NY Grant To Help Sleepy Hollow Improve Wastewater Collection

SLEEPY HOLLOW, NY — New York state is distributing $23 million for local water quality projects, and Sleepy Hollow will receive $28,800 to begin a big project to improve its wastewater collection system.

In Sleepy Hollow, the money will go to a study to identify sources of inflow and infiltration, evaluate alternatives, and recommend improvements.

The money is coming through two state programs.

• From the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation's Green Innovation Grant Program, $20.8 million is being awarded to 17 projects that incorporate green stormwater infrastructure, as well as implement energy and water efficiency measures.
• An additional $2.5 million in Engineering Planning Grants will help jumpstart planning for 56 water infrastructure projects.

"To improve water quality for communities across New York, we must take action to ensure the resiliency of our infrastructure," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in the announcement. "These grants remove the financial barriers for local governments to invest in critical water infrastructure projects."

Sleepy Hollow's $28,000 is coming from the Engineering Planning Grant program. The state's aim is to help eligible communities afford and start the critical planning process so they can be better prepared to seek financing to help them complete water infrastructure projects. Grants of up to $100,000 are available to develop an engineering report that identifies problems and potential solutions. These grants have helped municipalities across the state to complete 350 engineering reports since the program's inception in 2012, state officials said.

The sewage for both Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown usually takes this route:

From your toilet, it goes to the Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow Pump Station south of the train station in Tarrytown. Here, the waste is basically treated, which involves "pulling screenings," i.e. removing toilet paper and such. From there it goes to the North Yonkers Pump Station, which in turn leads to the Yonkers Waste Water Treatment Plant for extensive treatments.

Some readers might remember the situation in 2013 when a sewer line break in Tarrytown necessitated an emergency operation in Sleepy Hollow. SEE: Millions of Gallons of Sewage in Hudson