The Village of Mamaroneck has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act, the new state program created to assist local governments in funding often-expensive water infrastructure improvements. The grant will assist the village with its project to reduce sanitary sewer overflow in the West Basin Drainage area, part of Mamaroneck’s program to address inflow and infiltration issues in the system and protect Long Island Sound.

Said Mayor Norman Rosenblum, “The Village of Mamaroneck is continuously thankful for the support from New York State to improve our water quality and for the efforts by Assemblyman Otis who has been a huge supporter of the quality of life and the environment in the Village of Mamaroneck.”

Assemblyman Steve Otis, who helped initiate the new grant program in 2015, stated “Congratulations to the Village for putting together a successful application. Governor Cuomo and the EFC have done a tremendous job in making this new program an immediate success. Statewide, these grants reduce costs to property taxpayers and make previously unaffordable projects possible.”

Senator George Latimer said: “The quality and safety of our water is paramount, and for the people of Mamaroneck, this $250,000 grant will serve to resolve a problem that threatens both water quality and safety. It is crucial that we take the steps necessary to protect families and their water supply, and I believe that this grant, and the entire Water Infrastructure Improvement Act, will go a long way toward accomplishing that.”

The Water Infra¬structure Improvement Act was created last year as part of the 2015-16 state budget to assist local governments and taxpayers in paying for water quality projects. The program was spearheaded by two former mayors, Assemblyman Steve Otis and his colleague, Assemblyman John McDonald of Cohoes. It has received strong support from Governor Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and both houses of the Legislature.

The Water Infrastructure Improvement Act was initially funded for $200 million over a three-year period. That total was increased by $25 million with grant funds added by Governor Cuomo in Round One, and an additional $200 million included with the adoption of the state budget this year.

The program is administered by the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation, which held a workshop about the program in Mamaroneck this past April. It is expected that the $425 million in state funding will leverage more than $2 billion in funding for local water infrastructure improvements, benefitting taxpayers by reducing the cost of these projects.