Oswego Secures Funding for Lead Service Line Inventory and Replacement

OSWEGO – The City of Oswego has secured grant funding through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) to advance its comprehensive Lead Service Line Replacement (LSLR) Program, supporting continued efforts to identify and remove lead service lines throughout the City’s water distribution system.

The funding will support two critical components of the City’s ongoing initiative: expanding its lead service line inventory and replacing known lead service lines. Together, these efforts represent a significant investment in protecting public health, improving water infrastructure and ensuring access to safe drinking water for Oswego residents.

The first component, $2 million dollars funded through the IIJA-LSLR 20060 Lead Service Line Inventory program, will allow the City to continue identifying and documenting water service line materials throughout its distribution system. This work is necessary to comply with the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) and reduce the number of service lines with unknown materials. A complete inventory will help the City identify locations requiring replacement and better position the community to secure funding for future improvements.

The inventory initiative will also support required data management and reporting to the New York State Department of Health, as well as public access to information about the materials comprising the water service lines serving the community. Community outreach and educational efforts will be incorporated throughout the inspection process and in preparation for future replacements.

The second component, $7 million dollar grant plus $3 million in interest free financing funded through the IIJA-LSLR 20066 Lead Service Line Replacement program, will support the replacement of approximately 900 known lead service lines throughout the City. This proposed project will build upon the City’s 2026 Lead Service Line Replacement Project, which is currently underway and designed to replace approximately 350 lead service lines.

The proposed replacement project area was selected based on several factors, including neighborhood median household income, the concentration of known lead service line locations, and the density of populations disproportionately impacted by lead exposure, particularly those most sensitive to its health effects. Most of the approximately 900 identified service lines are located within an environmental justice area.

External grant funding is particularly important to advancing this work while minimizing the financial impact on local water ratepayers. Without this assistance, the debt service necessary to support such a significant infrastructure investment would place a substantial burden on those who rely on the City’s water system.

“Securing this funding is an important step forward in our continued commitment to providing safe, reliable drinking water for the residents of Oswego,” said Mayor Robert A. Corradino. “Replacing lead service lines is a significant undertaking, and having the financial resources to move this work forward without placing an overwhelming burden on our ratepayers is critical. We are building on the work already underway and taking meaningful steps toward eliminating known lead service lines throughout our community, with particular attention to neighborhoods that are most vulnerable to the impacts of lead exposure.”

The City will continue working to identify remaining unknown service line materials, advance replacement efforts and keep residents informed through community outreach and education as the program progresses.

These investments represent an important long-term commitment to the health and well-being of the Oswego community and the continued improvement of the City’s water infrastructure.