In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, New York State officials announced the start of construction on a $55 million wastewater improvement project at the Bird Island Wastewater Treatment Facility in the City of Buffalo.
The facility’s Secondary Treatment System Rehabilitation Project is part of the Buffalo Sewer Authority’s long-term plan to modernize the Bird Island facility and significantly reduce the amount of pollution that enters the Niagara River. The project aims to help ensure cleaner, healthier water for all residents and visitors to Buffalo and the greater Western New York area.
The project broke ground at a ceremony in Buffalo on Oct. 19 in partnership with EPA.
"Together in strong partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), New York State is putting an end to decades of disinvestment in critical water infrastructure that has been left to fall into disrepair," says Governor Kathy Hochul. "This $55 million project will be crucial to safeguarding our public and environmental health, and is the latest investment in our nation-leading efforts to modernize New York's water infrastructure."
The project will increase the facility's capacity to handle intense rain events that can overwhelm Buffalo's combined sewer/stormwater system. These improvements will reduce untreated sewage effluent discharges to the Niagara River. Future projects in the plan include more robust sewage treatment processes and collection system improvements. The modernization efforts are key milestones in the Buffalo Sewer Authority's course to resolve longstanding violations of the Clean Water Act under an administrative order from EPA.
The Bird Island Wastewater Treatment Facility was originally constructed in the 1930s and upgraded in the 1970s.
The state committed $55 million in grants and low-cost financing to fund the project through various sources: the Environmental Facilities Corporation provided a $9 million grant from the Water Infrastructure Improvement grant program and a $9 million grant from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, and the Department of Environmental Conservation provided $10 million in state funding from the Water Quality Improvement Project grant program. The Environmental Facilities Corporation is funding the remaining cost of the project with low-cost financing through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
"Ensuring our city's infrastructure is keeping pace with development and is important to the success of our community's continued growth - the $55 million Secondary Treatment System Rehabilitation Project at the Buffalo Sewer Authority's Bird Island Treatment Facility is a major piece of that,” says Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown. “I thank Governor Hochul and our other local, state, and federal leaders who were instrumental in getting this project off the ground.”
