Construction Begins on $109-Million
Clean Water Project in Orange County
NEW WINDSOR, NY—The town here in Orange County called in state and local officials to celebrate the start of the $109-million clean water infrastructure project, which will expand the town’s wastewater treatment plant. The work is being financed with significant state support of nearly $20 million in grants.
The project will better protect local waterways, support future growth, and build a stronger, more resilient community while delivering good-paying jobs to the Hudson Valley, officials stated at the groundbreaking ceremony.
The project’s contractor is D.A. Collins Construction Co. of Wilton, NY, and the work is being performed under a Project Labor Agreement with the Newburgh, NY-based Hudson Valley Building & Construction Trades Council, according to HBCCTC President L. Todd Diorio.
“State grants are empowering communities across the State, like New Windsor, to complete this essential clean water project while significantly reducing the cost to local ratepayers,” President and CEO Maureen A. Coleman said.
State funding includes: $14.8 million Water Infrastructure Improvement Grant from EFC; $4.5 million Community Development Block Grant from the Division of Homes and Community Renewal; and $181,000 in state-directed FEMA funds.
The project will upgrade the town’s Caesars Lane Wastewater Treatment Plant, increasing its capacity from 5 million gallons per day to 8 million gpd. The facility serves 24 sewer districts within New Windsor and a small portion of the Town of Cornwall. This project will ensure the plant can continue to operate safely, efficiently and in compliance with updated water quality standards. The project will strengthen resiliency in addressing damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, officials noted.
The modernization will replace the plant’s existing treatment system with an advanced membrane bioreactor process—technology that provides cleaner water and meets new environmental standards set for pollutants by the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Additional improvements include construction of new treatment tanks, control building and administration building; upgrades to electrical, heating and ventilation systems; installation of new equipment for improved treatment and replacement of the plant’s existing outfall.
The expanded plant will help protect Moodna Creek and the Hudson River, two vital regional waterways. Construction is now underway, with work expected to continue through June 2028.
Published: November 11, 2025.