POSGD announces grant winners
At the May Board meeting, Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District announced grants awarded to local Water Utilities in Burleson and Milam Counties.
The District awarded six grants totaling $1,040,211 as a part of it’s programs to conserve groundwater. Including this year, POSGCD has awarded approximately $17,351,281 to local water utilities since 2006.
The Grant Committee reviewed 13 individual applications totaling $2,245,818.
After discussion and scoring of each application, the committee voted unanimously to recommend to the Board the award of the following applications for the 2023 grants: Cooks Point WSC was awarded $22,000 to install a filtration system on a new well; Birch Creek Recreation WSC was awarded $101,500 to install new meters and tie into new taps; Enchanted Oaks WSC was awarded $296,600 to replace obsolete water lines to install new fire hydrants; Marlow WSC was awarded $101,238 to replace obsolete water lines; the City of Rockdale was awarded $350,000 to repair and replace elements of their water treatment plant; and Cade Lakes WSC was awarded $168,873 to replace obsolete water lines, add valves and tie in lines for a total of $1,040,211.
The Board also voted to renew the contract with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Water Resources Institute who will work with POSGCD to coordinate educational programs.
The educational programs will include rainwater harvesting programs, Water-Smart (EarthKind) landscapes, and landscape irrigation. These programs will discuss methods to save and deliver rainwater, create or convert to water-conserving landscapes, and efficiently irrigate residential landscapes. Another program included in this contract is the Agricultural Irrigation Efficiency Grant Program to assist farmers in improving the capacity of agricultural water use to conserve groundwater with water-efficient irrigation methods and tools.
The District encourages and supports projects and programs to conserve and/or preserve groundwater by annually funding the District’s Groundwater Conservation Grant Program. The Board determines the amount to be given each year.
The objective of this program is to obtain the active participation and cooperation of local water utilities in the funding and successful completion of programs and projects that will result in the conservation of groundwater in the District. The qualifying water conservation projects and programs will include, as appropriate, projects that result in the conservation of groundwater and reduce the loss or waste of groundwater.
Each year, local water utilities in Burleson and Milam Counties are eligible to apply for the current year’s grants. In the application they show their commitment to groundwater conservation and the benefits that will be gained by the District awarding the grants.