Mohawk funded, but Hudson River largely excluded from farm water quality grants

The Mohawk River Watershed, highlighted as a portion of the Hudson River Watershed. (Courtesy Hudson River Watershed Alliance)
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Riverkeeper’s Water Quality Program helps to identify where investments are needed to reduce pollution and improve drinking water quality, and with partners, we’re lobbying hard to ensure there’s enough money to invest in Hudson River water quality restoration. Take action to help us address critical issues like these in the next state budget.

The latest round of state funding to reduce manure and pesticide runoff, erosion and other pollution from farms included $16.8 million for 54 projects statewide. The funding includes five projects, totaling $1.1 million, in the Mohawk Watershed, but no others affecting the Hudson River Watershed.

The Hudson Valley was the one region that had no projects funded, despite at least two projects being proposed to improve water quality in the Moodna and Wallkill river watersheds. It’s the second time in five years that no Hudson Valley projects were funded.

Funding is bolstered by the Clean Water Infrastructure Act of 2017, and administered to county Soil and Water Conservation Districts to implement projects on private farms.

The Mohawk River Watershed, highlighted as a portion of the Hudson River Watershed. (Courtesy Hudson River Watershed Alliance)

The Mohawk River is the largest tributary to the Hudson. Projects funded in the Mohawk watershed include:

• $531,611 for manure storage, to reduce soil erosion, runoff and use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides on a Schoharie County farm in the Schoharie Creek watershed. At 99-miles-long, the Schoharie Creek is the Mohawk River’s largest tributary. It has a watershed that covers 927 square miles. We sample the Schoharie Creek at Middleburgh, Burtonsville, and near the Schoharie Creek confluence with the Mohawk.
• $25,412 to reduce milk house wash water leaching and runoff, and reduce erosion on a Schoharie County Farm in the Cobleskill Creek watershed. Cobleskill Creek is a 37-mile-long tributary of Schoharie Creek. Its watershed covers 139 square miles. Our nearest sampling point is at Burtonsville in Schoharie Creek, downstream of the Cobleskill Creek confluence.
• $314,800 for manure storage on a Herkimer County farm in the Nowadaga Creek watershed. The Nowadaga Creek is 10-miles long and has a 32-square mile watershed. The creek reaches the Mohawk River upstream of Riverkeeper’s water quality sampling site in Minden
• $144,085 to reduce risk of corn silage runoff and livestock impacts to streams on a Montgomery County farm in the Otsquago Creek watershed. The Otsquago Creek is a 20-mile long creek that reaches the Mohawk at Fort Plain. Its watershed is 60 square miles. Our nearest sampling site is at Canajoharie, in the Mohawk downstream of the Otsquago Creek confluence.
• $104,078 to improve waste management and implement rotational grazing on a Montgomery County farm in the Canajoharie Creek watershed. The Canajoharie Creek is a 25-mile-long tributary that reaches the Mohawk at Canajoharie. The watershed is 68 square miles. Our nearest sampling site downstream of the confluence is in Glen.