Mount Pleasant Awarded $400,000 From NY For Vacuum Truck

MOUNT PLEASANT, NY — Mount Pleasant will get a better handle on keeping debris out of the Kensico Reservoir due to an influx of funding from New York State.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Monday that around $110 million was awarded to 86 projects to improve water quality across the state. The grant programs support projects that will help protect drinking water, combat contributors to harmful algal blooms, update aging water infrastructure, and improve aquatic habitats in communities statewide.

The Town of Mount Pleasant will receive $400,000 to purchase a vacuum truck to clean and maintain catch basins in the town. Using this equipment will reduce sediment, debris, and other materials entering the Kenisco Reservoir.

Hochul said she wants to ensure all New Yorkers have access to clean water for generations to come.

"We will continue upgrading New York’s aging infrastructure and strengthening our water security — improving the quality of life and public health of communities across the state," Hochul said in the announcement.

"Governor Hochul continues to demonstrate her commitment to improving water quality, I know how important it is to her," New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said. "She recognizes that we can't sustain the health of our communities and environment without access to clean water. The grants announced today will help communities across the state safeguard our drinking water so families know they have access to something that's not a privilege, but a human right."

The $110 million in grants were administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), with more than $108 million going to 51 projects through the State’s Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) program and nearly $2 million going to 35 projects through the Non-Agricultural Nonpoint Source Planning and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Mapping Grant (NPG).

The NPG program funds projects that help pay for the initial planning of non-agricultural nonpoint source water quality improvement projects, such as undersized culvert replacements and green infrastructure technologies, and State permit-required storm sewer mapping in urban areas.

The WQIP grant program funds projects that directly improve water quality or aquatic habitat, or protect a drinking water source. WQIP projects include municipal wastewater treatment upgrades, land acquisition projects for source water protection, salt storage construction, aquatic connectivity restoration, and marine habitat restoration.

New York State continues to prioritize funding for projects that may help decrease the occurrence of toxic algal blooms. Nearly half of the WQIP and NPG awarded grants, totaling about $45 million, will support projects in watersheds known to have experienced HABs in the past five years and/or help implement a project identified in a DEC HABs Action Plan.

More than $90 million of the funding supports water quality improvements in Environmental Justice communities that have been disproportionately affected by environmental pollution.