Clean Water Infrastructure

New York’s water infrastructure is among the oldest in the country, and it desperately needs repairs and upgrades. Water mains are breaking. Wastewater treatment plants are crumbling. Every year, billions of gallons of raw sewage flow into our lakes and rivers due to outdated water infrastructure, putting clean water at risk.

The need to fix our pipes is enormous: it will take at least $80 billion to repair, upgrade, and replace the drinking water and wastewater infrastructure we depend on every day. Investments are needed to meet new challenges, including removing toxic PFAS and other chemicals from drinking water, and replacing lead pipes that are contributing to contamination.

EANY is advocating for solutions that match the scale of our water infrastructure crisis. We work every year to ensure the New York State Budget includes big investments in the Clean Water Infrastructure Act. These investments help local governments jump-start shovel-ready projects that improve water quality and create good-paying jobs. And by making infrastructure improvements affordable for local governments, New York State also helps make water affordable for all New Yorkers.