KOSCIUSKO COUNTY  — The Indiana State Department of Agriculture and the State Soil Conservation Board recently awarded $938,651 in Clean Water Indiana (CWI) grants to 34 Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) across the state, including Kosciusko County. The purpose of these grants is to seek new ways to protect Indiana’s drinking water, improve water quality statewide and raise awareness about the impact of land use on the state’s water resources.

“These grants will go a long way to support Indiana’s conservation districts and landowners, who are working hard to improve water quality statewide,” said Ted McKinney, ISDA director. “Conserving our state’s natural resources is critical to our future, and we must continue to work together towards this common goal.”

Kosciusko County received a CWI grant of $86,331.

The CWI Grants Program provides financial assistance to SWCDs to implement conservation practices that will reduce non-point sources of water pollution through education, technical assistance, training and cost-sharing programs. The program is administered by the SSCB and funded, in part, by the state’s cigarette tax revenue.

This year, SWCDs aligned their proposals with the Indiana Conservation Partnership, a group of eight state and federal agencies and organizations that work to promote conservation, and were encouraged to work together to leverage additional local, state and federal resources. As a result, this round of CWI grants brought together approximately 100 local organizations, governments and communities, as well as state and federal agencies.

“Clean Water Indiana saw its highest funding request ever, including several districts new to the program, so we were very pleased with this year’s level of participation,” said Ray Chattin, State Soil Conservation board chairman. “With a renewed focus on innovation, these multi-year projects will help more landowners with their conservation efforts and improve water quality within Hoosier communities.”