Water Quality Improvement Education Grants

The deadline for submitting Water Quality Improvement Grant (WQIG) applications has passed. The WQIG program staff is reviewing applications for the current grant cycle. Grant awards will be announced in June 2008.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality's Water Quality Improvement Grant Program (WQIGP) administers funds from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for implementation of education projects that ultimately reduce nonpoint source pollution in Arizona. This distribution of grant funds from EPA is provided pursuant to Section 319(h) of the clean water act. The competitive education grant process is a new component of the program. The overall goal of this program is intended to promote statewide efforts to manage nonpoint source pollution.

Nonpoint source pollution is polluted runoff from many different sources and remains the nation's largest source of water quality problems. Nonpoint source pollution occurs when rainfall, snowmelt or irrigation runs over land through the ground, picks up pollutants and deposits them into rivers, lakes and coastal waters or introduces them into the ground. Agriculture, forestry, grazing, recreational boating, urban runoff, physical changes to stream channels, and habitat degradation are potential sources of nonpoint source pollution.

These federal funds are granted to individuals, as well as public and private entities for implementing nonpoint source pollution education programs. Nonpoint source education must reach a broad and diverse audience, portraying to the public the importance of a holistic watershed approach for the protection and restoration of ecological systems.

How to Apply for Grant Funding
The Water Quality Improvement Education Grant Manual (PDF or Word) provides necessary information and forms to apply. To receive a copy of the education grant manual, please contact Krista Osterberg at (602) 771-4635 or, preferably, download a copy. If you have questions contact Rebecca Followill, Unit Supervisor at (602) 771-4469 or, toll free, at (800) 234-5677.

ADEQ offers several education and outreach programs directed at improving awareness of nonpoint source pollution and improving water quality within Arizona's watersheds.

• Arizona Envirothon
• Master Watershed Steward
• Project WET (Water Education for Teachers)
• Nonpoint Source Education School Days
• Nonpoint Source Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO)

Arizona Envirothon

Envirothon is a natural resources competition for high school students. Teams of five students work to answer natural resource questions and develop solutions to environmental problems. Envirothon integrates five areas of study: forestry, aquatics, wildlife, soils, and an environmental issue that changes each year. With Section 319 funding, ADEQ has been able to support the Arizona Envirothon since its establishment in 1998. Envirothon provides a great learning experience that can strengthen the foundation for environmental stewardship.

Master Watershed Steward

The mission of the Master Watershed Steward Program (MWS) is to educate and train citizens across the state of Arizona to serve as volunteers in the monitoring, restoration, conservation and protection of their water and watersheds. The MWS program is a partnership of the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

Project WET

ADEQ developed Project Water Education for Teachers (Project WET) in partnership with the University of Arizona to provide educational materials for teachers to use in their classrooms. ADEQ provided initial funding for the development of the program, and UofA has put together water quality and nonpoint source pollution curricula for grades kindergarten through twelfth. UofA is now implementing this education statewide, while ADEQ uses the curriculum for a variety of education and outreach activities.

Nonpoint Source School Days

Nonpoint Source School Days involves ADEQ staff members working directly with teachers in the community to provide a day of education focused on water issues. The goal is to provide assistance and/or materials anytime teachers or other interested parties request assistance. A variety of tools including the nonpoint source Enviroscape model is used to demonstrate the many ways people contribute to nonpoint source pollution and things they can do to control it.

Nonpoint Source Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO)

ADEQ developed the Nonpoint Source Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) project to increase their knowledge of the watershed and help ADEQ to more effectively fund grant projects that result in tangible water quality improvements in Arizona.

ADEQ partnered with the University of Arizona to write watershed-based plans for three of Arizona's Watersheds: the Bill Williams Watershed, the Verde Watershed and the Upper Gila Watershed.

These watershed-based plans include many of the same elements of a TMDL implementation plan but are written for a much larger area. UofA will also include some implementation recommendations that will help streamline ADEQ's work to focus on potential problems.

1. Characterize the watershed (soils, slope, population, geology, etc.) Identify areas that are susceptible to water quality problems and pollution (point and nonpoint sources). Not only 303(d) listed or non-attaining waters, but also waters/areas that are vulnerable to degradation.
2. Identify the sources that need to be controlled to protect or improve water quality.
3. Identify the problem areas that ADEQ and/or stakeholders should address through monitoring or project implementation. Identify the pristine areas (i.e. unique waters or special areas of concern) that need to be protected.
4. Identify management measures to be implemented to protect or improve/restore water quality. Where and why? Estimate costs of the potential management measures.
5. Estimate the load reduction expected from the different management measures. Rank the management measures to demonstrate which measures are the most effective means for protecting or restoring water quality.

Having watershed-based plans written for three of Arizona's large watersheds will allow the Water Quality Improvement Grant Program to fund a wide variety of projects to control nonpoint source pollution.