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Eight area projects will receive state Water Quality Improvement Project grants.
Among the projects receiving funding is Phase 2 of the East Side Sewer Extension around Chautauqua Lake. The project is receiving $10 million and will result in construction of a municipal sanitary sewer system along the northeast shore of Chautauqua Lake, replacing onsite wastewater treatment systems. Wastewater will be conveyed to the South and Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District. The Bemus Point Central School District’s Wastewater Treatment Plant Decommissioning project will receive $1.4 million to help the district take its aging Maple Grove High School wastewater treatment plant offline and build a duplex pump station and force main to convey wastewater to the South and Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District for treatment.
Five projects will aim to either reduce road salt use or better store existing stockpiles of road salt. The Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District will receive $329,145 for salt storage and road salt reduction to purchase and install live edge plow blades for five highway departments in the county. Live edge plow blades are designed to move efficiently to remove snow from the road, resulting in less road salt application.
The city of Dunkirk is receiving $324,622 to replace its undersized and structurally unsound salt storage facility that has left the city’s salt pile exposed to weather.
Arkwright (310156),Hanover(196,400) and Portland ($433,700) are also receiving grants to improve salt storage and road salt reduction projects. The town of Chautauqua is receiving $471,060 to replace a deteriorated and undersized culvert at Bliss Road. The new aluminum, natural streambed bottom culvert will reduce erosion and flooding and improve aquatic habitat connectivity in the Chautauqua Creek watershed.
More than $246 million will help support 139 projects through the state Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) successful Water Quality Improvement Project grant program. WQIP grants fund projects that directly improve water quality or habitat, promote flood risk reduction, restoration, and enhanced flood and climate resiliency or protect a drinking water source.
"Access to clean water is a fundamental human right, which is why under my administration New York has made record investments to improve water quality across the state," said Gov. Kathy Hochul. "Today's grants build upon those historic investments helping our local communities upgrade essential infrastructure, enhance resiliency against flooding caused by severe weather and protect habitat and water quality for all New Yorkers."
Two projects are among the more than $2.9 million supporting 42 projects through DEC's Non-Agricultural Nonpoint Source and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Planning Grant (NPG) program. Grants will help pay for the initial planning of water quality improvement projects, such as undersized culvert replacements and green infrastructure technologies, and state permit-required storm sewer mapping and stormwater management planning in urban areas. Projects will reduce the amount of polluted stormwater runoff entering lakes, rivers and streams.
Projects receiving funding include $50,000 for the Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District’s Riparian Corridor Restoration and Enhancement Study for Chautauqua Lake Tributary and another $50,000 for the district’s Village of Fredonia Green Infrastructure Feasibility Study. The Chautauqua Lake Tributary study will include a riparian corridor assessment of the unnamed tributary upstream of the Chautauqua Mall in Lakewood. The study will detail current conditions and provide options for riparian restoration to improve water quality in the Chautauqua Lake watershed.
The Fredonia study is a partnership with the village of Fredonia to complete a green infrastructure study for the Water Street parking lot and pocket park focused on reducing stormwater runoff into Canadaway Creek.