The Suffolk County Water Authority announced today that it has submitted applications for grant funding through the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act (WIIA). The 38 projects are estimated to cost $80 million in total. The New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation made $325 million available for clean water and drinking water improvement projects. This is among the largest funding requests in SCWA's history, signaling significant progress towards bolstering its water treatment capabilities and expanding access to public drinking water.
The grant applications focus on addressing critical water quality challenges. The bulk of the proposed projects involve the installation of new systems to treat emerging contaminants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 1,4-dioxane. SCWA has aggressively sought to remove these contaminants from its drinking water supply, going beyond what is required by state and federal regulations. The grant funding, should it be approved, would help SCWA accelerate its timeline to install new treatment.
"Funding opportunities like this are critical to SCWA meeting its goals,” said Charles Lefkowitz, Chairman of SCWA. “With aggressive new standards for PFAS coming down the pike, we are proactively moving to get additional treatment in place. But that comes with a price. Grants help reduce the costs to our customers, which allows us to keep rates low. Thank you to the Governor and the state legislature for continuing to make drinking water a priority.”
In addition to treatment projects, SCWA also submitted applications to extend water service to homes on private wells affected by PFAS, ensuring that residents have access to the highest quality public drinking water. Securing grant funding for communities that have been most affected by PFAS helps to reduce the overall cost to the residents without any expense to its existing customers.
About Suffolk County Water Authority:
The Suffolk County Water Authority is an independent public-benefit corporation operating under the authority of the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York. Serving approximately 1.2 million Suffolk County residents, the Authority operates without taxing power on a not-for-profit basis.