A sewer extension along nine miles of Cayuga Lake will receive $10 million as part of more than $249 million in state grants for water-quality projects announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The Cayuga County Water and Sewer Authority plans to install a low-pressure sanitary sewer system in Ledyard and Genoa, connecting homes now using failing septic systems to the village of Aurora's wastewater treatment plant. The project is intended to reduce pollution entering Cayuga Lake, according to the governor's announcement.
Canandaigua land protection also receives funding
The town of Canandaigua will receive $475,000 for a proposed 35-acre land acquisition and water-quality improvement project near Canandaigua Lake.
The town will work with the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Council, Friends of Canandaigua Lake and a private landowner. The project would preserve open space, prevent new development and restore natural features that filter pollutants.
Other regional awards include $48,360 for the Tioga County Soil and Water Conservation District to stabilize roadside drainage at critical locations across several municipalities. Hydroseeding and other work are intended to keep sediment and nutrients out of local waterways.
Chemung County will acquire a vacuum truck to clean catch basins and stormwater infrastructure in 10 regulated communities, reducing pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Madison County's soil and water district will receive $95,571 to stabilize about 1,000 feet of eroding streambank and establish vegetation to reduce sediment and phosphorus entering DeRuyter Reservoir.
Grants support construction and early planning
The announcement covers 181 projects. More than $246 million will support 139 projects through the Department of Environmental Conservation's Water Quality Improvement Project program. Another $2.9 million will support 42 planning projects through its Non-Agricultural Nonpoint Source and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Planning Grant program.
Construction awards cover wastewater treatment, drinking-water protection, salt storage, stormwater equipment, dam safety and habitat restoration. Planning grants support work such as culvert studies, storm-sewer mapping and stormwater management plans.
More than $206 million will benefit environmental justice communities, the state said. About $122 million across 63 grants will support projects in watersheds that have experienced harmful algal blooms within five years or projects identified in DEC's bloom action plans.
The package also includes $17 million for road-salt storage and reduction practices, including brine equipment and improved plow technology. More than $42 million from the 2022 environmental bond act will support 49 WQIP projects.
Other awards span treatment plants, dams and habitat
Niagara Falls will receive $10 million to upgrade wastewater treatment to a biological process. Elizabethtown will receive $10 million for a treatment plant replacing failing septic systems in the Boquet River and Lake Champlain watershed.
Peekskill will receive $2.5 million for repairs to Lower Wiccopee Dam, and Rensselaer County will receive $1.5 million for Burden Lake dam improvements. Annsville will receive $2 million to replace an undersized culvert and restore aquatic passage.
Additional projects include $1.69 million for the National Audubon Society to restore about 70 acres of salt marsh at Sunken Meadow, $940,617 for Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper habitat work along Cayuga Creek, $600,000 for Franklin County salt storage and $400,000 for New Rochelle road-salt reduction.
Planning awards include $400,000 for Ulster County stormwater mapping, $50,000 for a Lake Ronkonkoma culvert study and $50,000 for Troy's stormwater management plan. Full recipient lists are available through DEC's WQIP and planning grant pages.
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