ALBANY — The town of Tupper Lake is the recipient of a $2 million state grant for sewer infrastructure upgrades, and the town of St. Armand was awarded $484,185 for a wastewater treatment disinfection project.

The grant awards were announced on Friday and are among the 83 water infrastructure projects — totaling $453 million in grant funding — statewide. The Tupper Lake and St. Armand grants were both “enhanced,” meaning that they could cover as much as 50% of the net eligible project costs, up from the standard 25%.

Enhanced grants made up 18 of the 83 total projects, and were geared toward small, rural and/or economically disadvantaged communities, where water rate payers tend to foot a larger financial burden. The grant coordination was through the state Environmental Facilities Corporation.

“New York families should not be burdened by rising water bills and outdated systems,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement announcing the grants. “With this funding, the state is helping communities take on essential projects without passing unsustainable costs to residents and businesses. These investments will protect public health, support local economies and help ensure reliable, safe water for years to come.”

St. Armand’s grant funding is slated to go towards incorporating seasonal disinfection and bringing the plant into compliance with the discharge permit. Tupper Lake’s funding is to go toward replacing existing sanitary sewer mains in various areas throughout Sewer District No. 1, which encompasses all gravity-fed sewer lines.

Tupper Lake Town Supervisor Rickey Dattola said he was delighted by the news, given how costly the replacements — which include lines around 100 years old — are slated to be.

“It’s going to be a relief to the people in (Sewer) District 1,” he said. “This $2 million is going to do a lot to keep that cost down.”

Dattola said he spoke with Ali Webbinaro, Hochul’s North Country regional liaison, and she told him that more details, including the disbursement structure and timeline, would be provided in January.

While costly and necessary, these infrastructure upgrades are unrelated to Tupper Lake’s ongoing water quality problems. Those are caused by a heavy concentration of iron and manganese coupled with insufficient filtration capabilities at Tupper Lake’s wells, as well as potentially carcinogenic byproducts from the chlorine that’s used to treat surface water from Little Simon Pond.

The iron-laden wells don’t alone produce enough water for the community’s demand, so the surface water is used as a supplement. The village of Tupper Lake is currently in the midst of trying to remedy that, though funding remains a significant obstacle, as the village is still carrying about $9 million of debt from building its current wells. More on that is available at tinyurl.com/5d22pmn9.