Gillen, Hobbs announce $1M Water Fund Package

HEMPSTEAD, NY. — Congresswoman Laura Gillen was joined by elected officials and community advocates from the village of Hempstead Tuesday to announce a $1,092,000 investment in Hempstead water infrastructure, an investment that will help treat the water in a system that has previously been home to 1,4 dioxane and forever chemicals, also known as PFAS.

The grant funding was allocated Friday as part of a congressional appropriations bill, one that saw Long Beach and Rockville Centre also receive over $1 million each. For Hempstead, it’s the second influx of funds in as many months, after the village received $2.5 million in December that would, among other things, fund sewer and water maintenance.

“Today’s announcement is a celebration of a critical investment in our drinking water, and these local leaders’ tireless work,” Gillen said. “This investment in clean water will have a long-lasting impact on the Hempstead community, and it will protect the most vulnerable residents to ensure that Hempstead remains a safe, thriving place to live and work for generations to come.”

Also present Tuesday was Village Trustee Tanya Carter, who said, “We have wonderful people that we have elected, and they have not forgotten about any one of us. When we turn on our tap water, we want to make sure that everyone is drinking safe water.”

When asked about the timeline for water work, the elected officials said work could begin as early as the spring.

“Hempstead did not just rely on the federal government, but we sought the state and local government. Nassau County has $1 million that’s going toward this project, the state has delivered close to, I believe it was $37 million,” Mayor Waylyn Hobbs said. “And so it is the partnership on the federal, state and local level that we have been able to get the project started and completed. Without that help, this project would’ve cost close to maybe $50 million, so we didn’t have to bond for $50 million, which would have been on the burden of the tax payers…we have been able to take a big chunk out of this project, and we should be seeing work starting sometime in the spring, I believe.”

The mayor said the village would seek additional state and federal funding to fill in the difference between that $50 million figure and the approximately $39 million that the village had already received. Gillen added that the village was already working with her office to apply for further funds.

“This plant is over 100 years-old, so not only will we be building facilities that deal with the 1.4 doxin, but in the Village of hempstead, we have a high iron content in our water,” Hobbs said. “So when residents see brown water, it’s not that it’s polluted, we have to also deal with that. So we’re rehabbing this whole facility, to not just address one issue when it comes to delivering quality water for the residents of Hempstead, it’s addressing all issues.”