A Pair of Fayette County Wateshed Projects Receive Grant Money - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

West Virginia American Water announced on Thursday, April 19, that four watershed initiatives in have earned financial support through the company's 2012 Environmental Grant Program.  Counties that received the money included Fayette, Kanawha and Boone.

This first-annual program offers funding for innovative, community-based collaborative environmental projects within the company's service area that improve, restore or protect watersheds, surface water or groundwater supplies.

West Virginia American Water awarded a total of $5,000 to the following four projects:

 ·    Wolf Creek Stream Restoration Project: The Plateau Action Network,
      based in Fayetteville, plans to restore the headwater tributary of
      Wolf Creek (Fayette County), which flows into the New River. The
      project will involve restoring 600 feet of stream and will reduce the
      frequency of flooding, improve drainage and restore stream habitat.

·     Morris Creek Watershed Water Monitoring Enhancement Project: Led by
      the Morris Creek Watershed Association based in Montgomery (Fayette &
      Kanawha counties), this project addresses the need for a sustainable
      water monitoring and data collection program as well as educational
      outreach. The Morris Creek Watershed is a tributary of the Upper
      Kanawha River. Since 2001, the association and its partners have made
      great strides to restore the stream from a waterway that was
      completely void of all aquatic life to now supporting three species
      of trout.

·     Coal River Paddle to Tire: The Coal River Group, based in St. Albans,
      plans to remove approximately 4,000 tires from the Big Coal and
      Little Coal rivers in four river cleanups. The Coal River Watershed
      is a tributary of the Kanawha River formed near the community of Alum
      Creek (Boone County). These cleanups, in partnership with the WVDEP,
      will introduce youth to stream ecology and sustainability. The
      purchase of canoes to float tires to designated pick-up locations
      will provide the basic elements needed for annual cleanups along the
      watershed.

·     Paint Creek Tributary Stream Improvement Project: Led by the Paint
      Creek Watershed Association based in Hansford (Kanawha County), this
      project will improve the water quality of Tenmile Fork – a tributary
      of Paint Creek. The stream, which is high in aluminum and magnesium,
      will be treated with limestone to achieve significant reductions in
      heavy metals. The stream will be periodically sampled after
      treatment, and the association will perform customer education and
      outreach related to the project and to encourage volunteer
      participation.

"In our first year offering this Environmental Grant Program, I'm excited that so many community groups share our dedication to the stewardship of West Virginia's water resources," said West Virginia American Water President Jeff McIntyre. "These grant recipients deserve our support since their projects protect and improve the watersheds that ultimately flow into
our source waters, and we are proud of the opportunity to support such worthy projects."

A panel of judges selected the winners from approximately a dozen grant applications, which were evaluated on such criteria as environmental need, innovation, community engagement and sustainability.