ALBANY – A total of $7.9 million in federal stimulus money has been set aside for clean water projects in the Hudson Valley.

The funds were awarded to 15 different projects through a new state initiative known as the Green Innovation Grant Program, which promotes sustainable, environmentally sensitive water infrastructure and technologies.

Hudson Valley projects to receive Green Innovation Grants include:

• $320,000 to the Roeliff-Jansen Library, Columbia County, for the implementation of numerous green infrastructure components to the newly created building, including the installation of a green parking lot with porous materials, a bioswale, a rain garden and water-efficient toilets and sinks.
• $405,900 to the Town of LaGrange, Dutchess County, for the refurbishment of their wastewater treatment facility, by replacing and upgrading to new energy-efficient aeration equipment.
• $144,000 to the Village of Millbrook, Dutchess County, for the installation of a fine bubble diffuser aeration system, reducing energy use by at least 20 percent and allowing the Village to comply with dissolved oxygen standards.
• $330,100 to the Dutchess County Soil and Water Conservation District for the redirection of stormwater to bioretention and infiltration areas from interior roads and parking lots at the Beekman and East Fishkill Town Halls, reducing stormwater impacts to Fishkill Creek.
• $284,800 to the Haines Falls Free Library, Greene County, for the implementation of green stormwater infrastructure, including the construction of a cistern for stormwater storage and reuse and the installation of permeable pavement and rain gardens in the Village of Tannersville in the Town of Hunter. These innovative components will reduce water use by almost 45 percent and treat approximately 500,000 gallons of stormwater per year.
• $13,500 to the Village of Greenwood Lake, Orange County, for construction of a riparian buffer adjacent to the area surrounding Greenwood Lake, protecting the water body from nonpoint source pollution.
• $550,900 to the Village of Greenwood Lake, Orange County, for the implementation of various green wet weather infrastructure improvements at the Village Hall Complex, including pervious pavement, rain gardens, biofilters and bioswales.
• $928,600 to Orange County for the construction of a green roof, a rainwater harvesting system and an irrigation system that will reuse stormwater onsite at the Newburgh Campus of the Orange County Community College.
• $314,200 to the Village of Ellenville, Ulster County for the installation of solar panels, generating renewable energy at the wastewater treatment facility. The photovoltaic system is projected to have an annual output of 61,000 kilowatt-hours, offsetting almost 14 percent of the plants annual electrical use.
• $234,000 to Westchester County for the installation of energy-efficient components to the Yonkers wastewater treatment plant. Replacement of lighting at the facility to more energy-efficient lamps will save 65 percent of the energy used for lighting around the 27-acre site.
• $2.1 million to the SUNY at Purchase, Westchester County, for the construction of a 24,000 square foot green roof. The green roof will decrease stormwater runoff by an estimated 33 percent.
• $1.77 million to Bard College, Dutchess County, for the installation of a new microfiltration system and a finished water storage tank.
• $233,100 to the City of Beacon, Dutchess County, for the installation of 400 noise logging leak detection units along 60 miles of distribution mains. These will help the City to identify and reduce water losses and therefore save energy from reduced pumping.
• $61,700 to the Dutchess County Water and Wastewater Authority for the installation of 100 new water meters in the Shore Haven water system, resulting in an approximate savings of 1.7 million gallons per year.
• $201,400 to the Village of Wurtsboro, Sullivan County, for the installation of approximately 600 water meters for existing system within the Village. This will provide a more accurate account of water usage, encourage water conservation and result in saving approximately 16 million gallons of water per year.