Essential Utilities Protect Your Drinking Water Grant

The Essential Utilities Protect Your Drinking Water Grant, administered by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, offers funding between $2,500 and $10,000 for projects aimed at protecting public drinking water sources. Eligible applicants include non-profits, municipalities, and educational institutions targeting priority water protection areas in Pennsylvania. Projects may involve green infrastructure, educational programs, and agricultural best practices. A 20% matching contribution is required, with initial funding of 90% provided upfront.

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) and our supporting organization the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) currently administer several mini grant programs. Each program is unique with specific goals and objectives but all focus on one or more of the following areas of interest: land and water trails; outdoor recreation; resource protection and conservation; and community engagement.
Essential Utilities' "Protect Your Drinking Water" Grant Program is being offered by Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC), in partnership and with funding from Essential Utilities. This program provides grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 for watershed protection and education projects that serve to protect the sources of public drinking water by addressing potential sources of contaminants (i.e., excess nutrients, sediment, road salts, pathogens, etc.) to our waterways. Grants may be used for a variety of projects that result in the protection or improvement of the community’s public drinking water supplies, such as green stormwater infrastructure, stream bank stabilization, agricultural best management practices, spill prevention planning, and educational programming.
Funding and Match:
This program funding is provided by Essential Utilities. All grants given will require a 20% match of cash, in-kind, or a combination of cash and in-kind donations. 90% of funds awarded will be dispersed up-front and the remaining 10% will be dispersed following the completion of the project report.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations with tax-exempt status 501(c)(3), educational institutions, municipalities, and local government entities. The geographic areas for the grant program are Essential Utilities priority source water protection regions. During 2026, grants are targeting the Chester/Ridley Crum Watersheds area again along with the Neshaminy Creek and the East Branch of Brandywine Creek Watersheds in southeast Pennsylvania. These are surface water source water protection areas.Also included in this round are ground water protection areas for wells in municipalities located in Montgomery, Bucks and Chester Counties. A program or project in any area within these municipalities is eligible for the grant funding.