Cairo, Hunter and Windham receive $50K for wastewater planning

GREENE COUNTY―Governor Kathy Hochul announced Monday that $80 million in grants have been awarded to combat extreme weather by reducing flooding, improving water quality and strengthening the resiliency of critical infrastructure statewide.

The funding includes $3.1 million in Wastewater Infrastructure Engineering Planning Grants to jumpstart 63 water quality projects statewide. Locally, the towns of Cairo, Hunter and Windham are each set to receive $50,000.

Administered through the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC), the Wastewater Infrastructure Engineering Planning Grants encourage communities to move forward with wastewater and sewer projects by funding the development of engineering reports.

In Cairo, the funding will be used to complete a Preliminary Inflow and Infiltration (PII) Study, “which will help us identify areas where unwanted water may be entering our wastewater system and help us plan for future improvements,” according to the Town.

The program helps communities advance fiscally sound and well-designed projects to construction and empowers communities to seek additional funding.

“New York’s communities are facing increasingly intense storms and the growing challenges that come with aging water infrastructure,” said EFC President and CEO Maureen A. Coleman.

“EFC is proud to partner with communities across the State to deliver investments that protect water quality, strengthen resilience and help ensure these essential improvements are affordable for local ratepayers,” Coleman said.

EFC has awarded $32 million to fund 758 engineering reports since 2012, leading to the development of projects totaling $2 billion to modernize wastewater infrastructure statewide.