BPUB Grants Help Expand Initiatives, Projects
The Brownsville Public Utilities Board (BPUB) has a big job on its hand. Delivering electrical, water and wastewater service to a community like Brownsville requires a lot of work and a lot of money, but luckily, BPUB looks for additional ways to support itself outside of what’s collected through monthly bills.
To supplement the funds that are brought in from billing, BPUB aggressively pursues grants that match the company’s needs. Because there are so many facets to a company like BPUB, it requires a full-time person to seek out these grant opportunities and ensure that all guidelines are met for the grant application.
These grants have greatly helped BPUB pursue its mission and have had an impact on the community at large. Some of the grants that BPUB has been awarded has allowed it with day-to-day operations but also to pursue major outreach initiatives. One of those grants allowed BPUB to perform outreach on behalf of the Resaca Restoration Project. It allowed a dedicated employee to educate children and the community about the importance of maintaining the resacas and BPUB’s efforts to clean them. There has also been a major educational campaign to raise awareness about the problems associated with fats, oils and grease (FOG). These grants have funded advertisements, learning materials, community outreach events and more.
The grants extend beyond outreach, though. Many of the major infrastructure projects that BPUB has initiated was funded – at least in part – through grants. This includes the FM 511 colonia improvement project that is bringing wastewater service to this area for the first time. Another grant allowed BPUB to perform a major system wide audit of its lift stations to determine what could be done to make its wastewater system better.
Maintaining a city’s infrastructure is a big job. It’s a big, daunting task, one that brings with it major expenses. That’s why BPUB seeks funding opportunities to offset those costs. It’s, in part, due to some of these grants that BPUB has the funds to make improvements throughout the city, and BPUB will continue to seek out additional ways to fund the vision of Brownsville that we all share. In September 2016, the BPUB added Chloe Dotson to its team to explore new grant funding opportunities.