New York State Senator Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Dana Levenberg announced today that $3 million in state funding is headed to the City of Peekskill for significant upgrades to its local water infrastructure. The funding is among the $37 million in grants approved by the state’s Environmental Facilities Corporation Board of Directors (EFC) for water infrastructure improvement projects across New York State.
In Peekskill, the state funding will go toward the replacement of approximately 5,250 linear feet of drinking water main piping, plus the replacement of an existing structurally deficient storage tank with a new 400,000-gallon tank.
“Investing in our water infrastructure is essential for safeguarding public health and promoting economic growth,” said Harckham. “Clean water and an effective delivery and storage system are key to maintaining a high quality of life in all our communities. Also, the projects create good paying jobs that have an economic multiplier effect in our communities. I thank the state’s Environmental Facilities Corporation and my colleagues in the State Legislature for their commitment to advancing these critical upgrades across the state.”
“Replacing older water mains with new ones is critical for maintaining the safety of a community’s drinking water,” said Levenberg. “I am so pleased that Peekskill will be receiving funding from New York State to upgrade its drinking water infrastructure. This investment is yet another demonstration of the State’s commitment to quality of life and prosperity in our local communities.”
The two legislators successfully fought to restore funding for local water infrastructure projects from proposed cuts to the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds from the Clean Water Infrastructure Act (CWIA) in last year’s State Budget.
The $37 million in financial assistance for water infrastructure improvement projects statewide approved by the Environmental Facilities Corporation Board of Directors will allow localities to access low-cost financing and previously announced grants to get shovels in the ground for critical water and sewer infrastructure projects—including treatment processes to remove emerging contaminants from drinking water, replacement of lead service lines and modernizing aging systems. These investments protect public health and make projects more affordable, reducing the need for higher rate increases to fund improvements, while also creating good-paying jobs.
EFC’s Board approved grants and financings to local governments from the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds provide financing to community water infrastructure projects with interest rates below market rates, and with long repayment periods. This lets communities save significantly on debt service compared to traditional financing.
Peekskill City Manager Matthew Alexander said, “The City of Peekskill is grateful for New York State’s attention to the drinking water infrastructure needs of aging municipalities. Without this assistance, the City could not afford the cost of keeping up with its one hundred-plus year-old water system. The $3 million of funding from the New York State Water Infrastructure Act Funding will be matched with $2 million of City money and address the City’s 103-year-old water storage tank and a large portion of insufficiently sized water mains. This kind of stewardship protects the health and safety of the over 25,000 residents of Peekskill.
