EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes specific unchanged excerpts from a DEC press release that relates to Western New York, and from the writer’s perspective, should enlighten local Chautauqua Lake water quality groups, Fredonia folks, Westfield well water protection groups and Dunkirk Harbor groups on where to consider applications for additional funding to improve water quality in Chautauqua County lakes, ponds and streams and the other water sources.

The NYSDEC recently announced that more than 1,200 acres were permanently protected by five community-based partners through a state program to protect water quality. Multiple significant local open space conservation actions in Western New York were supported by DEC’s Water Quality Improvement Project program, which helps local land trusts acquire properties adjacent to drinking water sources, preventing stormwater runoff or erosion that could lead to water contamination or degradation.

Five land trusts received DEC grants, totaling more than $7.4 million, through the statewide competitive Water Quality Improvement Project Program. Together, a total of eight parcels were acquired to protect critically important drinking water sources with any remaining funds used to identify and acquire additional source water protection lands.

In Erie County, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, with assistance from Western New York Land Conservancy, acquired two properties totaling more than 44 acres. These parcels were identified as priority projects in the New York State Open Space Conservation Plan for drinking water protection. The two properties, referred to as Kaiser and Paul after their prior landowners, protect the Niagara River watershed in the town of Concord in perpetuity and have similar attributes that make them ideal for source water protection. The properties contain a mix of wetlands and forests, with Eighteenmile Creek and a tributary running through them. The wetlands and forests will now be protected and continue to serve as natural buffers for the nearby drinking water supplies.

“Protecting our region’s Great Lakes and inland waterways starts with protecting critical headwater forests and green space at their source,” BNW Executive Director Jill Jedlicka said. “We are grateful for our long-standing partnership with the WNYLC which allows each of our organizations to do what we do best — protect our water, protect our lands — and to support the shared vision of the Western New York Wildway that will benefit our entire region. Thank you to the DEC and their funding support from the WQIP program, and to the property owners who patiently and generously worked with our team for years to be able to conserve these lands and waters for future generations.”

Also in Western New York, the Birdsall property preserves more than 200 acres and 500 feet of shoreline along Black Creek to protect important wetlands and surrounding forests in Allegany County’s Black Creek watershed. WNYLC acquired the Birdsall property to help protect the water quality of downstream public drinking water sources in the Genesee River Basin, which includes the village of Angelica’s public water supply. The waters of Black Creek provide drinking water for rural residents of the county. Black Creek flows to Angelica Creek and into the Genesee River, ultimately flowing all the way to Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes system. The property is an important piece of the Western New York Wildway and home to a wide variety of plants and animals.

“Over the past five years we’ve made tremendous progress in protecting public drinking water sources and the Western New York Wildway,” WNYLC Executive Director Marisa Riggi said. “But since only 1.3% of identified linkages in the Wildway are conserved, permanently protecting these linkage properties represents a wonderful, positive step toward creating the corridors of connectivity the Western New York Wildway requires. We are thrilled to share this success with our friends at Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, and we are truly grateful for the DEC’s WQIP grant program and all our generous donors who made this possible. This partnership demonstrates that when organizations work together, they can make a lasting impact on our region.”

“By protecting and restoring the lands around rivers, lakes, and streams, we can safeguard clean drinking water for New York families,” said Bill Ulfelder, The Nature Conservancy’s New York executive director. “The Nature Conservancy is proud to partner with DEC on projects that improve water quality and provide wildlife habitat. This project conserves upstream wetlands and streams, which is one of the most effective ways to safeguard the health of downstream lakes.”

The Water Quality Improvement Project Program in New York is maximizing state resources to help contribute to the 30×30 Initiative, helping conserve 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030. To date, DEC has preserved nearly five million acres of land through fee or conservation easements across all management categories. Land acquisition through the WQIP program is one valuable tool, serving as a competitive, reimbursement grant program that funds projects that directly improve water quality or habitat or protect a drinking water source. Last December, DEC awarded more than $222 million through the WQIP program to support land acquisition projects for drinking water protection like those announced today, municipal wastewater treatment upgrades, polluted runoff abatement and control, salt storage construction and road salt reduction practices, dam safety rehabilitation, repair and removal, aquatic connectivity restoration, marine district habitat restoration, and fish and wildlife habitat restoration and enhancement. This grant is offered through the State’s Consolidated Funding Application. Information on this program is available on the DEC WQIP website: https://dec.ny.goc/get-involved/grant-applications/wqip-program.  

New York state’s nation-leading investments in water infrastructure include an additional $500 million allocated for clean water infrastructure in the 2025-26 enacted state budget, for a total of $6 billion invested in water infrastructure since 2017. The funding is in addition to other substantial water quality investments, including the historic $425 million Environmental Protection Fund and $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act, which is advancing historic levels of funding to update aging water infrastructure and protect water quality, strengthen communities’ ability to withstand severe storms and flooding, reduce air pollution and lower climate-altering emissions, restore habitats and preserve outdoor spaces and local farms. For more information and to sign up for grant updates, go to https://environmentalbondact.ny.gov.