Citizens Campaign for the Environment

Empowering Communities, Advocating Solutions.

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CAMPAIGNS

Clean Water, Green Jobs

Image of a beach with a closure sign.

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Aging and failing sewage treatment plants jeopardize human health, close beaches, harm fish and wildlife, and cost ratepayers and municipalities millions. Our nation’s sewage infrastructure is in disrepair, accumulating from long-overdue investments to improve sewage collection and treatment. Properly functioning sewage treatment plants are critical to keeping harmful pathogens and bacteria from polluting our environment and threatening public health.

Clean Water Infrastructure Needs
Investing in clean water infrastructure in New York, Connecticut, and across the nation can help boost our economy and environment by creating jobs and improving water quality. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined the U.S. needs at least $388 billion for clean water infrastructure. Our nation’s publicly owned sewage systems are often out of sight, out of mind, only gaining attention when legal action is taken or violations occur. Sewage treatment operators often lack the necessary funds for proper maintenance and improvements, causing needed repairs to pile up. The costs in Connecticut and New York continue to grow:

Clean Water Infrastructure Keeps Beaches Open and Protects Fisheries
Sewage contamination causes one quarter of all public beach closings in Connecticut, and about a fifth of New York’s closings. In 2007, sewage contamination ranks second, only to stormwater runoff, as the source of beach closures in both states.

To protect fisheries in Long Island Sound, the Great Lakes, and other treasured water bodies throughout the region, discharged nitrogen from sewage treatment plants must be reduced to ensure life-sustaining oxygen is available for aquatic life. New York and Connecticut have worked to reduce pollutants to our fragile water bodies. For example, both New York and Connecticut have worked to reduce nitrogen contributions to the Long Island Sound; however, need consistently exceeds available funding. This is true all across New York and Connecticut.

Percentage of time beaches exceeded health standards in 2007
New York Beaches
Connecticut Beaches
1. Tanner Park in Suffolk 44% 1. Kiddie’s Beach in New London 30%
2. Wright Park West in Chautauqua 38% 2. Town Beach (Clinton) in Middlesex 22%
3. Ontario Beach in Monroe 37% 3. Greenwich Point Beach 11%
4. Venetian Shores in Suffolk 33% 4. Byram Beach in Fairfield 18%
5. Hamburg Bathing Beach in Erie 31% 5. Clark Avenue Beach in New Haven 14%
6. Woodlawn Beach in Erie 31% 6. Esker Point Beach in New London 13%
7. Sayville Beach in Suffolk 29% 7. Green Harbor Beach in New London 9%
8. Biltmore Beach in Nassau 28% 8. Jennings Beach in Fairfield 10%
9. Sayville Marina Park in Suffolk 28% 9. Island Beach in Fairfield 9%
10. Lake Erie State Park in Chautauqua 27% 10. Woodmont Beach in New Haven 9%
Source: Testing the Waters, NRDC, 2008

Congress Must Fund Clean Water Infrastructure
Federal resources for water infrastructure will create jobs and fix sewage treatment plants to yield important benefits for local water quality and the economy. It is estimated that:

Investing in clean water infrastructure projects is a win-win for our economy and our environment.

Image of a sewage outfall.

Clean Water Solutions Now and For the Future
To create new jobs and meet immediate clean water needs, Congress must invest in clean water infrastructure projects. Congress should include set-asides for innovative, green infrastructure projects that use natural filtration to reduce sewer overflows. To address the national backlog of water infrastructure needs and to ensure clean water for the future, Congress should establish a dedicated fund to support maintenance and innovation in wastewater management.

How You Can Help:
Email President Barack Obama, your U.S. Senators, and your U.S. Representative, and tell them that you want clean water and green jobs by funding upgrades to our aging and failing clean water infrastructure.

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Please forward any response to show email address to help us track progress on the issue.

Image of CCE's Dereth Glance with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, NY Governor David Paterson, Congressmen Maurice Hinchey and Paul Tonko, NYS DEC Commissioner ‘Pete’ Grannis and others celebrating wastewater infrastructure project funding.

On Wednesday July 15, 2009, CCE’s Dereth Glance testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment. Dereth’s testimony can be found here and the video of her testimony can be found here.

On April 3, 2009, CCE joined EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, NY Governor David Paterson, Congressmen Maurice Hinchey and Paul Tonko, NYS DEC Commissioner ‘Pete’ Grannis and others in celebrating wastewater infrastructure project funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Click here for CCE’s press statement and the press release.

Click here for CCE’s memorandum in support of the Water Quality Investment Act

Click here for CCE's memorandum in support of clean water infrastructure funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Click here for the Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs of New York State report issued by the New York State Department of Health in November 2008. 

Click here to view A Gathering Storm: New York’s Wastewater Infrastructure in Crisis, a 2008 report issued by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.

CCE is a member of the NYS Clean Water Collaborative, a task force convened by Governor David Paterson, to help address the wastewater infrastructure needs in NYS. Click here to view the New York Clean Water Collaborative resolution calling for more federal funding for clean and safe water infrastructure.

Click here for the 2009 NYS Intended Use Plan, which lists wastewater infrastructure projects in NYS that are approved and ready to go.

Updated by seckel 10/9/09