New York State announced Monday that more than 40 communities will benefit from the new Drinking Water Source Protection Program, which will assist communities in developing multi-faceted programs to address specific threats to their drinking water supplies.

Riverkeeper has advocated for this program, as one response to the drinking water crisis in City of Newburgh that came to light five years ago this month. Communities in the region that will benefit from this program include: The Hudson 7 communities (City and Town of Poughkeepsie, Village and Town of Rhinebeck and the towns of Esopus, Hyde Park and Lloyd), the cities of Beacon, Glens Falls, Peekskill and Watervliet, the Villages of Millerton, Monroe, New Paltz, Ossining, Otisville, Ravena and Suffern; and the towns of Bethlehem, Fishkill, Montgomery, Newburgh, Red Hook and Wawarsing.

The following is a statement from Dan Shapley, co-director of Riverkeeper's Science & Patrol Program:

"This program will help communities protect drinking water at its source. This program will advance environmental justice by helping to empower downstream communities to protect water supplies upstream. This program will help communities be more resilient to the water quality challenges that are bearing down with ever more intense climate extremes. We're very happy to see this program go into effect, and applaud the staff of the New York State agencies who made it possible."

Media contact: Leah Rae, lrae@riverkeeper.org, (914) 715-6821