New York Spending Millions To Fix Growing Health Issue

More than $130 million in state grants is heading to communities across New York to identify and replace lead service lines, and two Hudson Valley cities are among the biggest recipients in the entire state.

New York Is Replacing Lead Pipes Across The State

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The money matters because lead pipes are a serious public health issue that often don't get enough attention.

Lead can enter drinking water when service lines, faucets, and fixtures corrode, and it's most likely to be found in older cities and homes built before 1986.

There is no safe level of lead exposure, particularly for children.

Hudson Valley Hometowns Getting Millions

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The City of Poughkeepsie is receiving $14 million, and the City of Port Jervis is getting $13.4 million, making both Hudson Valley cities among the top recipients statewide in Governor Hochul's Lead Infrastructure Forgiveness and Transformation, or LIFT, grant program.

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Beyond Poughkeepsie and Port Jervis, the City of Kingston in Ulster County is also receiving $8.9 million, and the City of Newburgh in Orange County is getting $2.7 million.

Rest Of New York State

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Here is every New York community receiving a grant in this round, with Hudson Valley communities listed first:

City of Poughkeepsie, $14 million. City of Port Jervis, $13.4 million. City of Kingston, $8.9 million. City of Newburgh, $2.7 million. New York City, $14 million for projects in Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. City of Rochester, $14 million. City of Buffalo, $11.8 million. City of Troy, $11.1 million. City of Rome, $7.2 million. City of Olean, $5.9 million. City of Ithaca, $4.9 million. Albany Municipal Water Finance Authority, $4.3 million. City of Geneva, $3.7 million. Village of Johnson City, $3.7 million. Mohawk Valley Water Authority, $3.3 million. City of Batavia, $3.2 million. City of Little Falls, $2.9 million. Niagara Falls Water Board, $1.5 million. Town of Seneca Falls, $1.1 million. City of Glens Falls, $535,500. City of Watervliet, $518,000. City of Oneonta, $433,500. Village of Frankfort, $301,778. City of Canandaigua, $869,300.

How The Money Works

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Federal infrastructure law requires a portion of lead pipe funding to come as loans, which can be a crushing burden for lower-income communities that already need the help the most.

Governor Hochul is using state money to pay back those loan portions upon project completion, meaning local ratepayers won't get stuck with the bill. The grants prioritize communities where median household income is below 80 percent of the statewide median or where poverty rates exceed the state average.

Since launching the LIFT program in 2024, New York has awarded more than $290 million in loan forgiveness grants. Since 2022, the state has committed over $600 million in federal infrastructure funding specifically for lead pipe inventory and replacement.

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