If you live between 27th and 35th streets and Normal and Sheridan boulevards, the city will help pay for improvements that will clean the water that runs through your yard on its way to Antelope Creek.
Grants for up to $2,000 will pay up to 75 percent of the expenses for landscaping projects such as rain gardens or seeding a lawn with hardier native turf.
The program, available this spring through the fall, is part of a broader $750,000 grant, funded by the city, natural resources district and state, to help clean up water before it gets to the creek, according to Ben Higgins, senior engineer for the city’s watershed management program.
Local officials are working to slow down and clean runoff water before it reaches the creek after a study confirmed the E. coli bacteria pollution in Antelope Creek is 12 times the federal health standard.
Officials would like to eventually cut the bacteria level in the stream by 93 percent, so it meets state and federal health standards.
Participants in the cost-share program must submit an application and schedule a site visit. They then do the work themselves or hire a professional landscaper. The resident will pay all expenses, keep receipts and be reimbursed for approved items, according to a news release on the program.
Renters will be able to use the program if they have permission from the homeowner, according to Jeff Polkowski, intern for the watershed management program.
Residents can qualify for a reimbursement of up to $100 for installing a rain barrel, which is an above-ground container to receive, store and distribute rooftop runoff for non-drinking uses.
Other projects qualify for 75 percent reimbursement:
* Installing a rain garden to temporarily hold rain water runoff, allowing it to soak into the soil.
* Removing unwanted pavement to allow more space for landscaping, reduce stormwater runoff, reduce temperatures during summer months and allow for natural groundwater recharge.
* Redirecting downspouts to allow stormwater to flow across the lawn or into a garden.
* Redirecting runoff from driveways and parking lots to keep stormwater out of storm drains by channeling it to rain gardens or other plant areas.
* Seeding lawns with hardier native turf — a blend of low-growing grasses with deep fibrous root systems — which also keep the lawn greener with less maintenance.
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