Congress' spending plan nixes grants for crucial water system upgrade, numerous other projects
The staff at a Middletown staple, Equilibrium Brewery, was disappointed to learn the U.S. Congress canceled a federal grant worth $1 million meant to help replace the crumbling, 8,000-foot line that brings water from the outer watershed to nearby reservoirs.
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Several important projects in the Hudson Valley are in jeopardy because of deep cuts in the U.S. Congress' controversial yearlong spending resolution.
One of them is a long-awaited upgrade to a crucial water line that feeds Middletown's water system, which serves four municipalities.
The staff at a Middletown staple, Equilibrium Brewery, was disappointed to learn that Congress canceled a federal grant worth $1 million meant to help replace the crumbling, 8,000-foot line that brings water from the outer watershed to nearby reservoirs.
"Not only is water used for making beer," Equilibrium owner Pete Oates told News 12, "but it's used to clean the tanks."
City officials said without federal funding, this and other water infrastructure repairs would ultimately have to rely more heavily rate increases.
Equilibrium pays about $75,000 each year for its water service, Oates said.
"Craft beer right now is running very small margins going to distribution," he said. "We're burning the candle at both ends in terms of costs of ingredients going up revenue going down."
City officials said that without federal funding, they can do minor repairs and patchwork for the time being, but not indefinitely.
They do not want to further test the durability of a 124-year-old water line.
A spokesperson for Rep. Pat Ryan said 15 projects for which Ryan secured federal grants were all left out of the continuing resolution.
In a note to Mayor DeStefano Ryan's team said "it is a large part of the reason he voted 'no' on the resolution and refused to support a bill that did not include funding for your project."
In Tuesday's State of the City address, DeStefano called on the community to pressure their representatives in Washington to resist President Donald Trump's cuts to local projects.
"Blind cuts in programs make no sense," DeStefano said in an interview Wednesday at his office. "We need to be vocal. We need to organize. We need to speak to those who disagree with us to see if we can convince them to at least get on board with investments in our local communities."
DeStefano said that if residents do not fight they will risk this and several other projects being permanently defunded.
Middletown has commissioned up to $30 million in water system upgrades the last four years, DeStefano said, which would not have happened without millions in federal grants.
Congressman Ryan's team said it plans to submit the defunded projects to be included in next year's funding bill.
