Peekskill Awarded Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars from the NY State for Water Quality Improvement Project

The City of Peekskill has been awarded over $800 thousand in funding from the New York State Regional Economic Development Council through the Water Quality Improvement Project program for its inflow and infiltration sewer line replacement project. The project will separate 12 catch basin stormwater connections from its sanitary sewer system to reduce the amount of stormwater that flows with sewage to the County wastewater treatment facility, helping to improve the City’s infrastructure and water quality in the Hudson River. This separation requires the installation of 3000 feet of new stormwater pipes, also covered by the grant.

“We are excited to have received a grant from the New York State Regional Economic Development Council for our water improvement project,” said City of Peekskill Mayor Vivian McKenzie. “These funds will enable the City to improve its infrastructure, preserve the health and safety of our residents, and allow for continued economic growth.”

Successful application for grant funding began with a city-funded study by Hudson Engineering that identified cross-connections between the stormwater system and the sewer system and the work needed to disconnect these systems in the vicinity of Louisa Street pump station, located at the intersection of Lower South Street and Louisa Street. Stormwater runoff entering the sewer system increases the cost of pump station and treatment plant operations and may cause sewer overflows, leading to potential health hazards, water pollution, and excessive energy consumption. The City then hired Barton and Loguidice to work with city staff using the engineering study to prepare a grant application through the NYS Consolidated Funding Application process.

The next steps for this project are to hire an engineer to prepare construction plans and bid the project out for actual construction, likely to take place in the spring of 2023. The disconnection of stormwater and sewage systems is one element of the City’s water infrastructure improvement strategy, which includes improvements to the City’s reservoirs, replacement of aging valves and hydrants in the water distribution system, and replacement of one of the city’s three water storage tanks, among other projects.

The Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative is a critical component of the State’s approach to State investment and economic development established in 2011 to develop long-term strategic plans for economic growth in the State’s ten regions. In 2021, the REDC implemented a strategic plan to identify and invest in significant economic development projects with $750 million in state resources available through the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA). The CFA process replaced multiple applications for economic development projects with a single application for state economic development resources from numerous state agencies. It institutionalized the role of the Regional Councils in identifying priorities for state resources. The CFA has been designed to give economic development project applicants expedited and streamlined access to a combined pool of grant funds and tax credits from dozens of existing programs. Today, the CFA is the primary portal for businesses to access state agency resources, including community development, direct assistance to industry, waterfront revitalization, energy and environmental improvements, government efficiency, sustainability, workforce development, and low-cost financing.