Cuomo announces $2 million in funding for Auburn, Owasco to upgrade drinking-water systems

The City of Auburn and Town of Owasco in Cayuga County will use a total of more than $2 million in state funding for the design, engineering, and construction of upgrades to their water-treatment systems.

Both systems draw water from Owasco Lake which recently has been “impaired” by cyanotoxins produced by “harmful” blue-green algae blooms, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news release.

Together, these two public water systems serve nearly 50,000 people in Cayuga County.

New York State is providing up to $150,000 to support studies that the City of Auburn and Town of Owasco are conducting to assess the costs and benefits of various treatments strategies.

They include powdered-activated carbon, intake pipe extensions, and ozone oxidation. The state is also providing an additional $2 million to implement the strategies identified by both studies.

“This funding will play a critical role in helping address the contamination issues facing the Central New York communities that draw their drinking water from Owasco Lake,” Cuomo contended in the release

“I commend Gov. Cuomo for taking immediate action, assessing our water concerns and providing the funding and assistance necessary to keep our communities safe. Thanks to these water-system upgrades, residents will be protected from pollutants and have access to clean, quality drinking water throughout Central New York,” Auburn Mayor Michael Quill said in Cuomo’s release.

Background

Some species of algae produce toxins harmful to people and animals.

Last summer, cyanotoxins produced by blue-green algae blooms in Owasco Lake were detected in finished drinking water.

It was the first time they had been detected in New York, per Cuomo’s office.

In response, the state Health Department “worked closely” with the water systems during the fall to monitor levels of the cyanotoxins every day for three weeks to assure that they did not exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s health-advisory levels for young children and people with pre-existing health problems.

Additionally, the department provided technical guidance to the water systems on temporary changes they could make to help lower the levels of cyanotoxins.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com