$500,000 for Water-Inspired Play Spaces
The American Water Charitable Foundation and NRPA Award offer the grant to Imperial Beach, Calif., and Lexington, Ken.
Ashburn, Va.—The American Water Charitable Foundation (AWCF) is excited to announce the recipients of their 2021 Building Better Communities grant program:
City of Imperial Beach, California
City of Lexington, Kentucky
The grants, which total $500,000, will be used to create equitable community-focused, water-inspired play areas that feature modern, state-of-the-art splashpads to teach children and families the importance of water stewardship and conservation. This is the eighth year of the grant program, which is funded by the AWCF and administered by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA).
“We are pleased to partner with the cities of Imperial Beach and Lexington to provide equitable and accessible water-based play spaces so children and families can learn, interact and appreciate water, a critical natural resource, in a fun and engaging way,” said Carrie Williams, president, American Water Charitable Foundation. “Through our work, we have found that splash pads are a wonderful way to ensure water access for all while supporting our conservation focus and engaging community members in environmental education.”
The City of Imperial Beach, a community that sits along the border between the United States and Mexico, has suffered from a long history of severe pollution impacts from the Tijuana River, affecting beach water quality, and limiting access to water-based recreation. The city will use the $250,000 grant to construct an all-inclusive splashpad at Veteran’s Park, providing the community with a free, family-friendly water play experience. Designed to accommodate people with mobility issues and other disabilities, the splash pad demonstrates the city’s commitment to water stewardship through a variety of sustainability elements, including a recirculation system to conserve water. In addition, the city will host a variety of educational workshops at the park that focus on water quality and environmental conservation.
The city of Lexington also will use its $250,000 grant to create an all-inclusive splash pad and water play experience. Located in historic Charles Young Park, an area located within a prominent African American community, the splash pad will predominantly serve people from the east end of the city who lack access to water- and nature-based play.
To ensure everyone has access to these types of amenities, the splash pad, designed to accommodate people with mobility issues and other disabilities, will be the first free water play experience for this part of the city. Using a distinct nature-inspired design, the project, which is part of the city’s larger green linear trail, Town Branch Commons, will connect the community to nature and the outdoors. In addition, the splash pad will encourage water stewardship through educational signage and conservation programs highlighting the splash pad features.
“Ensuring children and families can experience water and have access to water-based education and nature play spaces is key to building the next generation of environmental stewards,” said Kellie May, NRPA vice president, programs and partnerships. “We are proud to support this important work through our partnership with the American Water Charitable Foundation and encourage communities everywhere to explore the wonders of nature through their local parks and recreation.”
The Building Better Communities initiative, now in its eighth year, helps communities create or enhance public park spaces or programs that encourage the community to engage in water and nature-inspired play, connect to the natural world and focus on environmental education and water-based recreation. The grants, which total $3.3 million, help American Water communities in 12 states — California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia — engage children and families in areas surrounding the chosen parks.
For more information about the Building Better Communities grant program, visit https://www.amwater.com/AWCFSignature-Program.