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Iowa American Water To Award Almost $8,900 To Five Local Watershed Projects Through 2020 Environmental Grant Program

Since program began in Iowa over a decade ago, almost $96,000 in grants have been awarded to projects that improve, restore or protect local watersheds

DAVENPORT, IA (July 6, 2020) – Iowa American Water announced today that five local watershed initiatives will be awarded funding through the company’s 2020 Environmental Grant Program. The recipients will share grant funds totaling $8,835 for community projects that improve, restore or protect watersheds.

“Our Environmental Grant Program is designed to help organizations carry out projects that benefit our waterways, raise awareness about the importance of water in our lives and promote community participation,” said Randy Moore, president of Iowa American Water. “We are pleased to support these worthwhile endeavors and extend our appreciation to the individuals and organizations that are making them happen.”

Grant applications were evaluated by a panel of judges based on criteria such as environmental need, innovation, community engagement and sustainability.

The five recipients of Iowa American Water’s 2020 Environmental Grant Awards are:

  • Davenport West High STEM Boosters will be awarded a $2,000 grant for the Clean Water for Kenya Initiative & Local Water Education project -- Students and community partners are collaborating on the Clean Water for Kenya Initiative, which is expected to stop waterborne illness while maintaining flow rates that will ultimately save lives in Kenya. The project has two focus areas: a filtration system that will be implemented in Kenya and a local/international sanitary water education program.
  • Keep Scott County Beautiful will be awarded $2,000 for its Restocking Supplies for the 16th Annual Xstream Cleanup (XC) -- In the 16 years that XC has existed, Keep Scott County Beautiful has built a strong network of partner organizations and sponsors, including Iowa American Water. As the total from previous cleanups show, this support and collaboration has truly made a huge impact. The grant will allow XC to restock essential cleanup supplies used by hundreds of volunteers throughout the year.
  • Partners of Scott County Watersheds (PSCW) will be awarded a $1,835 grant to purchase Snapshot Water Quality Monitoring Supplies -- PSCW is currently borrowing water quality monitoring equipment from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, whose IOWATER program was discontinued in 2017 and will no longer be funded. PSCW will purchase its own testing supplies in order to continue its spring, summer and fall Snapshot volunteer water quality monitoring events and contribute to its 20+ years of water quality data.
  • River Action, Inc. will be awarded a $1,500 grant for its Junge Park Bluebell Planting Project. River Action and the City of Davenport will partner to convert a section of land in Junge Park into a natural area. The cropland will be transformed into a native prairie and woodland by 2021. The wooded area is full of invasive species, including honeysuckle, red canary grass, Japanese hops and garlic mustard. The funding will support a bluebell plugging project, which is a beautiful way to transform a wooded area.
  • Davenport Parks & Recreation will be awarded $1,500 for its Park Prairies program. There are multiple parks in the city with large areas of mown turf (Blue Grass). Davenport Parks & Recreation will implement native grass areas to help with infiltration of storm water along with adding more aesthetic walking paths in the parks.

About Iowa American Water
Iowa American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investorowned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water services to approximately 216,000 people. With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 6,800 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to 15 million people in 46 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

Media Contact:
Lisa Reisen, External Affairs Manager
563-343-6127
Lisa.Reisen@amwater.com

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