The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) is pleased to announce the availability of funds for Local Source Water Protection Grants. Specifically, grant money is available to develop and implement programs to protect active or planned sources of public drinking water. Since 1997, NHDES has made small grants to water suppliers, municipalities, and other local organizations for the purpose of protecting drinking water sources.
Please note that the evaluation criteria used to score applications are designed to encourage projects that support the Drinking Water Source Protection Program’s goals. These goals include (1) increasing the number of public water supply sources with some form of protection and (2) increasing the level of protection for sources that are already protected. Specifically, the scoring criteria are designed to favor projects that involve implementation or demonstrate a high likelihood of implementation.
To be eligible, every project must contribute to improved protection of one or more public water supply sources. For additional information on project element categories, see page 3 of the RFA, in Attached Files, below.
Projects must address active or planned sources for public water systems. Planned sources must have at least a preliminary well siting report (for groundwater sources) submitted to NHDES or have a conceptual plan (for surface water sources) submitted to NHDES. NHDES encourages projects that encompass a broader geographic scope (such as an aquifer, a watershed, a municipality or some other area) if multiple public water supply sources are included.
For additional information on project eligibility criteria, see page 4 of the RFA, in Attached Files, below.
