Original story posted in eco-politics daily by Susan Torres

April 2, 2015

The final budget includes $200 million for water infrastructure projects across New York State. We're glad the Governor and Legislature heard your call and took this important first step in the right direction. Every New Yorker should have access to clean water.

But before lawmakers sat down to negotiate the budget, NYLCV and our partner organizations got to work to fight for this funding. At first, there was no money dedicated to upgrading our crumbling water infrastructure.

So we teamed up with Riverkeeper, The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Advocates, Citizen’s Campaign for the Environment, Scenic Hudson, Audubon NY, and the Adirondack Council to demand water infrastructure funding. We also reached out to our government partners, Assemblymembers Steven Otis, John McDonald, Steve Englebright, Bill Magnarelli, and Senators Carl Marcellino and Thomas O’Mara. Our members also sprung into action, sending more than 1,500 letters calling on the governor and legislators to fund water programs.

Thanks to all of our collective efforts, elected officials took notice and started working together to allocate clean water funding. This couldn't have happened without the entire team - including you!