link below to learn more about PWD's financial assistance programs.
Sustainable & Resilient Frontline Communities
Sustainable & Resilient Frontline Communities
A Community-Driven Plan for Climate Justice in King County
As part of King County’s commitment to action on climate change and equity and social justice, the County's 2020 Strategic Climate Action Plan includes a Sustainable & Resilient Frontline Communities section focused on climate equity and community-driven policy. Eight focus areas of the plan prioritize actions that have co-benefits, promote equity, reduce harm, recognize intersectionality and the impact of climate change as a threat multiplier to other social issues such as housing, green jobs and pathways, food security, and environmental health. The 8 focus areas are:
- Community Leadership and Community-Driven Policy-Making
- Community Capacity Development
- Equitable Green Jobs and Pathways
- Community Health and Emergency Preparedness
- Food Systems and Food Security
- Housing Security and AntiDisplacement
- Energy Justice and Utilities
- Transportation Access and Equity
These focus areas were developed through a community-driven process where leaders of frontline communities established the goals and guided the priority areas for climate action based on climate justice values and community needs.
Click the link below to read the full Sustainable & Resilient Frontline Communities section of the plan.
DigDeep
DigDeep
DigDeep is a human rights non-profit working to ensure that every American has clean, running water forever. The organization's impact model is based on 4 elements: (1) Advance Community-led Solutions, (2) Develop an Evidence Base, (3) Mobilize America, and (4) Build an Ecosystem of Change.
Projects underway within this framework include the Navajo Water Project to bring clean, running water to hundreds of families in rural New Mexico, Arizona and Utah and the Appalachian Water Project to bring clean, running water to homes in West Virginia and Kentucky. DigDeep was also an author of the Closing the Water Access Gap: A National Action Plan report analyzing water and sanitation access challenges in the United States and offering a plan of action to overcome them.
Click the link below to learn more about DigDeep's water equity work.
Drought Resiliency Projects FOA
Download the Drought Resiliency Projects Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to learn more about DRP application evaluation criteria and application requirements.
This grant accepts applications once per year and the application window for FY21 ended on August 5, 2020.
Small Scale Water Efficiency Projects FOA
FY20 Small Scale Water Efficiency Projects Funding Opportunity Announcement
Download the Small Scale Water Efficiency Projects Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to learn more about SWEP application evaluation criteria and application requirements.
This grant accepts applications once per year and the application window for FY20 ended on March 4, 2020.
Water and Energy Efficiency Grant FOA
FY21 Water and Energy Efficiency Grant Funding Opportunity Announcement
Download the FY21 Water & Energy Efficiency Grant Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to learn more about WEEG application evaluation criteria and application requirements.
This grant accepts applications once per year and the application window for FY21 ends on September 17, 2021.
