The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) was overwhelmed with request for water and wastewater grant programs.  The department had the task of awarding grants from funds recently received from the federal economic stimulus program to communities around the state.    

DEP announced the award of $218.9 million in grants made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The largest grant was to the city of Alachua for $20 million. Twenty-eight stormwater and wastewater projects were awarded more than $132 million through the DEP's Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

The department received more than $1.5 billion in requests. Another 40 projects have been awarded $86 million through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. The largest grant was $5.9 million to the city of Titusville. The department received $850 million in requests for drinking water projects.

The projects provided water quality and health protection for residents, DEP Secretary Michael Sole said in a news release.  Click here to view the press release.

To view a list of the approved drinking water projects, click here. To view the list of approved stormwater and wastewater projects, click here.