Drinking Water and Groundwater Commission awards $2.4 million to water supply land protection projects

CONCORD — The Drinking Water and Groundwater Advisory Commission recently awarded nearly $2.4 million in grants to 15 land conservation organizations across the state to protect land near drinking water sources.

Senate President Chuck Morse (R-Salem), chair of the commission, issued the following statement: "These grants represents the culmination of a careful and thorough vetting process by the Department of Environmental Services and dedicated members of the commission of more than 100 infrastructure and water supply protection applications. This $2.4 million will be used to help preserve more than 4,700 acres of land across the state. These protected parcels are located upstream from water intakes, around well-heads, and along the shores of reservoirs. Protecting this land is critical to ensuring clean source water for countless public drinking water systems across the state and for generations to come. As in the round of awards for infrastructure projects, successful applicants showed they had 'skin in the game' by committing their own resources and leveraging additional dollars from other programs in order to get their project across the finish line. This $2.4 million award by the commission will leverage more than $7 million from a wide variety of sources."