SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Onondaga County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) will use $50,000 in federal funding to protect drinking water in Onondaga County.
The funds are available through the U.S. Forest Service’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), the office of U.S. Representative John Katko (R–Camillus) announced.
GLRI is a program that provides federal investment for projects that ensure access to clean drinking water and protect Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes.
In Central New York, the GLRI has been responsible for the implementation of water quality and restoration projects, including projects that have sought to mitigate harmful algal blooms and monitor toxic substances in Lake Ontario.
With this new funding award, the Onondaga County SWCD will partner with lake associations to treat about 1,500 eastern hemlocks “currently or potentially infested with [the insect known as] hemlock woolly adelgid” in the Skaneateles and Otisco Lake watersheds.
Those watersheds provide drinking water to 485,000 residents in Onondaga County, Katko’s office said in a release.
“This important investment ensures the nearly half a million residents who rely on these watersheds have continued access to clean drinking water,” Katko said.