Culver City Observer -

The West Basin Municipal Water District (West Basin) announced its Water Bottle Filling Station Grant Program will return for another year with increased funding opportunities. As a public facility Culver City, along with eleven other cities and districts, can apply for a $1,000 grant to install indoor water bottle filling stations. New funding includes a larger, $2,000 grant for outdoor filling stations, which can cost more than indoor units. The popular program provides community members with access to safe, reliable drinking water and encourages users to refill personal, eco-friendly water bottles to reduce plastic waste.

"West Basin is pleased to not only renew this successful grant program, but also to provide additional funding for outdoor filling stations that usually cost more than indoor units," said West Basin Board President Scott Houston. "The drinking water in our service area is high quality and we want to ensure our residents have access to it while doing our part to reduce unnecessary waste and protect the environment."

Eligible grant applicants must be public facilities located in the District service area that meet all criteria specified in the application guidelines. Grant details and application forms are available at http://www.westbasin.org/fillingstations. Applications will be received and reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are exhausted. A total of $35,000 in program funding is available for the fiscal year running July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020.

Since launching the program in 2017, West Basin has installed 21 water bottle filling stations throughout its service area. These 21 stations have prevented the use of approximately 110,000 plastic water bottles annually, potentially decreasing the harmful environmental impacts of single-use plastics while also providing access to free, high-quality water at local schools, community centers and parks.