King County’s WaterWorks Grant Program funds innovative projects that improve water quality and engage communities. Applications due March 8.

Could floating wetlands help juvenile salmon thrive on an urban shoreline? There are great ideas out there on how to improve water quality in the Puget Sound region – and of course every great idea needs a little juice to get it going. Which is why King County’s WaterWorks Grant Program exists.

The WaterWorks Grant Program, managed through the Wastewater Treatment Division, funds $5 million in project money every two years for organizations to test out their water quality improvement ideas. Nonprofits, tribes, schools and universities, towns, special purpose districts … good ideas come if from all kinds of organizations and partnerships are encouraged.

The current grant cycle is open and applications are due March 8, 2023. See the full schedule, and view a recording of the online Information Session with information about applying to WaterWorks and changes this cycle is now available.

All prospective applicants are welcome to sign up for a short one-on-one consultation with staff on their projects via phone; first-time applicants are particularly encouraged to sign up. Email water.grants@kingcounty.gov to sign up for a consultation.

Check out the video (below) about UW’s Green Futures Lab, which received a grant in 2016 to design and test floating wetlands in the Duwamish River to improve water quality and habitat in urbanized shorelines. The project was so successful that the group received additional WaterWorks grants over the years to test new floating wetlands designs in the Ship Canal by the Fremont Bridge with the Sweetgrass Living Shorelines Project, and most recently the Marine Floating Wetland project, at Shilshole Bay Marina.