Southern Company awards $2.3 million in urban waterway grants

The electric utility Southern Company awarded $2.3 million in grants to 64 organizations intending to improve urban and suburban water quality as part of the Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration program.

The grant program encourages collaboration between recipients, local governments, environmental groups, businesses and others to protect wetland, forest, streamside and coastal habitats.

“By targeting the waters in and around our local communities, Southern Company can help foster environmental stewardship and make communities better off because we are there,” said Jack Bonnikson, a spokesperson for Southern Company.

Since 2006, Southern Company has contributed to 100 Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration grants restoring nearly 1,200 acres of wetlands and more than 126,000 square feet of riparian buffer in the Southeast. Their $2.2 million in past contributions has resulted in an on-the-ground impact of more than $11 million.

“In addition, the projects will help foster relationships among natural resource managers on a variety of water management issues, new and innovative management techniques, and general ecology lessons,” Bonnikson added.

Southern Company serves with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Association of Counties, the Forest Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Wildlife Habitat Council, the Urban Refuges Program and FedEx as partners in the grant program.

“Through our long-standing commitment to innovation, Southern Company has sought strategic partnerships to find solutions to water-related challenges through the Water Research Center located at Georgia Power’s Plant Bowen near Cartersville,” Bonnikson added.