New York has approved $85 million in grants and low-cost financing for drinking water, stormwater and wastewater projects across the state. The funding includes $1.7 million for new water mains and a storage tank in the Steuben County village of Addison.
The Environmental Facilities Corporation board approved the assistance after projects completed environmental reviews and other program requirements. State officials said the financing is intended to let communities upgrade aging systems without placing the full cost on local ratepayers.
Addison project includes new tank and water mains
Addison's $1.7 million state grant will support installation of about 3,400 feet of drinking water main and connections that eliminate dead ends in the distribution system. The project also includes creek and levee crossings, replacement hydrants, electrical and control upgrades and a new 388,000-gallon water storage tank.
Other upstate projects include $9.4 million for the town of Paris in Oneida County to install new water main, services and hydrants. The Lewis County village of Croghan will receive $9.9 million for transmission and distribution mains, valves, hydrants and an expanded water district.
The city of Ogdensburg was awarded a $3 million grant for green stormwater infrastructure at its downtown mall parking area. The work is designed to reduce wet-weather flows to the city's combined sewer system and improve water quality in the Oswegatchie and St. Lawrence rivers.
The town of Peru will receive $9.4 million to install a filtration system and convert existing filters to granular activated carbon. The village of Belmont in Allegany County was approved for $8.5 million to improve two wells, replace its treatment plant filtration system and replace nearly 10,000 feet of water main.
State financing combines several programs
The package draws from state and federal revolving funds, state water infrastructure grants and Green Resiliency Grants. New York's clean-water and drinking-water revolving funds deliver more than $1 billion annually in grants and low-cost financing, according to the governor's office.
Federal infrastructure-law money has added to those funds since 2022, but the additional federal funding ends this year. State officials said continued support is needed as communities repair and replace aging systems.
New York says its Water Infrastructure Improvement and Intermunicipal Water Infrastructure Grants have saved ratepayers more than $8.3 billion since 2015. The corporation is reviewing applications for another $425 million under the first installment of a $3.75 billion clean-water plan in the enacted 2027 state budget.
Green Resiliency Grants, created in 2023, have awarded $121 million for projects intended to reduce risks from extreme weather.
The largest award in the latest package is $31 million for an interconnection between two drinking-water systems in Dutchess County. That project includes nearly 29,500 feet of water main, a booster pump station and replacement of another 500 feet of main.
Other downstate and Hudson Valley awards include water, flood-control, wastewater and contamination projects in Queensbury, Hastings-on-Hudson, Wawayanda, Hampton Bays and Riverhead.
Queensbury will receive a $5 million federal grant for about 20,590 feet of drinking-water main, valves, hydrants and customer meters. Hastings-on-Hudson was approved for a $2.5 million state grant to build a detention pond near Farragut Parkway to reduce flooding and improve water quality in the Saw Mill River.
Wawayanda will receive $1.5 million for headworks and blower improvements at the Robinn Meadows Wastewater Treatment Plant. The work is intended to improve water quality in a tributary of Indigot Creek, which the state classifies as a trout stream.
The Hampton Bays Fire District will receive a $1 million federal grant for interim cleanup measures involving groundwater contaminated by PFOS and PFOA. Riverhead will use a $2.3 million federal grant to install granular activated carbon treatment for PFAS at one of its drinking-water wells.
The funding package includes both grants and repayable financing. Some communities will receive interest-free or low-interest loans, reducing borrowing costs over the life of projects that would otherwise be supported largely through local water and sewer rates.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the financing would protect public health and the environment while supporting construction jobs. The enacted budget's broader water plan brings state clean-water grant commitments to $10 billion since 2017, according to her office.
Local funding agreements will govern access to the approved money.
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