Nearly 2,800 Syracuse lead pipes to be replaced under Hochul infrastructure funding
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a $176 million statewide investment to improve sewer and water infrastructure. Meghan Hendricks | Daily Orange File Photo
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Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a $176 million investment into over a dozen New York state communities to improve sewer and water infrastructure, according to a Thursday release. The project will replace 2,790 lead pipes in Syracuse, covering costs not federally paid for while “minimizing” the financial impact on local ratepayers.
This project marks over $6 million invested in water infrastructure since 2017, the release states. This allocation comes as part of a broader statewide project of $469 million program to remove lead from communities, Syracuse being one of the 13 cities to receive this funding.
Representative John W. Mannion said the funding will “ensure clean, safe drinking water” for all Syracuse residents in the release. Mannion commended Hocul for prioritizing safe drinking water and retracting lead contamination, saying he “strongly supported” the program in the State Senate and remains committed to the issue.
“We are making critical water infrastructure investments in Syracuse and across New York that protect public health and keep costs down for families and local governments,” Mannion said in the release.
Syracuse has some of the highest rates of lead contaminated water in the nation according to a letter by the National Resource Defense Council. This report was sent to New York state leaders, including Gov. Hochul, urging them to declare a state of emergency in Oct. 2024. The NRDC found that 27 out of the 100 homes checked in its most recent round of testing, had a “significant percentage” of lead service lines.
In July, Families for Lead Freedom Now and partnering organizations filed a legal petition requesting the Environmental Protection Agency address the city’s lead crisis. The petition comes after test results that showed over 14,000 homes in Syracuse exceeded the EPA’s federal action level for lead in drinking water.
Syracuse city officials said the results were improperly collected by the Environmental Protection Agency to check lead levels because of failure to “follow required sampling protocols,” syracuse.com reported. The EPA conducted tests again and still raised concerns of faulty conduct, being blamed for “improper” collection and testing in Feb. 2025, after results showed skewed results.
Environmental Facilities Corporation approved the financing from the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, New York’s primary mechanism for financing sewer and water systems. Syracuse will receive $22.8 million in grants and financing, including a loan forgiveness Lead Infrastructure Forgiveness and Transformation program to replace the roughly 3,000 lead service lines.
“By investing in water infrastructure upgrades across the State, we are not only addressing urgent needs, but also ensuring that no community is left behind in our pursuit of a healthier, more resilient New York,” Hochul said in the Thursday release.
These funds are “necessary” for New York to meet the continuous needs for communities to rehabilitate and modernize aging city infrastructure, with over $1 billion annually given to municipalities in the state, the release stated.
“Every New Yorker deserves access to clean water, and today’s announcement is a testament to our unwavering commitment to protecting public health, the environment and the affordability of essential services,” Hochul said in the release.
