State awards Watertown $5M grant for water treatment upgrade

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Remember Watertown’s $50 million project to upgrade its water treatment facility and do away with certain disinfection byproducts?

The city has been awarded a $5 million grant and interest-free financing of $14 million to help pay for it.

The money comes from the New York State Department of Health.

When city council meets next Tuesday, lawmakers are expected to accept the grant and authorize the mayor to sign the award notice.

In August, the Environmental Protection Agency said the Black River’s drinking water is a concern, and the city of Watertown has to fix it.

The issue stems from elevated levels of disinfectant byproducts trihalomethane and halocetic acid found in drinking water. They’re released when chlorine is used to clean water.

Although the amounts found in Watertown are below dangerous levels, the city is working to lower them below a threshold mandated by the EPA.

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