Report: Progress on water issues

Adirondack Park contains lakes, ponds, navigable rivers and 30,000 miles of brooks and streams

ALBANY, N.Y. » State and town officials have made significant progress over the past three years addressing threats to water quality in the Adirondack Park but still have far to go, the Adirondack Council said in a report released Tuesday.

The report said since 2015, $32 million in grants have been given to Adirondack communities for wastewater infrastructure and drinking water projects. Adirondack Council Executive Director William C. Janeway said the money reduced the inventory of clean water improvements and wastewater treatment plant upgrades, which exceeded $100 million in last year’s estimates.

“These grants lift a significant burden from the small communities of the park, which struggle to maintain wastewater facilities and drinking water to support more than 12 million annual visitors, residents and businesses,” Janeway said.

A news release said the council identified another $85 million in immediate needs in Adirondack communities for wastewater treatment and sanitary sewer costs.

The Adirondack Park contains more than 11,000 lakes and ponds, thousands of miles of navigable rivers and nearly 30,000 miles of brooks and streams. It is the source of nearly all of the state’s major rivers, including the Hudson, Mohawk, Raquette, Black, Ausable, Oswegatchie, St. Regis, Saranac and Beaver.

The state grants to communities to date are the result of a $2.5 billion five-year Clean Water Infrastructure program enacted this year. These grants are given to communities in need and the remaining local project costs are largely financed through the Federal State Revolving Loan Fund which is administered by New York State’s Environmental Facilities Corp.

The Adirondack Council’s new report documents grants that Adirondack communities (and a few nearby) have received under New York State’s Clean Water programs as well as financing they have received under NYSEFC State Water Revolving Loan Fund. The next round for state grant funding is scheduled for 2018.

“The success of the program to date can be attributed to teamwork between the local, state and federal levels,” Janeway said. Janeway noted that some communities are still in the process of identifying their estimated project costs for additional work needed at their facilities. As a result, the estimate of an additional need for $85 million is for readyto-go projects.