Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission to open applications for two additional Clean Waterway Grants

Keep Arkansas Beautiful (KAB) to reopen public applications for two additional 2024 Clean Waterways Grant that will assist communities with the installation of trash booms on Arkansas waterways. These grants will award up to $2,600 to each of the selected city or county governments, companies or organizations seeking to reduce litter along their local waterways.

“These grants, supported by initiatives with the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission, are instrumental in maintaining the cleanliness and beauty of Arkansas communities,” said Shea Lewis, Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. “I encourage all eligible entities to apply for this opportunity to help make a positive impact on the health of our local waterways and preserve the natural splendor of our state.”

Waterway trash booms serve as crucial barriers, intercepting and collecting debris, particularly plastics and other man-made materials that pose serious threats to the environment and wildlife. Their presence not only improves the aesthetics of waterways but also improves the social and economic impacts that aquatic trash can have on our communities. This grant will help play a pivotal role in preserving the health and biodiversity of our natural state’s aquatic environments.

Grantees and partner entities will conduct litter removal and necessary maintenance to the trash boom at least once a month. The Clean Waterways Grant grant does not qualify for maintenance or enhancement of already existing trash booms. Grant recipients will collect monthly litter removal data, including pounds of litter collected and images of the removal effort to report to the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission. Grant applications can be found at https://bit.ly/cleanwaterwaysgrant.

For more information about Keep Arkansas Beautiful and its programs, visit KeepArkansasBeautiful.com.