One of the ways in which WaterNow Alliance is currently supporting communities as they tackle water issues is with its Project Accelerator program. The goal of the program is simple: to help get sustainable water projects off the ground. However, the support provided by WaterNow is much more nuanced and customized to best serve each community’s needs.
Project Accelerator offers its recipients pro-bono, short-term added capacity to implement a sustainable water project or program for their community. WaterNow provides selected projects up to 250 hours of technical and program assistance over a 3-6 month period. Here at WaterNow, we believe in working cooperatively to create solutions to local water issues. The Project Accelerator program relies on strong partnerships between WaterNow and the program’s recipients.
The WaterNow team offers expertise in water policy and sustainability as well as broad program management capabilities in order to make the implementation of a project easier for the folks on the ground administering these programs within their community. These general skills and deep expertise can be applied to a range of project types and communities across the U.S. Examples of potential proposals that use our technical and program assistance include drafting an ordinance incentivizing water efficiency and green infrastructure in new developments, conducting an analysis of potential water savings from rebate programs compared to acquiring new supplies from a water provider, or designing a program for cash-for-grass lawn replacement rebates. However, the list of potential proposals is limitless and the most effective projects will vary by community.
A key element of the WaterNow Project Accelerator is that the projects are community determined and oriented. Past projects have included assessing a green streets ordinance and developing a graywater ordinance. The most recent recipients of the Project Accelerator include the Town of Severance, Colorado, and the Desert Water Agency in California. The Town of Severance and WaterNow are conducting interviews, convening stakeholder meetings, drafting recommendations, and compiling research in order to incorporate sound water conservation tactics into the Town’s Comprehensive. WaterNow supported the Desert Water Agency in applying for the Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART grant program for a turf removal project.
There are two competitive rounds of Project Accelerator each year, and WaterNow is currently accepting applications through June 19th. We at WaterNow look forward to reviewing the applications and working with the recipients to catalyze your innovative and sustainable water projects.