Cold Spring Gets Almost $1M for Dam Repair

The Village of Cold Spring has been awarded a $911,869 grant for land acquisition from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Water Quality Improvement Project.

The village will use the funds to purchase a 16-acre parcel on the shores of the Upper Cold Spring Reservoir and restore a shoreline riparian buffer.

This project is a continuation of the village's initiative to protect the reservoir and drinking water source. As part of the larger project to rehabilitate its class C “high hazard dam” at the Upper Reservoir, this is the second WQIP grant the village has secured, following a $2.5 million construction grant.

Full project costs are estimated at $8 million to $9 million. The village issued a five-year bond anticipation note to purchase two parcels along the upper reservoir, alongside the dam. The parcels will protect water quality for Cold Spring’s drinking water source and conserve the riparian area around the reservoir, as well as – in the near-term – provide necessary access to the dam for the construction.

With the WQIP funding, the village will repay nearly all of the $1 million BAN it issued to purchase the project-critical parcels.

Grant requirements include demolishing the existing buildings and re-establishing the riparian buffer with plantings.

“The securing of these grants, under the project leadership of Trustee Laura Bozzi, represents significant savings for village taxpayers and brings the village closer to securing its surface-source drinking water supply,” said Cold Spring Mayor Kathleen Foley. “We are grateful to the DEC and the State of New York for this essential support.”

In addition, Glynwood Center, Inc., was awarded $2.5 million to rehabilitate the high-hazard Perkins Dam, addressing insufficient spillway capacity and enhancing discharge flow conveyance to Clove Creek and tributaries.