Oswego County and West Monroe Awarded $390,000 for Water Quality Projects

OSWEGO COUNTY – Oswego County and the Town of West Monroe are receiving a combined $390,000 for projects intended to protect local water quality, according to a Nov. 4 release from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

DEC Region 7 highlighted the awards as part of recently announced state funding for water quality projects across Central New York.

Oswego County salt storage project

Oswego County was awarded $340,000 through the Water Quality Improvement Project program to replace an aging, undersized salt storage facility at the County Highway Department.

According to DEC, the new structure will prevent salt-laden runoff from entering local groundwater resources and protect water quality in the Lower Salmon River watershed.

West Monroe septic survey

The Town of West Monroe was awarded $50,000 through DEC’s Non-Agricultural Nonpoint Source and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Planning Grant program.

The town will complete a sanitary survey of properties with aging onsite septic systems along the state Route 49 corridor and intersecting roads. The results will help identify priority areas for future sewer service to protect water quality in the Oneida Lake watershed.

Regional water quality funding

DEC said more than $31 million in Water Quality Improvement Project grants will support 24 projects in 21 communities across Region 7, which covers Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, Oswego, Tioga and Tompkins counties. More than $555,000 in additional planning grants will support 10 projects.

Nearby awards include $400,000 for the Town of Cicero to purchase a vacuum truck to clean and maintain stormwater catch basins, reducing sediment and pollutants entering the Oneida Lake-Oneida River watershed. The Village of Tully was awarded $5,936,352 to renovate its wastewater treatment system, including pump station, screening, grit removal, filtration and ultraviolet disinfection equipment.

“Investments from New York State’s Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) program support critical infrastructure that allows communities, residents, and businesses to thrive,” DEC Region 7 Director Dereth Glance said. “WQIP grants help make local projects possible, like upgrading sewage and water treatment and conveyance systems, acquiring critical open space to protect drinking water at the source, investing in resilient waterways that improve flood control capacity while enhancing fish and wildlife habitat, and building structural solutions to control pollution that prevents fouling of our shared waters. DEC is proud to partner with local governments and nonprofit organizations to invest critical clean water infrastructure dollars to ensure abundant clean water resources for today and tomorrow.”

The regional awards are part of more than $249 million in grants for 181 water quality protection projects statewide. DEC said the grants support drinking water protection, aging infrastructure upgrades, efforts to reduce harmful algal blooms, and habitat improvements.

The WQIP program is primarily supported by the state’s 2022 Clean Water, Clean Air, Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act, Environmental Protection Fund and Clean Water Infrastructure funding. The grants were awarded through the Consolidated Funding Application process.

Details and award lists are available on DEC’s Water Quality Improvement Project program page and planning grant program page. The full DEC Region 7 release includes the other regional awards.