Village of Warwick awarded $3 million state grant

WARWICK — The Village of Warwick has been awarded a $3,062,500 grant from New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation.
Mayor Michael Newhard said the money will potentially cover a quarter of the cost to replace village’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, which has been operating since 1972. Estimates range from $10 million to $15 million.
According to the village:
• The water/sewer comes from approximately 2,600 households.
• Design capacity of roughly one million gallons of sewage a day.
“Like so many communities in New York State we struggle with aging infrastructure and the associated costs of repair and replacement,” Newhard said in the press release detailing the grant. “Municipal grants are highly competitive, and we were surprised and happy to receive the call from the Governor’s office. The village will continue to search for grants and funding sources for this project. This award will do a great deal to take the burden of costs away from residents.”
The village’s wastewater plant currently uses Rotating Biological Contactors commonly called RBC’s. The new plant will employ a Sequential Batch Reactor Technology (SBR’s).
The new plant’s capacity will increase to 1.25 million gallons per day.
In September, the village posted an informational brochure on its website to help residents understand the issues that surround the replacement as well the costs and strategy to fund the project.
“Over the past five years the list for parts and upgrades has grown extensively,” village officials said in the brochure. “The time has come that a major renovation has to occur. Fixing the plumbing, as any homeowner knows, is costly and not very showy, but this needs to be our focus as we move forward.
“This will potentially be one of the largest infrastructure projects in our recent history,” the village says elsewhere in the brochure. “ It will be costly, but it represents a desire to prepare and ensure a strong future for our village.”
In a telephone interview, the mayor said he could not pinpoint a starting date.
“The plant has not been designed yet,” Newhard said. “That could take a year, a year and a half, so that could be 2010 - 2021.
“Plus, I have to find more money,” he added, noting that he would seek federal funding akin to the $3 million state award.
Residents also will pay a portion of the cost and should expect to see a raise in village taxes and fees.