By Hank Russell
Two local villages received a combined $28 million to help improve its water quality. The money comes from a $250 million grant to help communities statewide afford water and sewer infrastructure improvement projects.
The Environmental Facilities Corporation Board of Directors approved low-cost financing and state and federal grants that empower local governments to advance crucial upgrades — such as replacing lead service lines, treating harmful emerging contaminants, mitigating flooding, and modernizing aging systems — without passing high costs on to local ratepayers.
The Village of Hempstead received $23 million in state and federal grants and interest-free financing for the construction of new sewer piping to replace an aged and undersized wastewater collection system. The state grant is funded by the Environmental Bond Act. The Village of Williston Park also got a $5 million federal grant for PFAS treatment at Well Nos. 1A and 2 at the Syracuse Street facility.
“Communities are working hard to upgrade aging water infrastructure and protect public health, and I’m committed to providing them with the resources they need to succeed,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. “With this $250 million investment, we’re making vital projects affordable and ensuring New Yorkers can trust the water they rely on every day.”
Environmental Facilities Corporation President & CEO Maureen A. Coleman said, “This scale of investment underscores the irrefutable impact of the most efficient and effective water infrastructure investment programs in the nation.