Local Water Quality Planning Aid Program

The Local Water Quality Planning Aid (LWQPA) Grant Program supports local and regional water quality planning activities through state and federal funds.

Grant recipients are determined based on statutory requirements, bureau priorities and emerging issues. WDNR receives authority for this grant program from 604(b)of the Federal Clean Water Act, s. 281.51, Wis. Stats. (previously s. 144.235(2)(c), Wis. Stats.), and from Chapter NR121 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.

• Grant Priorities and Eligibility
• The Grant Cycle
• Proposal Outline
• Past Project Recipients

Grant Priorities & Eligibility

Financial support for local and regional planning agencies to assist the DNR in the development and implementation of watershed and areawide water quality management planning activities.

First priority is the funding of water quality implementation in designated management areas of the state, defined in NR121, which include the seven county Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) area, Dane County, and the Fox Valley Region (Brown County and portions of the East Central Regional Planning area).

Second priority are areas in the state required to develop sewer service area plans, or long-term plans that identify where public sewer will be placed in the future. (What is Sewer Service Area Planning?) Muncipalities with populations greater than 10,000 are required to develop such a plan. These are called "undesignated" or "nondesignated" management areas. (Designated versus Undesignated Planning Areas) This grant program generally funds the first of these plans for the community. The community is then responsible for the implementation of the plan, including updates.

Third priority are plans and studies that support watershed management, including municipal stormwater analyses for municipalities with populations greater than 10,000, regional wastewater facility planning studies, identification and protection of environmentally sensitive areas ('environmental corridors'), or special watershed studies in support of pollution trading, for example.

The Grant Cycle

Contracts begin July 1st of each year and January 1st of each year, based on fiscal or calendar year projects. Proposals are received on an ongoing basis.

Copy of Proposal Outline

Proposal Outline

Past Project Recipients

• City of Marshfield Sewer Service Area Plan development, awarded to the North Central Regional Planning Commission (FY2000)
• City of River Falls Sewer Service Area Plan development, awarded to the City of River Falls (FY2000)
• Jamestown Sanitary District Wastewater Alternatives Study, awarded to the Jamestown Santiary District/Wisconsin Community Action Program Association (FY2000)
• Village of Luxemborg Sewer Service Area plan development, awarded by Bay Lake Regional Planning (FY1999)
• City of Milton Regionalization Study (FY1999)
• Environmental Corridor Study for Manitowoc and Sheboygan Counties, awarded to Bay Lake Regional Planning (FY1999)
• LaCrosse Sewer Service Area Plan Update (FY1999)
• City of Superior Sewer Service Area Plan Update (FY1998)
• Water Quality Management Planning Activities by Brown County Planning Department, Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, and the East Central Regional Planning Commission (ongoing).