ICYMI: DEC Region 3 Highlights More Than $30.4 Million in Grants Awarded to Local Water Quality Protection Projects

Local Grant Awards Part of $249 Million in Grants Awarded to 181 Water Quality Protection Projects Across New York State 

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Region 3 celebrated Governor Kathy Hochul’s recent awarding of more than $30.4 million in State grants to support 31 projects to further improve water quality in the Hudson Valley. The grants support projects that help protect drinking water, update aging water infrastructure, reduce contributors to harmful algal blooms, and improve aquatic and terrestrial habitat in communities statewide. 

“Governor Hochul’s $30.4 million investment will directly help communities across the Hudson Valley upgrade essential infrastructure, safeguard drinking water, and enhance resiliency against flooding," DEC Region 3 Director Kelly Turturro said. “DEC is proud to support our local governments and nonprofit organizations in their efforts to improve water quality for New Yorkers.”  

More than $29.1 million will help support 15 projects through DEC’s successful Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) 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. View a statewide list of WQIP grant awards. 

Additionally, more than $1.3 million will help support 16 projects through DEC’s Non-Agricultural Nonpoint Source and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Planning Grant (NPG) program. NPG projects 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. NPG projects will reduce the amount of polluted stormwater runoff entering lakes, rivers, and streams, and improve resiliency against the impacts of climate change. View a full list of NPG grant awards. 

Region 3 grantees in Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster, and Westchester counties include:   

Dutchess County 

Town of Poughkeepsie (Dutchess County), $75,000 – The Town of Poughkeepsie will continue mapping its municipal stormwater infrastructure. The project will assist the Town to identify illicit discharges to the system and effectively maintain the infrastructure to protect local water quality.  

Orange County 

City of Newburgh, $10 million – The City of Newburgh will construct a new 54-inch diameter interceptor to replace the existing South Interceptor Sewer. The new interceptor sewer will maximize wet weather flow to the Water Pollution Control Plant and Combined Sewer Control Facility and reduce combined sewer overflows to the Hudson River during storm events.  

Town of Cornall, $400,000 – The Town of Cornwall will purchase a vacuum truck to maintain over 600 catch basins annually. Use of the truck will prevent stormwater pollutants from entering the minor tributaries to the West of the Hudson River watershed. 

Town of New Windsor, $75,000 – The Town of New Windsor will update and expand its electronic GIS dataset of MS4 infrastructure with information about stormwater structures, post construction stormwater management practices, MS4 outfalls and interconnections. 

Town of Newburgh, $75,000 – The Town of Newburgh will update its MS4 stormwater management program, including education and outreach, monitoring locations and municipal operating procedures. 

Town of New Windsor, $50,000 – The Town of New Windsor will update its MS4 stormwater management program, including focus areas, education and outreach, monitoring locations, and municipal operating procedures. 

Village of Greenwood Lake, $50,000 – The Village of Greenwood Lake will update its MS4 stormwater management program, including focus areas and education and outreach. 

Village of Tuxedo Park, $50,000 – The Village of Tuxedo Park will conduct a feasibility study of the effectiveness of a direct injection oxygenation system to control in-waterbody nutrients in Tuxedo Lake, a drinking water source.  

Putnam County 

Glynwood Center, Inc, $2.5 million – Glynwood Center, Inc. will rehabilitate Perkins Dam, a high hazard dam. The project improvements will address insufficient spillway capacity and enhance discharge flow conveyance to Clove Creek and tributaries.  

Village of Cold Spring, $911,869 – The Village of Cold Spring will purchase a 16-acre parcel on the shores of the Upper Cold Spring Reservoir. In addition to acquisition of the parcel, a shoreline riparian buffer will be restored. This project is a continuation of the Village's initiative to protect the reservoir and drinking water source.  

Rockland County 

Rockland County, $6.9 million – Rockland County will upgrade 2,200 feet of sanitary sewers and associated manholes on Twin Avenue in Spring Valley, Rockland County Sewer District No. 1. This project will reduce the potential for sanitary sewer overflows to the Hudson River. 

Town of Ramapo, $50,000 – The Town of Ramapo will complete a comprehensive stream corridor assessment for the Lake Suzanne and Upper Pascack Brook watershed. The report's recommendations will identify management practices to improve water quality and flood resiliency. 

Sullivan County 

American Rivers, Inc., $2.1 million – American Rivers, Inc. will remove a structurally unsound, high hazard dam from the East Branch of Callicoon Creek, a tributary to the Upper Delaware River. The project will eliminate the risk of dam failure, improve water quality by restoring natural river and floodplain processes, and reconnect upstream habitat.  

Ulster County 

Ulster County, $400,000 – Ulster County will lead a countywide MS4 mapping project serving 11 regulated MS4 operators and the County, itself. They will develop a County-hosted ArcGIS database and complete all basic mapping elements and additional elements, such as municipal facility interconnections. The data collected will help Ulster County's regulated MS4s protect water quality from stormwater pollution. 

Village of New Paltz, $125,000 – The Village and Town of New Paltz will create electronic GIS maps and inventory of MS4 infrastructure to replace paper records. The new database will be a resource for system maintenance and will assist in protecting water quality in the Wallkill River watershed.  

Westchester County 

City of Peekskill, $2.5 million – The City of Peekskill will repair the Lower Wiccopee Dam to address inadequate spillway capacity and structural deficiencies. The improvements will enhance dam safety, compliance with regulatory requirements, and reduce flood risk to downstream infrastructure. See photos from DEC event on October 30, 2026. 

Village of Pelham Manor, $1,006,000 – The Village of Pelham Manor will implement bioretention systems at two locations within the village. The project will capture and treat stormwater through attenuation practices. This project will reduce flooding and improve water quality in New Rochelle Harbor. 

Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, $600,000 – The Village of Hastings-on-Hudson will expand and improve their salt storage capacity, through the construction of a replacement covered salt storage facility. This project will reduce salt pollution and protect water quality in the Hudson River watershed. 

City of New Rochelle, $400,000 – The City of New Rochelle will implement a city-wide road salt reduction program. They will purchase segmented plow blades and truck-mounted brine spray systems to use liquid salt brine on their roads. The project will reduce rock salt use and chloride loading to local streams, improving water quality in the Long Island Sound watershed. 

City of New Rochelle, $400,000 – The City of New Rochelle will purchase a new vacuum truck to maintain catch basins in the New Rochelle MS4 area. Using the vacuum truck will reduce pollutant loading into the Hutchinson River- Frontal Long Island Sound watershed. 

Town of Bedford, $400,000 – The Town of Bedford will purchase a vacuum truck to help maintain over 2,000 catch basins annually. Using the truck will reduce nutrient loading and improve water quality within the Croton River watershed. 

Town of Greenburgh, $400,000 – The Town of Greenburgh will purchase a vacuum truck to improve the service and maintenance of the Town's MS4 regulated stormwater system. Using the truck will reduce sediment and debris in the Saw Mill River watershed. 

Village of Larchmont, $400,000 – The Village of Larchmont will purchase a vacuum truck to clean stormwater infrastructure in its MS4 area. This project will protect local waterbodies from stormwater pollution in the Hutchinson River-Mamaroneck River watershed. 

North Salem Open Land Foundation, $172,000 –The North Salem Open Land Foundation will repair the low-level outlet valve at the Baxter Preserve dam. The improvements will ensure the condition and functionality of the valve to improve long-term structural integrity and reduce operational risk. 

Village of Elmsford, $75,000 – The Village of Elmsford will complete a stream corridor study of Saw Mill River and its watershed to analyze streambank erosion, culverts, bridges, and flood resiliency.   

Village of Mamaroneck, $75,000 – The Village of Mamaroneck will update and expand its municipal stormwater infrastructure inventory and mapping. They will review the existing GIS database to ensure accuracy and fill in infrastructure data gaps. The project will improve stormwater infrastructure management and protect water quality. 

City of Peekskill, $50,000 – The City of Peekskill will complete a sanitary survey and alternatives feasibility study to evaluate failing or high-risk septic systems contributing pollutants in the Putnam Valley watershed and develop alternative solutions where needed to protect water quality. 

City of Peekskill, $50,000 – The City of Peekskill will complete a nutrient source and in-waterbody controls study for Lake Mitchell, investigating current lake conditions. The study will recommend management strategies for the control of nutrients to improve and protect water quality in Lake Mitchell. 

Village of Sleepy Hollow and Sleepy Hollow Development Corporation, $50,000 –The Village of Sleepy Hollow will complete a green infrastructure feasibility and engineering report for the Sleepy Hollow Commons site within the village. Green infrastructure will improve flood resiliency and stormwater management. 

Village of Mamaroneck, $45,452 – The Village of Mamaroneck will update its MS4 stormwater management program, including municipal operating procedures, to establish a framework for long-term stormwater management and flood resiliency. 

City of New Rochelle, $44,000 – The City of New Rochelle will update and expand its GIS-based maps of their municipal stormwater system. The project will assist in identifying illicit stormwater discharges and reduce stormwater pollution in Long Island Sound. 

The WQIP funds are part of more than $249 million in grants recently announced by Governor Hochul for 181 projects statewide that help protect drinking water, update aging water infrastructure, reduce contributors to harmful algal blooms, and improve aquatic and terrestrial habitat in communities statewide. More than $206 million of the funding will support water quality improvements for environmental justice communities which may be disproportionately impacted by environmental pollution. This announcement supplements more than $10 billion in water infrastructure improvements and clean water projects investments by New York State since Governor Hochul took office.  

More than $42 million of funding provided through the 2022 Clean Water, Clean Air, Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act will be used to implement 49 WQIP projects.  

Sources of Funding  
WQIP is primarily supported by the State's 2022 Clean Water, Clean Air, Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act, Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), and Clean Water Infrastructure funding. The 2026-27 enacted New York State Budget maintains the EPF at $425 million and includes an additional $25 million from the Sustainable Future Program to provide a record $450 million for critical environmental programs, such as land acquisition, farmland protection, invasive species prevention and eradication, enhanced recreational access, water quality improvement, and an aggressive environmental justice agenda.    

New York's Commitment to Clean Water   
Under Governor Hochul, New York State continues to increase its historic investments in water infrastructure. The enacted 2027 budget announced by Governor Hochul sets the national standard with a transformational $3.75 billion water infrastructure investment plan, building on $10.6 billion provided to clean water infrastructure projects since 2021. To leverage these investments and ensure ongoing coordination with local governments, the Governor supports the Environmental Facilities Corporation’s Community Assistance Teams in coordination with State agencies to provide proactive outreach for one-on-one consultations to help municipalities prepare strong applications. New Yorkers can view projects benefiting from DEC’s water grant programs using the interactive grant data portal.    

 About the Consolidated Funding Application  

The grants were issued following completion through the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process. The CFA was created to streamline and expedite the grant application process. The CFA process marks a fundamental shift in the way State resources are allocated, ensuring less bureaucracy and greater efficiency to fulfill local economic development needs. The CFA serves as the single-entry point for access to economic development funding, ensuring applicants no longer have to slowly navigate multiple agencies and sources without any mechanism for coordination. Now, economic development projects use the CFA as a support mechanism to access multiple State funding sources through one application, making the process quicker, easier, and more productive. Learn more about the CFA. 

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