The Lynnwood City Council approved three surface water education grants to Meadowdale Middle School, Brighton School and St. Thomas More during Monday’s City Council meeting.

Meadowdale Middle received a grant of $1,350 in order to learn about water quality and contaminants by sampling water in the Meadowdale Glen Pond. The grant coordinator, Stephen Howard, anticipates building an on-going program to track long-term trends.

St. Thomas More received $800 to conduct a watershed education program, including the study of the water cycle and watersheds, planting native plants, participating in field trips to gain greater insight on the workings of a large watershed, raising and releasing juvenile salmon and creating a book about these activities.

Brighton School received grants of $1,200 and $2,250. The money will be used to raise and release Coho salmon and to learn about what actions that could help improve the salmon’s freshwater ecosystem. The other project is a school-wide stormwater education initiative comprising of five phases.

$15,000 is budgeted annually from the city’s Surface Water Utility for surface water education grants. Public education is a requirement for the city’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.