Mount Vernon Will Get Largest Grant In City History For Sewers

MOUNT VERNON, NY — The infamously substandard sewers in Mount Vernon will get some much needed help, thanks in part to a grant from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Water Quality Improvement Project program.

A $10,000,000 grant from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Water Quality Improvement Project will provide funding for Mount Vernon's Wastewater Infrastructure Outfalls. The project will improve water quality in the Hutchinson River by upgrading Mount Vernon's municipal wastewater outfalls to prevent the discharge of raw sewage.

An additional $75,000 announced last week supports the mapping of Mount Vernon's municipal separate storm sewer systems to prevent polluted runoff from affecting local communities and the environment.

“I believe this investment is a positive step forward for the City of Mount Vernon," Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard said. "We aren’t tethered to legacy challenges; we are here to make solutions. Thank you to Governor Hochul, we look forward to work with your agencies to fix the problems we’ve inherited. The continued progress we’ve made in the last 18 months during this pandemic has shown the dedication our administration has to fixing our sewer issues. A day is coming soon where families do not have to worry about sewer backups impacting their quality of life.

With approximately 997,920 linear feet of sewer infrastructure throughout the city, Mount Vernon Department of Public Works Commissioner Damani Bush estimated the total cost to rehabilitate the entire system ranges from $124,740,000 to $199,584,000.

The grant is part of Gov. Kathy Hochul's Tuesday announcement of more than $272 million in funding for projects that protect and improve water quality across NYS. The projects are expected to help significantly improve water quality, combat contributors to harmful algal blooms and update aging water infrastructure across the state.

"Our state's economic development goals cannot be achieved without clean water for drinking, recreation and the overall quality of life New Yorkers expect and deserve," Hochul said. "These sustained investments in water quality improve the health of our communities while creating economic opportunity through well paying, long lasting jobs."

The Water Quality Improvement Project grant program is administered by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and funds projects that directly address documented water quality impairments or protect a drinking water source. Projects include municipal wastewater treatment upgrades, non-agricultural nonpoint source abatement and control, land acquisition projects for source water protection, salt storage construction, aquatic connectivity restoration and marine habitat restoration.

More information and the full list of other municipalities and agencies receiving grants can be found here.

SEE ALSO:

• 'Third World Conditions' Found by Environmentalist On Sewer Tour
• US Sues City Whose Raw Sewage Flows Freely
• Cleaning Up Mount Vernon's DPW Yard
• More Pollution, Another Fine For Mount Vernon
• Feds Sue Mount Vernon To Force Sewer Cleanup