Representative Sean Patrick Maloney joined City of Newburgh officials on Monday to tout the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that will bring over $55 billion for the expansion of access to clean drinking water.

“There are 10 million American households and 400,000 schools and child care centers that lack safe drinking water,” Maloney said. “Here in [the City of] Newburgh and [the City of] Poughkeepsie and across the Hudson Valley, it’s a problem [accessing safe drinking water] we’re all too familiar with.”

For the State of New York in 2022, Maloney said the state will receive $400 million plus investment for clean drinking water. This amount for New York includes over $100 million for lead service line replacing and over $40 million for addressing contaminants.

According to Maloney, through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, $25 billion will be going to the expansion of access to clean drinking water, $21 billion will go towards the cleanup of contaminated sites, $15 billion will go towards the replacement of lead piping and $5 billion will go towards the addressing of PFAs contamination. These investment funds will be used across the country.

Maloney said these new investments will help in solving this problem for residents, such as in the City of Newburgh, but also create more local jobs through unions.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which Maloney had worked on, was signed into law by President Joseph Biden on November 15, 2021.

Maloney was joined to make the announcement on his highlights by Mayor Torrance Harvey, Senator James Skoufis [D-39], Councilwoman Ramona Monteverde [Ward 2], Councilwoman Giselle Martinez [Ward 1], Water Department Superintendent Wayne Vradenburgh, and Julie Shiroishi, Chief of Staff for Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson [D-104].

Harvey said the improvement of the drinking water can prevent future contamination in residents and their children.

“Lead line replacement is something that’s been a high priority on our list here locally in the City of Newburgh,” Harvey said.

Harvey also highlighted Vradenburgh’s department and their work in replacing water lines and assisting homeowners with their water systems.

According to Vradenburgh, he reported that a water line that had to be replaced in the city a few weeks back dated back to 1887.

Senator Skoufis also thanked Maloney for his work on this bill and bringing these funds to help improve the drinking water.

“The mayor and the city council, they’ve been in this fight for a while,” Skoufis said. “They know this [addressing the need for clean water] better than anybody.”