Andrew Machlowski

Water

With water contamination issues on the rise, we are actively advocating for the protection of our waterways and their cleanliness. This includes both marine habitats and our precious drinking water. We are in a continual push for investments to repair our aging water infrastructure, with an emphasis on management, incorporating green infrastructure, support programs and incentives for clean water – both for daily living and recreational uses.

Our priority is to prevent against water contamination before it occurs. NYLCV and NYLCVEF have advocated for and won significant victories for clean drinking water in the past year including $2.5 billion in state funding and a requirement to test for certain unregulated contaminants in small public water supplies. While we are headed in the right direction, these successes are a down payment on the greater long-term needs to protect our water.

In addition to protecting our drinking water sources, we are advocating for local bans or fees on single-use bags which plague our waterways. Clean water is especially important in our most treasured open spaces, which is why we support protecting 31,000 acres of Adirondack forest in the MacIntyre East/West and Boreas Ponds tract in order to promote clean water, encourage healthy and abundant wildlife populations, and support vibrant communities.

On the federal level, we are advocating for maintaining funding for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF), which provide low-interest loans that leverage state and private money to a wide variety of water projects, including wastewater treatment, green infrastructure, pipe replacement, and source water protection. The CWSRF is incredibly efficacious, returning $2.31 for every $1 invested.