NY State awards over $16M to town of Peru for water/sewer projects, funding for other municipalities

State lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul formally announced grant funding awards to support water and wastewater infrastructure improvements in the town of Peru, New York. Champlain, City of Plattsburgh and Keene are among other municipalities to receive funds.

The town won $11,087,515 for upgrades to the Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP), with a focus on effluent disinfection.

Another $5 million will go toward upgrades to the town's drinking water infrastructure, approximately half of project costs.

Water Infrastructure Improvement and Intermunicipal (WII) grants come through the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC).

In Peru, interim Supervisor Craig Randall said they recently received notification that the funding is in place.

"The New York State WII grant for an amount not to exceed five million supports upgrades to the Peru water district. It does involve creating a second source of drinking water that would be available to the system when turbidity reaches a certain point. Our surface water system is stirred when there is a large amount of rain. A well would create another water source," Randall said.

The town held a public hearing on the drinking water project at the end of May this year, allowing residents to learn how increased rain causes turbidity. The new system would combine water from the reservoir and the well to improve water clarity. The engineering firm applied for the grant in June.

The award up to $5 million covers approximately half of the $9.4 million water improvement project, Randall said.

Wastewater treatment upgrades

"The second grant for the wastewater treatment facility comes from the same WII fund, up to $11 million for development of a new wastewater treatment facility here. That project could reach $26 million, depending on what the Town Council decides to do in moving ahead on various aspects of the design," Randall said.

"I am putting together a workshop for the Town Council to meet with the engineers. We have AES (AES Northeast) designing the wastewater treatment plant. Barton & Loguidice is working on the water department upgrades."

Peru is under consent order from both the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Department of Health (DOH) to improve aging infrastructure and bring systems into compliance with state standards.

"Peru has a small user base," Randall said. "There are about 800 using the water system and 500 on the wastewater system, so we have to look carefully at what costs the projects adds to water and wastewater fees."

Support from EFC is vital to their small community, Randall said.

"The WIII funding is absolutely helpful. Without these grant funds, Peru would not be able to respond in a meaningful manner to the requirements of the state, in this case DEC and DOH. The wastewater improvement is a DEC initiative. DOH monitors the domestic water project."

North Country support

Hochul announced last week more than $435 million in water and wastewater infrastructure funding was awarded for 102 projects in small towns throughout New York State.

“With this funding for communities across the state, we are providing critical resources to local economies, creating jobs and safeguarding the health and well-being of all New Yorkers," the governor said.

Other area communities benefiting from the program include:

• Champlain, $5,477,500 for Sewer District No. 7
• Village of Chateaugay, $6,571,636 for wastewater treatment plant disinfection upgrades
• Keene, $3,813,090 for improvements to Water District #2
• City of Plattsburgh, $5,000,000 for Phase 4 drinking water system upgrades
• Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, $9,891,566 for wastewater treatment plant upgrades
• Village of Saranac Lake, $5,000,000 for Village of Saranac Lake water source and distribution evaluations.

Area lawmakers are grateful for the state's support.

“We all deserve access to clean water," Senator Dan Stec said in a news release. "Funding infrastructure projects is a crucial way in making that a reality for all our communities."

Assemblyman Billy Jones said he and colleagues in the legislature pushed to expand this program.

"It is great to see the results right here in the North Country considering that my district received the most funding from this program. This is great news for our region, and I will continue to push for more funding to ensure that everyone in the North Country has access to clean water.”

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