Hudson River community goes on record for clean water
November 16, 2016
Riverkeeper Team
Groups representing a variety of interests wrote to Gov. Cuomo today, urging increased investment, to $800 million, in water infrastructure grants in the next state budget.
The need for investment in water infrastructure in the Hudson River Watershed outside of New York City is in the hundreds of millions of dollars, at least. Documented need for wastewater infrastructure projects in the Hudson River Estuary watershed total $663 million, according to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund's Intended Use Plan, and only 30% of facilities in that region have documented their needs. (The need for investment in water and wastewater both in the lower Hudson Valley, including Sullivan County, has been recently estimated at $1 billion.)
Investments made possible by the first two rounds New York State Water Infrastructure Improvement Act grants will significantly improve water quality by eliminating combined sewer overflows, repairing failing pump stations, replacing leaky pipes and otherwise preventing sewage from spilling into our waterways. The grant program has been transformative by leveraging other sources of funding to put shovels in the ground on projects that had been stalled.
Gov. Cuomo and the Legislature have championed the new grant program since it was established in 2015. We hope they will continue to do so by boosting spending sufficiently to meet the need for clean water infrastructure investments.
Riverkeeper is one of the leaders in the statewide coalition, which is anchored by groups representing environmental, municipal and business interests, including Environmental Advocates of New York, NYWEA, Rebuild New York Now, the New York Conference of Mayors, the New York State Association of Counties and the Association of Towns of the State of New York. In addition to Riverkeeper, groups representing interests focused on the Hudson River Estuary and Watershed that signed today's letter include:
ENVIRONMENTAL
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
NY/NJ Baykeeper
Scenic Hudson
Stormwater Infrastructure Matters (SWIM) Coalition
MUNICIPAL
Historic Hudson River Towns, Inc.
Dutchess County Water and Wastewater Authority
RECREATIONAL
CIBBOWS (Coney Island Brighton Beach Open Water Swimmers)
Hudson River Boat and Yacht Club Assoc.
Hudson River Watertrail Association
New York City Water Trail Association
New York Open Water
PLANNING
American Planning Association - New York Metro Chapter
Capital District Regional Planning Commission
Hudson Valley Regional Council
New York Upstate Chapter of the American Planning Association
REGIONAL SOIL AND WATER COALITIONS
Lower Hudson Coalition of Conservation Districts
NYC Soil and Water Conservation District
Upper Hudson River Watershed Coalition
WATERSHEDS
Hudson River Watershed Alliance
Bronx River Alliance
Casperkill Watershed Alliance
Catskill Creek Watershed Awareness Project
Greater Stockport Creek Watershed Alliance
Kromma Kill Watershed Alliance
Mohawk River Watershed Alliance
Quassaick Creek Watershed Alliance
Roe Jan Watershed Community
Saw Kill Watershed Community
Sparkill Creek Watershed Alliance
Wallkill River Watershed Alliance
Wappinger Creek Intermunicipal Council
CONSTRUCTION
Building Contractors Association of Westchester & Mid-Hudson, Inc.
Construction Advancement Institute of Westchester & Mid-Hudson, Inc.
Construction Industry Council of Westchester & HV
EDUCATIONAL and LAND TRUSTS
Sarah Lawrence College Center for the Urban River at Beczak
Rensselaer Land Trust
Strawtown Studio
Many other groups with statewide or other regional focus areas signed on as well, representing municipal, water utility, business and construction, environmental, recreational interests. Several other Waterkeepers joined the coalition, including Save the River/Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper and Peconic Baykeeper. Read the letter.
Related campaigns
Water quality monitoring
Riverkeeper is the go-to source for information about the quality of the water along the Hudson River and its tributaries
Sewer and stormwater pollution
Working to keep sewage and street pollution out of our waterways