More Than $34 Million in Grants Awarded to Local Water Quality Protection Projects

Local Grant Awards Part of $249 Million in Grants Awarded to 181 Water Quality Protection Projects Across New York State

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Region 9 celebrated Governor Kathy Hochul’s recent awarding of more than $34 million in State grants to support 25 projects across about three dozen communities to further improve water quality in the region. The grants support projects that help protect drinking water, update aging water infrastructure, reduce contributors to harmful algal blooms, and improve aquatic and terrestrial habitat in communities statewide.

“Ensuring Western New York communities are provided with the resources to maintain some of the highest water quality standards in the nation is a top priority for DEC,” DEC Acting Region 9 Director Chad Staniszewski said. “This funding from the Water Quality Improvement Project grants will directly assist these local communities with upgrading critical infrastructure and enhancing resiliency of water systems to protect public health and the environment. DEC is excited to provide these vital grants to protect water supplies for today and future generations of the region’s residents.”

Region 9 WQIP grantees in six counties include: 

Niagara Falls Water Board, (Niagara County), $10,000,000 – The Niagara Falls Water Board will convert their wastewater treatment process from physical/chemical to biological by installing a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor. This project will improve the water quality of the Niagara River.

Chautauqua County, $10,000,000 – Chautauqua County will construct a municipal sanitary sewer system along the northeast shore of Chautauqua Lake, replacing failing onsite wastewater treatment systems. Wastewater will be conveyed to the South and Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District. This project will improve the water quality of Chautauqua Lake.

City of Salamanca, (Cattaraugus County), $3,779,200 – The City of Salamanca will replace about 3,884 linear feet of sanitary sewer, rehabilitate 5,263 linear feet of sewer, replace 10 manholes, repair 15 manholes, and replace four lift station pumps to reduce system inflow and infiltration throughout the city. The project will reduce sanitary sewer overflows to the Allegheny River during storm events.

Town of Cheektowaga, (Erie County), $1,675,250 – The Town of Cheektowaga will partner with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restore habitat in Scajaquada Creek in Cheektowaga Town Park. They will construct a two-stage channel and floodplain bench, establish a 100-foot riparian buffer, control invasive species, and plant native vegetation. This project will restore degraded aquatic, riparian, and floodplain habitat while preserving the federal channel’s flood-management function.

Bemus Point Central School District, (Chautauqua County), $1,400,000 – The Bemus Point Central School District will decommission the aging Maple Grove High School wastewater treatment plant and construct a duplex pump station and force main to convey wastewater to the South and Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District for treatment. The project will improve the water quality of Chautauqua Lake.

Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, (Niagara County), $940,617 – Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper will restore degraded riparian and floodplain habitat in the Town of Sanborn. They will construct a 10-acre living shoreline, improve 2,000 feet of stream channel, and install 2,000 native trees and shrubs. This project will reconnect the floodplain and restore degraded riparian habitat.

Town of Chautauqua, (Chautauqua County), $471,060 – The Town of Chautauqua will replace a deteriorated and undersized culvert at Bliss Road. The new aluminum, natural streambed bottom culvert will reduce erosion and flooding and improve aquatic habitat connectivity in the Chautauqua Creek watershed.

Town of Portland, (Chautauqua County) $433,700 – The Town of Portland will replace an undersized and failing salt storage facility that has left the Town's salt pile exposed to the elements. The new salt storage structure will allow the Town to store all of their salt undercover. This project will reduce chloride pollution and protect water quality in the Lake Erie watershed.

Town of West Seneca, (Erie County), $408,000 – The Town of West Seneca will replace an undersized and failing salt storage structure. This project will protect water quality in the Buffalo Creek and Lake Erie watershed.

City of North Tonawanda, (Niagara County), $400,000 – The City of North Tonawanda will purchase a new vacuum truck to clean and maintain the community's catch basins. Using the vacuum truck will reduce pollutant discharge and debris entering into the Niagara River watershed.

Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District, $329,145 – The Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District will purchase and install live edge plow blades for five highway departments within the county. Live edge plow blades are designed to more efficiently remove snow from the road surface, resulting in a decreased need for road salt application. This project will improve water quality in the Lake Erie watershed.

City of Dunkirk, (Chautauqua County), $324,622 – The City of Dunkirk will replace an undersized and structurally unsound salt storage facility that has left the City's salt pile exposed to weather. The new salt storage will be sized appropriately to accommodate the City's salt storage needs. This project will reduce salt pollution and protect water quality in the Lake Erie watershed.

Town of Arkwright, (Chautauqua County), $310,156 – The Town of Arkwright will construct a new salt storage facility to allow for proper storage capacity and allow for mixing of salt/sand undercover. This project will protect water quality in Canadaway Creek and the Lake Erie watershed.

Village of Angola, (Erie County), $300,000 – The Village of Angola, in partnership with the Town of Evans, will purchase a vacuum truck to clean out catch basins in their regulated municipal separate stormwater sewer systems ( MS4) areas. This project will reduce stormwater pollutants and protect water quality in the Lake Erie watershed.

Village of Kenmore, (Erie County), $227,947 – The Village of Kenmore will purchase a combination vacuum truck and street sweeper to clean out catch basins in the Village's regulated MS4 area. This project will reduce stormwater pollutants in Two Mile Creek and ultimately the Niagara River.

Town of Newstead Highway Department, (Erie County), $206,250 – The Town of Newstead Highway Department will implement a comprehensive road salt reduction program. The Town will purchase and install brine making equipment and brine storage tanks to create and store liquid salt brine that will be applied to roads before a storm. In addition, the Town will retrofit existing plow trucks with salt brine sprayers, GPS equipment, and segmented plow blades that contour to the road for more efficient snow and ice removal. This equipment will reduce the Town's road salt usage, preventing excess salt from entering waterways, and ultimately protecting Tonawanda Creek and the Lake Erie watershed.

Trout Unlimited, (Allegany County), $196,440 – Trout Unlimited will complete a floodplain reconnection, in-stream habitat, and riparian buffer restoration project. The project will address habitat fragmentation, bank erosion, and channel instability in the Vandermark Creek watershed.

Town of Hanover, (Chautauqua County), $196,400 – The Town of Hanover will replace a failing and undersized salt storage facility to meet the needs of the Town's current road salt usage. The new structure will cover and protect the entirety of the salt and sand pile. This project will reduce salt runoff from exposed salt piles and protect water quality in the Lake Erie watershed.

Allegany County Soil and Water Conservation District –

$296,000 – The Allegany County Soil and Water Conservation District will partner with the Town of Alma to construct a salt storage facility to cover an uncovered salt pile. The new structure will protect the water quality of Knight Creek.

$268,000 – The Allegany County Soil and Water Conservation District will partner with the Town of Alfred to replace a dilapidated salt storage structure. The replacement structure will protect the water quality of Canacadea Creek and a principal aquifer used as a drinking water source.

Cattaraugus County Soil and Water Conservation District –

$725,000 – The Cattaraugus County Soil and Water Conservation District will partner with the Town of Ellicottville to replace two undersized and dilapidated culverts on Poverty Hill Road. The new box culverts will better convey stream flow and allow for increased aquatic organism passage in Great Valley Creek, a trout stream.

$600,000 – The Cattaraugus County Soil and Water Conservation District will partner with the Town of Otto to construct a salt storage facility to cover a currently uncovered salt pile. The structure will reduce salt pile runoff to Cattaraugus Creek and protect a principal aquifer.

$296,000 – The Cattaraugus County Soil and Water Conservation District will replace a perched metal culvert with a natural streambed bottom arch culvert. The current culvert is constricting the stream channel, causing scouring, erosion and creating a barrier to aquatic organism passage. This project will restore proper stream flow, reduce erosion, and improve trout spawning habitat in Forks Creek.

Wyoming County Soil and Water Conservation District –

$250,000 – The Wyoming County Soil and Water Conservation District will purchase segmented plow blades for 16 municipalities as part of their county-wide road salt reduction initiative. The segmented plow blades effectively remove more snow and ice from road surfaces, reducing road salt application rates. This project will protect the Oatka Creek watershed.

$111,740 – The Wyoming County Soil and Water Conservation District will restore trout habitat in Wiscoy Creek. They will install lunker structures and root wads to stabilize the bank and provide habitat for aquatic life. The project also includes constructing a riparian buffer. The project will improve water quality and in-stream trout habitat.

The WQIP funds are part of more than $249 million in grants recently announced by Governor Hochul for 181 projects statewide that help protect drinking water, update aging water infrastructure, reduce contributors to harmful algal blooms, and improve aquatic and terrestrial habitat in communities statewide. More than $206 million of the funding will support water quality improvements for environmental justice communities which may be disproportionately impacted by environmental pollution. This announcement supplements more than $10 billion in water infrastructure improvements and clean water projects investments by New York State since Governor Hochul took office.

More than $42 million of funding provided through the 2022 Clean Water, Clean Air, Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act will be used to implement 49 WQIP projects.

View a full list of WQIP grant awards.  

In addition, four additional grants totaling $250,000 were awarded to Region 9 communities under the Non-Agricultural Nonpoint Source and Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer Systems (MS4) Planning Grant (NPG), including:

City of Niagara Falls, (Niagara County), $75,000 – The City of Niagara Falls will complete a comprehensive stream corridor assessment of the Cayuga Creek watershed. The assessment will identify and prioritize areas for restoration projects, such as streambank stabilization, riparian buffer restoration and culvert repair/replacement, that will improve water quality and flood resiliency.

Village of Attica, (Wyoming County), $75,000 – The Village of Attica will complete a dam safety repair/rehabilitation engineering design report for Upper, Middle and Lower Reservoir dams. Report recommendations will improve public safety and protect the village's drinking water supply.

Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District –

$50,000 – The Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District will conduct a riparian corridor assessment of the unnamed tributary upstream of the Lakewood Mall. The study will detail current conditions and provide options for nature-based riparian restoration, which will improve water quality in the Chautauqua Lake Watershed.

$50,000 – The Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District, in partnership with the Village of Fredonia, will complete a green infrastructure study for the Water Street parking lot/pocket park focused on reducing stormwater runoff into Canadaway Creek to protect water quality and trout habitat.

Sources of Funding 

WQIP is primarily supported by the state's 2022 Clean Water, Clean Air, Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act, Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), and Clean Water Infrastructure funding. The 2026-27 enacted State Budget maintains the EPF at $425 million and includes an additional $25 million from the Sustainable Future Program to provide a record $450 million for critical environmental programs such as land acquisition, farmland protection, invasive species prevention and eradication, enhanced recreational access, water quality improvement, and an aggressive environmental justice agenda.

The Non-Agricultural Nonpoint Source and Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer Systems (MS4) Planning Grant (NPG) is a competitive, reimbursement grant program that funds planning reports for nonpoint source water quality improvement projects. The program aims to prepare nonpoint source projects for construction and application for implementation funding. Grant funding will also be available for regulated MS4 Operators to complete comprehensive stormwater system maps and stormwater management program planning. For an overview of the program, view the NPG Factsheet (PDF).

New York's Commitment to Clean Water  

Under Governor Hochul, New York State continues to increase its historic investments in water infrastructure. The enacted 2027 budget announced by Governor Hochul sets the national standard with a transformational $3.75 billion water infrastructure investment plan, building on $10.6 billion provided to clean water infrastructure projects since 2021. To leverage these investments and ensure ongoing coordination with local governments, the Governor supports the Environmental Facilities Corporation’s Community Assistance Teams in coordination with State agencies to provide proactive outreach for one-on-one consultations to help municipalities prepare strong applications. New Yorkers can view projects benefiting from DEC’s water grant programs using the interactive grant data portal. 

About the Consolidated Funding Application 

The grants were issued following completion through the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process. The CFA was created to streamline and expedite the grant application process. The CFA process marks a fundamental shift in the way State resources are allocated, ensuring less bureaucracy and greater efficiency to fulfill local economic development needs. The CFA serves as the single-entry point for access to economic development funding, ensuring applicants no longer have to slowly navigate multiple agencies and sources without any mechanism for coordination. Now, economic development projects use the CFA as a support mechanism to access multiple State funding sources through one application, making the process quicker, easier, and more productive. Learn more about the CFA.