Environmental Advocates Press for More Clean Water Funding From State
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A group of elected officials and advocates for clean water programs want Gov. Kathy Hochul to increase the annual expenditure to upgrade the state’s aging water treatment and wastewater treatment infrastructure next year to $600 million.
State Sen. Peter Harckham (D-Lewisboro) was joined last Thursday at the Ossining Water Treatment Plant by assemblymen Chris Burdick (D-Bedford) and Steve Otis (D-Rye) and other environmental-minded proponents to place public pressure on Gov. Kathy Hochul for $100 million in additional funding because the need to improve facilities is so great.
“Now is the time to increase the state’s commitment in safeguarding our fragile drinking water supplies and water infrastructure,” Harckham said. “We have heard from municipalities statewide that crucial investments need to be in the budget from the start. Here in Ossining, state investments have been made to improve drinking water supplies, delivery systems and filtration facilities. But more is needed. Simply, clean water infrastructure funding helps keep our communities safe and habitable, all while ensuring the costs do not get passed on to ratepayers.”
Since 2017, the state has earmarked $500 million annually toward water projects, but with rising costs over the past few years and the need to catch up on long-delayed improvements, that sum has become inadequate, Otis said.
Hochul will her executive’s proposed budget next month. Last year, she initially cut the $500 million in half, but the legislature demanded that the funding be restored.
“New York State has the most robust clean water programs in the country, and this is a year we need to grow the pie, accelerate these projects with some more money,” Otis said. “Six years is long enough to be stagnant at $500 million. We need to go up to $600 million. That’s the goal in this budget.”
To highlight the pressure facing municipalities, Ossining is in the midst of having its water treatment facility being updated. Village Mayor Rika Levin said when the cost for the work was initially estimated, the project came in at $35 million. It has since tripled to about $110 million.
Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said it’s essential the state take its water protection seriously because New York as “a water infrastructure crisis.” Not only are there areas with lead pipes and plants that are at least 50 years old, but contamination of drinking water, including the presence of PFAS, is prevalent.
“Drinking water needs and wastewater infrastructure is a crisis lurking in the shadows and it is causing public health issues and economic woes,” she said. “That’s the bad news. The good news is we now how to fix it, but it takes funding, and last year, I’m happy to say, that environmental and state Senate leaders, Assembly members, union members, also the operations of our Westchester treatment plants and our drinking water plants found a great partnership and we fought back against the governor’s cuts, proposed cuts, to the water needs of New York State and we got that money back.”
Harckham said more money was generated with the passage of the $4 billion Environmental Bond Act in 2022. However, those funds were to supplement the ongoing annually funding in the state budget.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
