Celebrating $1M Towards Cleaner Water in New Paltz, New York

Walden is taking a moment to congratulate and celebrate the accomplishments of our client, the Town of New Paltz, in making significant progress towards a goal of cleaner water for the community.

Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) Grant Program

The WQIP Grant Program, which is being administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), provides important support to communities to protect and restore water resources. The grants support projects that will help protect drinking water sources, update aging water utility infrastructure, and improve aquatic habitat in communities statewide. The Town of New Paltz’s District 6 Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) Project is one of 81 water quality projects that were awarded funding totaling over $146 million in New York State.

As part of the WQIP Grant Program, the Town was awarded $1 million in grant funding. The intended use of the funds is for the cooperative regionalization of the Town-owned sewer utility to send sewage to the nearby Village of New Paltz treatment facility in an effort to improve local water quality. The District 6 Ohioville WWTP will be decommissioned and new collection system improvements will be put in place to transport the wastewater to the Village.

Like many similar treatment facilities, the current Ohioville treatment works needs substantial work to operate at maximum efficiency and provide service for community planned and supported growth. Furthermore, the Town is aware that improvements will be necessary due to increasing environmental requirements of the system’s effluent discharge. Due to these factors, regionalization with the Village was determined by Walden to be the most economical option, and the WQIP grant funding will go a long way toward achieving this goal.

This community also has significant areas that are designated Disadvantaged Communities (DACs). DACs are communities that are considered disadvantaged using 45 different indicators that include the health, socioeconomic status, and race of inhabitants in potential DAC areas. DACs are defined as such because they are susceptible to suffering the consequences of climate change more so than other communities. Projects like this one will continue to benefit such DACs with better public health, environmental stewardship, and opportunities for growth. Walden is pleased to be a part of these types of community improvement projects.

Prior Grant Awards

Other grants that Walden has assisted the Town of New Paltz in attaining include:

• NYSDEC MS4 Mapping Grant to locate and map storm sewer outfall points, in the amount of $22,500.
• New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (NYSEFC) Wastewater Infrastructure Engineering Planning Grant award for the development of an engineering report to identify sources of inflow and infiltration, evaluate alternatives, and recommend improvements to the Town of New Paltz’s wastewater collection system, in the amount of $80,000.
• NYSEFC Engineering Program Grant for the development of an engineering report to evaluate alternatives and recommend improvements to the Town of New Paltz’s Ohioville Sewer District 6 STP, in the amount of $23,000.
• Ulster County ARPA-SLFRF Grant for the design and construction oversight of the decommissioning of the Ohioville WWTP and interconnection with the Village WWTP, in the amount of $500,000.

Planning for the Future

The Town of New Paltz plans to continue strengthening its infrastructure to meet future community needs and improve water quality within the Town. Walden is proud to assist the Town of New Paltz in its achievements. Through engineering, strategic planning, business consulting, reporting, grant applications and administration, and educational outreach, Walden continues to support the Town of New Paltz each year. If you’re seeking assistance with public health, environmental stewardship, and community growth, contact Walden at 516-548-2974 today.

The 2024 round of the WQIP Program is currently open. Make sure to submit applications through the New York State Consolidated Funding Application by the 4 p.m. deadline on July 31!