EPA Press Office:

Fort Lewis College students awarded $25K for water quality testing project

DURANGO, Colo. (Aug. 3, 2023) – This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $25,000 in funding to a team of students at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, for its proposed water bacteria detection research project.

As part of EPA’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Program, the award will provide funding through July 31, 2024, for the students to develop a method of easily and rapidly detecting harmful waterborne bacteria in the lab. The students will test water samples from the Animas River and communicate the importance of water resource protection to communities in the Four Corners area.

“Access to clean water is critical for protecting human health and the environment,” said KC Becker, EPA Regional Administrator. “Congratulations to these Fort Lewis College students, whose proposal uses imagination and science to develop innovative solutions to water-quality challenges.”

This award is part of $523,796 in funding that EPA granted to 21 student teams across the country as Phase I of the 19^th Annual P3 awards. All Phase I recipients will be eligible to compete for a Phase II grant of up to $100,000 to further implement their designs.

More information about all 2023 P3 Phase I winners is available on the EPA website.

Contact: Marisa Lubeck, lubeck.marisa@epa.gov