Arizona State University using $60,000 grant to work with students, Girl Scouts to monitor Phoenix-area water quality

Arizona State University (ASU) recently won a $58,227 Environmental Protection Agency Urban Waters grant to work with K-12 students and two Girl Scouts troops to monitor water quality in the Phoenix-metro area.

“It is important to continue educating the next generation on the importance of protecting our local waterways,” EPA Water Division Director for the Pacific Southwest Tomas Torres said. “Today’s grants will help protect urban waters and the health of the communities they serve.”

ASU will partner with the Girl Scouts and the Phoenix Zoo’s ZooTeen Conservation Team in its monitoring work, encouraging young people to learn about water quality and environmental stewardship. The data from the monitoring efforts will allow ASU to develop recommendations and solutions for urban runoff and pollution, which it will provide to the Arizona Game and Fish Department. The school will also develop educational materials for the department.

ASU’s grant was one of 22 recently awarded through the EPA Urban Waters Small Grants program, which has distributed approximately $6.6 million in funding since its creation in 2012. This year saw the EPA award $1.3 million to organizations spread across 18 states.