Grants available for stormwater pollution prevention projects Make a Splash environmental grants of up to $4,000 are available from City of Tacoma Environmental Services to any school, business, organization or individual considering a project to help protect surface water resources within the Tacoma city limits by preventing stormwater pollution. Application materials must be postmarked by May 16, 2011. Make a Splash grants are meant to prevent pollution and protect clean water through community collaborations focusing on education, protection and restoration efforts. Projects funded by a Make a Splash grant need to meet at least one of these goals. Projects focusing on water conservation or clean drinking water will not be considered. Examples of projects include: * Citizen-led pollution prevention outreach efforts * Field trips or science day camps * Installation of cigarette butt litter cans throughout business districts * Demonstrating low-impact development practices to soak in stormwater on site, such as rain gardens or porous pavers * Video, audio, print or other media education efforts * Business-related stormwater education * Creation of multi-lingual educational materials Tie-ins with the Puget Sound regional stormwater pollution prevention campaign, Puget Sound Starts Here (www.PugetSoundStartsHere.org<http://www.PugetSoundStartsHere.org>), are encouraged. Key messages in that campaign include proper pet waste disposal, natural yard care, preferred car washing methods and fixing leaky vehicles. The Make a Splash grant program, funded by the City's Surface Water Management utility rates, provides up to $50,000 in grants every year. This is the ninth round of grants for this program. To find out more about the grant, past projects, tips or to download an application, go to www.cityoftacoma.org/makeasplash<http://www.cityoftacoma.org/makeasplash>, or call (253) 502-2126. ### Alicia Lawver Community Relations Specialist City of Tacoma Environmental Services Surface Water/Wastewater Management alawver@cityoftacoma.org<mailto:alawver@cityoftacoma.org> / (253) 591-5414 [cid:image003.png@01CBFEAD.0F04EF10]