BUFFALO, NY –Buffalo Sewer has been awarded a $8.75 million Green Resiliency Grant from New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation. Buffalo Sewer was one of 13 awardees from across the state and received the largest award outside of New York City of the $60 million that was disbursed through the grant program.
The $8.75 million grant will fund projects at Martin Luther King, Jr., Eddie Dawson, Hennepin, and Lincoln Parks to install rain gardens, stormwater tree trenches, underground stormwater storage systems, and porous pavement.
The projects were identified in Buffalo Sewer’s Rain Check 2.0 Opportunity Report released in 2019 which serves as the framework for green infrastructure investments in the City of Buffalo. Rain Check 2.0 efforts are part of the Queen City Clean Waters initiative which will invest over $1 billion the next 15 years in infrastructure projects as part of Buffalo Sewer’s long term control plan to reduce the impacts of combined sewer overflows into local waterways.
“High performance green infrastructure landscapes benefit water quality, and also bring a wide range of co-benefits that include reducing air pollution, improving property values, and increasing the walkability of the built-in environment,” said Oluwole (OJ) McFoy, P.E., Buffalo Sewer Authority CEO and General Manager.
During heavy rainfall and snowmelt events, stormwater enters the sewer system, combining with wastewater and often resulting in permitted combined sewer overflows. These discharges are the result of the historical design of the city’s wastewater system, which was originally intended to prevent basement and street flooding.
“This funding will be used to reduce urban flooding in neighborhoods across the city while improving access to parklands and recreation and helping lower the risk of combined sewer overflows, and ultimately improving access to our waterways,” added McFoy. “We continue to aggressively pursue additional funding from our state and federal partners and other sources to support the Queen City Clean Waters initiative.”
The Green Resiliency Grant Program is supported through the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act. Projects are intended to combat the effects of climate change, particularly in flood-prone and disadvantaged communities.