groundbreaking for Schuyler Falls Morrisonville large-scale water infrastructure project
The Town of Schuyler Falls in Clinton County, New York held a Groundbreaking Ceremony on May 8th, 2025 to kick-off the large-scale water infrastructure project that will replace water mains throughout the Morrisonville Water District.
Like many other communities whose water systems were installed in the 1950’s, the Morrisonville Water District has a distribution system comprised of asbestos cement pipe. The existing Morrisonville water main lines have become prone to leaks and breaks, disrupting water service to customers.
The Town has retained Laberge Group to provide grant writing, design and implementation services to improve the Town’s water system. In a Preliminary Engineering Report, Laberge Group identified and outlined what is required to replace the nearly 30,000 feet of asbestos cement pipe and determined the costs involved. The project includes the installation of approximately 12,000 linear feet of 12-inch watermain along NYS Route 22B and Flat Rock Road a to the water storage tank and another 17,000+/- of 8-inch watermain throughout the remainder of the district.
“Implementation of this project will address immediate public health and safety concerns, mitigate the high frequency of system failures, and ensure adequate water supply for fire protection. In addition, it eliminates a high volume of wasted water and unnecessarily high usage rates to property owners.”
– Schuyler Fall’s Town Supervisor Mindy Smith
Working in conjunction with the Town, Laberge Group assisted in obtaining the following funding assistance to offset project costs $2,562,500 in Community Project Funding (CPF) from Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, NYS Senator Charles Schumer and NYS Senator Kirsten Gillibrand; $1,300,000 in USDA Water and Environmental Program (WEP) grant funding; $1,250,000 in New York State Homes and Community Renewal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding; and $5,562,000 in USDA low-interest loan funds.
Supervisor Smith continues “Moreover, the Morrisonville area of the Town of Schuyler Falls is the logical future growth center of the Town, but economic growth is not possible with improvements to the underlying infrastructure in this area of the North Country. An adequate and reliable water system is the foundation for economic development initiatives here, which will stimulate job creation and mitigate economic losses associated with disruptions in water supply service.”
Ron Laberge, PE – Executive Vice President of Laberge Group
“We are pleased to partner with the Town of Schuyler Falls on this exciting endeavor. The Town should be commended on the planning and implementation of the Morrisonville Water District Improvement Project. Their leadership will safeguard the health safety and welfare of their residents for generations to come.”
Former Town Supervisor and current Legislator Kevin Randall began working on this project in 2020, and nearly every Federal and State Official representing the Town has offered their support for this project including U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik, NYS Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, NYS Senator Charles Schumer, NYS Senator Daniel Stec; and NYS Assemblyman Billy Jones who included “Everyone deserves clean water and I applaud the Town of Schuyler Falls for working diligently for years to fix their water system in Morrisonville. Today’s groundbreaking ceremony is a long time coming and I want to thank all the local officials for their efforts. Unfortunately, the Town is not alone in facing issues with aging water infrastructure and that is why I continue to push for more funding to help local governments address this issue.”
“Every family, senior and resident in Schuyler Falls deserves access to clean, reliable water, but the outdated infrastructure in the Morrisonville Water District was putting public health and safety at risk. That’s why I secured almost $2.6 million in congressionally-directed investment for this vital project, which will also create good-paying jobs and boost the local economy. With these federal funds, Schuyler Falls will replace failing water mains, prevent service disruptions, and lay the foundation for future economic growth in the North Country.”
– U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer
VIEW NEWS COVERAGE AND ARTICLES REGARDING THE EVENT AND PROJECT:
- CNHI article: “Schuyler Falls begins major water improvement project”
- Press Republican article: “Schuyler Falls begins major water improvement project”
GET IN TOUCH
Does your municipality have a water infrastructure project you would like to discuss with Laberge Group experts? Fill out this form and we’ll get in touch.