Multiple funding sources make water quality improvements possible

Shingle Creek Watershed Commission Funding Assistance

Stantec has served the Shingle Creek Watershed Commission as its engineer since the Commission was founded in 1985. The Commission has always been focused on water quality, specifically to improve lakes on the Impaired Waters list within the watershed.

When steps were identified to achieve needed improvements, it was clear that funding resources would be critical for implementation to happen. The Commission took the bold step of agreeing to pay 100% of the costs for initiatives that cities in the watershed were not required to complete to comply with the MS4 general permit. By taking on projects such as alum treatments, carp removal, stream maintenance, and aquatic and vegetation maintenance, a big burden was removed from the cities. However, they needed help to fund these ‘internal load’ projects. Our team took an aggressive approach to identify funding options, creatively looking at numerous sources. As a result, we were able to assemble funds from various sources for maximum impact—including one project that was funded with five separate grants.

Our approach has been instrumental in helping the Commission measurably improve water quality in the lakes and streams across the watershed. We helped secure nearly $4.6 million in implementation funding. As a result, five of the 13 impaired lakes in the watershed now meet water quality standards and have been removed from the Impaired Waters list.