Onondaga County received more than $3.7 million in a grant from New York state to fund a water infrastructure project through the Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment plant. The total cost of the infrastructure project, though, is more than seven times the net worth of the state funding provided.

The grant is a part of a $255 million statewide initiative funded by New York’s Water Infrastructure Improvement Act. On Oct. 5, New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced 16 water infrastructure projects in central New York that would benefit from the act.

Money from the grant will help fund a clean water improvement project in Onondaga County through the Metro Wastewater Treatment plant in Syracuse. The plant, at present, is improving its methods for treating phosphorous in the water, said Tom Rhoads, commissioner of Onondaga County’s Department of Environment and Water Protection.

Phosphorous, Rhoads said, has contributed to the formation of a toxic algae bloom in Skaneateles Lake. With the grant money, the county plans to improve the process to eliminate phosphorous in the water, he said.

“One of the most basic things that any developed society wants to do is to get clean drinking water and water for cooking,” said Richard Geddes, an infrastructure expert and professor in Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology. “If you don’t have clean drinking water and wastewater treatment, then you are in a pretty bad state.”

The project is expected to cost $22.7 million.

These water infrastructure projects are typically funded by user fees — how much water a household uses — and tax-exempt municipal bonds, Geddes said. This practice is often referred to as a state revolving fund.

“(With) infrastructure, it’s all about the nature of the project,” Rhoads said. “These are all unique projects, they are all unique treatment plans and they serve a unique set of populations.”

Geddes said he was not surprised the grant award for Onondaga County does not cover the overall project cost.

The county plans to apply for more grants to address water infrastructure issues, and the funds for the current project are expected to be allocated in 2019, Rhoads said.

Other central New York municipalities also received funding through the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act.

The city of Syracuse received $1.2 million for a drinking water infrastructure project. That money will be used to help fund a $2 million water project, according to a press release from Cuomo’s office. Oneida, a city about 30 miles east of Syracuse, received $380,000 for a clean water project. That money will be used to help fund a clean water project that is estimated to cost about $1.5 million.

Published on October 18, 2017 at 11:48 pm

Contact Kerri: kmcanene@syr.edu