The Sun Community News
November 29, 2018
By: ELIZABETH IZZO
PLATTSBURGH | The Town of Plattsburgh was awarded a $3.1 million state grant last week.
This latest cash infusion will help fund the town’s ongoing water capital plan, a series of projects designed to overhaul dozens of water storage tanks, towers and pump stations in the area.
All of the above, according to Town Supervisor Michael Cashman, are part of a concentrated effort to ensure the town’s water infrastructure is sound for years to come.
“When most people wake up in the morning and go to brush their teeth, or turn a faucet on to get a glass of water, they don’t always think about the processes that allow for healthy, safe water,” Cashman said. “We need water as people, and as a community.
“Some of our infrastructure dates back 50 years ago. We cannot afford, nor can any community, to sit on the sidelines and wait for that infrastructure to fail.”
The total cost of the plan is $7.8 million, according the governor’s office.
Local estimates in the past have projected total costs as high as $24 million. To help offset costs, the town also secured a $500,000 federal Northern Border Regional Commission grant last year, with help from Rep. Elise Stefanik’s office.
This latest $3.1 million round of state funding was announced as part of a $24.6 million grant cluster designed to support 13 municipal water infrastructure projects throughout the North Country.
The neighboring City of Plattsburgh also received funding — $4.3 million toward $17.4 million in beautification, noise and odor abatement projects at the lakeside wastewater treatment facility.
To date, $750 million in Water Infrastructure Improvement Act and Intermunicipal Grant funding supports nearly $2.65 billion in total project costs for drinking and wastewater infrastructure projects statewide, according to the governor’s office.
