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City of Indianapolis and United Water Partner to Support Sustainability Projects 

“These grants, and the worthwhile projects they will help fund, represent the kind of action needed to keep Indianapolis sustainable for generations to come,” said DPW Director David Sherman. “It is encouraging to see organizations doing their part to protect our planet and it is imperative we continue to encourage such environmental stewardship.”

Sherman and United Water Client Relations Manager Eugene Anderson presented the grants at a press conference today at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, located in Fountain Square.

The following organizations each received a $20,000 one-year matching grant:

• The American Society of Civil Engineers, for its Indianapolis Pilot Rain Garden Project, which highlights the benefits of green solutions for improving stormwater quality and reducing flows into the collection system.
• Cottage Home Neighborhood Association, for its Community Space Project. The funds will help create a multi-use, multi-generational green community space that can be used as an example of environmental stewardship, especially responsible stormwater management techniques.
•  Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, for its Parking Lot Project. KIB’s new headquarters in Fountain Square is going green and this grant will fund construction of a porous concrete parking lot.
• Southeast Neighborhood Development (SEND), for its Green Roof Project, which will provide an accessible, educational example of how local businesses can benefit from and adapt sustainable architecture and greenscaping.
•  Binford Redevelopment and Growth, for its Native Plants Swale Project. The grant will pay for planting of additional native vegetation along Binford Blvd. on the city’s northeast side, improving drainage, reducing breeding grounds for mosquitoes and reducing the risk of motorists hydroplaning on the roadway.

The Green Infrastructure Grant Program, funded by United Water, provides $100,000 per year through 2011 to local organizations working to implement environmentally friendly practices. Recipients are selected based on the viability of the project as a whole, plus the organization’s capacity to ensure completion, to “seed” experience in the community for similar projects, to link green principles to economic development and efficiency gains, and to act as an incubator by offering technical assistance to others in the community interested in implementing similar projects.

“Our grantees were chosen because of their dedication to improving the environment and their ability to become leaders in Indy’s green movement,” said Anderson. “Ultimately, we hope these grants will establish new standards for how green technology can be used to benefit the community and improve our quality of life here in Indianapolis.”

The grants support the city’s SustainIndy initiative, launched last month by Gregory A. Ballard to create a community-wide sustainability action plan focused on local benefits and local action. To carry out the initiative, Mayor Ballard created the Office of Sustainability, which works to incorporate green infrastructure techniques into the city’s stormwater management practices.

In October, the city announced plans to install a green roof on a wastewater, pumping, storage and disinfection facility on the city’s north side—the first green roof constructed on a local city-owned building.

For more than a decade, United Water has been improving wastewater collection and treatment services for the City of Indianapolis and the surrounding areas. The Green Infrastructure Grant Program is one of several sustainability programs United Water has committed to in its public-private partnership with the city. Other initiatives include buying green power from Indianapolis Power & Light Company and planting 5,000 trees throughout the city over the next nine years.

About SustainIndy

Recognizing that environmental sustainability is key to ensuring that Indianapolis remains competitive in a changing world, SustainIndy is a city-wide effort designed to drive and incorporate environmentally friendly, sustainable elements into public and private infrastructure plans, focusing on long-term savings for the taxpayer.

About United Water

United Water Indianapolis operates, maintains and manages Indianapolis’ two Advanced Wastewater Treatment facilities, storm and wastewater collection system, and the Eagle Creek Dam. Its parent company, United Water, Inc., provides water and wastewater services to 7 million people in the United States. In addition to owning and operating regulated utilities, United Water operates municipal systems through public-private partnerships and contract agreements. Four of the nation’s largest water and wastewater contracts are operated by United Water. United Water is a subsidiary of Suez, a global leader in energy, water and waste services that serves more than 125 million people worldwide.

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