Environment DEC
From the November 2008 issue
Grants Available for Projects to Improve Quality of Drinking Water in NYC Watershed
Three million dollars in grant funding is available for projects that will help to keep New York City's drinking water clean.
Grant applications are now being accepted on a continuous basis for Water Quality Improvement Projects (WQIP) under the New York City Watershed Program. The program is offering $3 million in grant funds for polluted runoff abatement, which includes assessment, planning and research and outreach and education projects in the New York City watershed.
Drinking water for New York City comes from reservoirs in a nearly 2,000-acre watershed located in Delaware, Greene, Schoharie, Ulster, Sullivan, Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess counties. Together, these reservoirs provide about 1.4 billion gallons of drinking water per day.
Polluted runoff is one of the leading causes of water pollution and is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving across and through the ground. As it flows, stormwater runoff collects and transports soil, animal waste, salt, pesticides, fertilizers, oil, grease, debris and other potential pollutants.
Examples of projects previously funded under the watershed program include a study on endocrine disruptors in rivers and lakes in the watershed and studies of pharmaceutical and other organic wastewater compounds at wastewater treatment plants and key points in the watershed.
A WQIP application form must be submitted for a project to be considered for funding. Applications from previous years do not qualify. Application materials for WQIPs are available online or by calling the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) Division of Water at 518-402-8164.
