City of Batavia (Winner)
County: Genesee County
Population: More than 10,000
City Hall: (585) 345-6300

The City of Batavia’s water and wastewater infrastructure includes a complex network of buried infrastructure, pumping stations, storage tanks and treatment facilities. Many of the major system components are aging and have exceeded their original design life. Similar to other communities, the City’s assets are deteriorating due to environmental conditions and normal wear and tear. As a result, increased operation and maintenance expenditures, in conjunction with capital renewal, will be required in the future. Without proper maintenance and ongoing capital reinvestment, increased failure rates and declining levels of service will inevitably result.

Village of Lake Placid (Winner)
County: Essex County
Population: Less than 5,000
Village Hall: (518) 523-2597

The Incorporated Village of Lake Placid, the Olympic Village, has a residency of 2,521, but expands regularly to a tourism population of 22,000. Tourism in the immediate region generates 30% of the tourism revenue in the seven county NYS North Country region. The Village's sewer infrastructure consisted of a 100 year old plus sewer trunk line, which runs the last 1 1/2 miles directly in to the Wastewater Treatment plant. Part of this line resided under a decommissioned Hydro Dam. The Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) infrastructure supports four municipalities: Village of Lake Placid, Town of North Elba, Lake Placid Central School District and the Olympic Regional Development Authority. Failure of this line would impact not only these municipalities, but the surrounding ones, Essex County, the State of New York and potentially other states and water bodies. Failure of the system would curtail the immediate economic vitality of the region, with long-term implications for future tourism and growth.

Village of Cortland
County: Cortland County
Population: 10,001 to 50,000
City Hall: (607) 749-0678

Marietta Corporation (FDA-registered), a leader in the Hotel Guest Amenities industry is headquartered in the City of Cortland. Cortland serves as its largest private sector employer with 840 employees locally representing 11% of the City's labor force. The Company's core competencies are: high performance skin and hair care development and manufacturing, bar soap manufacturing, retailing-size bottle and tube filing, hotel-size bottle and vial filling, packet manufacturing and affixing and bulk compounding.

Village of Great Neck (Winner)
County: Nassau County
Population: 5,001 to 10,000
Village Hall: (516) 482-0019

More than a decade ago, the EPA mandated that nitrogen discharges into Long Island Sound be reduced. The NYS DEC then mandated that the two sewer systems on the Great Neck peninsula that were built in the 1930s reduce their nitrogen output. Neither plant could be upgraded to meet the requirements. Diversion of the influent to a Nassau County plant on the south shore of Long Island (Great Neck is on the north shore) was studied as was the reconstruction of both plants and the combination of the collection systems so that one larger plant could process all of the influent. The Village of Great Neck plant served about 2/3 of the Village and processed about 1/3 as much as the other plant. That other plant, the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District plant, is owned and operated by a Town of North Hempstead special district. It served the balance of the Village's properties as well as properties in certain other villages and the town.

Village of Franklin
County: Delaware County
Population: Less than 5,000
Village Hall: (607) 829-6776

The Village of Franklin's water system was approximately 150 years old, causing efficiency and water quality to be low. Numerous breaks, plugged lines, and other failures were regularly occurring, costing several thousand dollars in time and repairs. It was becoming extremely difficult to keep the system in working order.

Village of Scarsdale
County: Westchester County
Population: 10,001 to 50,000
Village Hall: (914) 722-1231

In 2007, historic levels of flooding caused the Village of Scarsdale, mirroring the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Flood Plain boundaries, to commission a Village-Wide Comprehensive Storm Water Management Plan in 2009. In addition to identifying and evaluating the six critical and 10 known problem sub-drainage basin areas, the report identified 26 flood mitigation and water quality capital improvement projects totaling roughly $20 million.

Village of Fair Haven
County: Cayuga County
Population: Less than 5,000
Village Hall: (315) 529-0093

The Village of Fair Haven worked with the Cayuga County Water and Sewer Authority to install a regional wastewater collection throughout the Village and a portion of the Town of Sterling to comply with a 1991 consent order by the NYS DEC. The wastewater is sent to and treated by a regional treatment plant in Wayne County.

Village of Monroe
County: Orange County
Population: 5,001 to 10,000
Village Hall: (845) 783-4440

The Village of Monroe owned a piece of property that was being used as commuter parking for the Bus route to New York City. In working with NYS DOT and Coach/Short Line, the Village was able to secure the necessary funds to redevelop this parking area. Adjacent to the lot was a piece of vacant property the Village also purchased to incorporate an expansion to the new commuter lot.

City of Schenectady (Winner)
County: Schenectady County
Population: 50,000+
City Hall: (518) 382-5000

For over 50 years, the City of Schenectady Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) utilized anaerobic digesters in managing biosolids. When it came time to invest in an upgrade to the WPCP's treatment system, a solution was developed that not only met the current wastewater handling needs of the City, but also improved efficiency at the WPCP that was in line with the City's multi-faceted Energy Conservation Strategy.

Village of Greenwood Lake (Winner)
County: Orange County
Population: Less than 5,000
Village Hall: (845) 477-9217

The Village of Greenwood Lake has actively looked into ways to improve the water quality of Greenwood Lake. In 2009, the Village Trustees decided to pursue a green infrastructure project at the Village Hall Complex as a demonstration of innovative stormwater management. The project utilized porous pavers to reduce impervious surface area, installed a rain garden to capture roof runoff from the police station/courthouse, created a vegetated swale (bioswale) with drop curbs to collect roof runoff and runoff from the asphalt drive aisle, installed a green screen trellis and planted native plants and trees throughout the site to help filter stormwater, as well as reduce the urban heat island impact. The project was completed in 2010 with funding from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act Green Innovation Grant Program.