Small town in Northern New York getting help in a big way from the state to clean its water

The town of St. Armand has been awarded nearly $485,000 for an ongoing project that will improve water quality. The check was presented to the town supervisor by the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation on Tuesday.”When you’re talking about a project that’s over $1 million, that is daunting, and this money means everything to our community,” said St. Armand Town Supervisor Davina Thurston.The funding will support a disinfection project at the town’s wastewater treatment plant.Once complete, the project will enhance the water quality of Sumner Brook, which flows into the Saranac River and Greater Lake Champlain, and is used by many in our region.”We are Adirondackers,” said Thurston. “We live here because it’s beautiful, because it’s clean. And we want to do that, too. But we don’t want to overburden the residents of our town.”But St. Armand didn’t just receive any grant. It’s an enhanced award that funds up to half of the project’s costs, and it’s because of the town’s small community.”They may not be really expensive projects, but for a community that has such a small tax base per household income, it can get really expensive,” said Maureen Coleman, the CEO of New York State’s Environmental Facilities Corporation.This is exactly the kind of project to benefit from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to invest $3.75 billion more into water infrastructure, which would allow for more rural housing.”It’s so important to make sure that the infrastructure, clean water and drinking water infrastructure is there in small communities like this, so that they can support their housing,” said Coleman.The entire project is expected to be completed by 2028.