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Water & Energy
Poughkeepsie, N.Y., is using a $3.57 million grant to modern its sewer infrastructure while repairing and replacing damaged infrastructure. (Michal Grzechulski/Shutterstock.com)
Poughkeepsie receives $3.57 million to improve aging sewer infrastructure By NICHOLETTE CARLSON | The Municipal
The city of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., recently received a $3.57 million grant toward modernizing its sewer and repairing and replacing damaged infrastructure. As one of the older cities in New York, Poughkeepsie’s sewers are an aging, brick system. On the shores of the Hudson River, Poughkeepsie also has a mission to protect its water source by treating stormwater and ensuring the city has clean drinking water. When Mayor Robert Rolison took office, he stated he quickly learned that it’s “not what you see you have to worry about. It’s what you don’t see.” Rolison is grateful that the state of New York has made money available for such improvements. Poughkeepsie actively looks for and applies for grants to continually improve the city, whose top issue, according to the mayor, is safe infrastructure. Poughkeepsie partnered with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as well as Environmental Facilities Corporation to gather funding for the project. These entities also regulate and approve the city’s plans to use the funding.
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According to Richard DuPilka, city engineer, the funding that was awarded started with an engineering planning grant, followed by a study to determine how much stormwater was leaking into the groundwater and what was overwhelming the pump stations and sewer system. The grant’s focus was on the sewer system, which was original to the city. The grant also included publicizing the city’s need for the grant and putting in meters to assess water flow and conditions. Particularly in times of heavy rain and runoff, municipal leaders found that the water pollution control plant would quickly become unable to handle the amount of water sent to the plant. Groundwater, stormwater and runoff are displaced into the Hudson River, where it undergoes natural filtration, but wastewater and sewage go to the plant, where it can be treated. However, in the older portions of the city, these lines are not separated: It all goes to the water control plant, causing it to exceed capacity.
