Delaware State University receives a $2 million grant to focus on clean water in underserved communities.
The grant, from the US Environmental Protection Agency, will help DSU create an Environmental Finance Center. That center will work with DSU’s Water Quality Lab - the only EPA-accredited lab of its kind at an HBCU - to help communities with antiquated water infrastructure find funding to improve conditions.
“If it is antiquated and outdated, we will work with those local communities to get funding loan programs from the EPA on how to update those water infrastructure systems," said Cherese Winstead, Dean of DSU’s College of Agriculture, Science, and Technology.
She notes people are paying closer attention to water quality and infrastructure, especially in underserved communities.
“Water quality is something that over the years since Flint, Michigan, a lot of people are really, really interested in what this looks like in their communities," she said.
She believes the new partnership will appeal to what she calls a "new generation" of students who feel passionately about environment justice and advocacy, especially in minority communities.
“These are the students that are really environmentally conscious, they’re socioeconomically conscious," she said "And so this really means a lot to our new generation of students because now they are advocating for these types of movements.”
Winstead adds this new partnership will help DSU students make connections with the EPA and other agencies that offer career opportunities.
