Drinking water lead service lines to be replaced, City of Poughkeepsie

Video by Geoffrey Wilson.
Wochit The City of Poughkeepsie is getting $544,745 from the state to replace lead residential drinking water service lines as part of New York’s $2.5 billion Clean Water Infrastructure Act of 2017.
Gov.
Andrew Cuomo announced Monday the state awarded $20 million to 25 municipalities in 10 regions for the state health department’s Lead Service Line Replacement Program 2017 to replace residential drinking water lead service lines.
The grants will be used to replace lead residential service lines from the municipal water main to the residence.
In a news release, Cuomo called the program, “vital to protecting public health and to laying the foundation for future growth and economic prosperity in these communities.” The Mid-Hudson region is receiving a total of $2.17 million broken down into Poughkeepsie, the City of Newburgh $544,745, City of Kingston $544,745 and City of Middletown at $544,745.
Rolison said the city will next put together a team including city staff, the county and the state’s department of health to create a plan for the residential drinking water lead service lines replacement.
"This is the beginning stages and to see what is the best use of that money… We have to do an analysis of exactly how large a replacement project would actually be for lead line replacement because we don’t necessarily know where all of these lead water pipes would be," Rolison said.
"Public health begins with access to clean drinking water, and reducing lead exposure, especially in children, should always be a top priority,” said State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker in a news release.
Amy Wu: 845-451-4529, awu@poughkeepsiejournal.com, Twitter: @wu_PoJo

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