Federal funding package includes $17 million for Long Island drinking water projects

WASHINGTON — Long Island communities would receive at least $17 million to modernize aging drinking water systems, improve wastewater treatment services and support public safety initiatives under legislation given final passage Thursday by the U.S Senate.

The funding runs from $4.1 million for four sewer expansion projects in Suffolk County and $2 million toward Levittown dioxin removal, to more than $1 million for Rockville Centre police security cameras and $864,000 for closed-circuit TV in the Village of Roslyn to help with emergency repairs on 9.7 miles of sewer infrastructure dating from the 1940s.

The funding for the projects reflects the work of Long Island’s four House members and New York’s two senators, mostly in joint efforts.

"This is one of the benefits of actually doing our job and finally passing a bipartisan budget!" Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) said in a statement.

The dozens of approved projects ticketed for Long Island, and the rest of the nation, can be searched or tracked according to the names of the lawmakers who are listed as sponsors.

Steve Ellis, the president of the Washington-based Taxpayers for Common Sense, explains that these projects are not like the notorious "Bridge to Nowhere" or some Pentagon payments to well-heeled defense contractors.

Formally called "Community Project Funding" in the U.S. House and "Congressionally Directed Spending" in the Senate, the money being distributed doesn’t add to the funding allocated to the state for tackling sewer and drinking water projects.

But these amounts do represent a process by which senators and House members are making sure a chunk of those funds go to their local priorities. "I can’t speak to the merits of each project," Ellis said.

In announcing the projects, New York lawmakers left no doubt that securing this money is an important part of their jobs.

"I am proud to have secured over $17 million in federal funding for these projects that will help lay the foundation for a more resilient future on Long Island, with resources for clean drinking water and upgraded water infrastructure systems," Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.

"These are real federal dollars coming back to Long Island and a direct result of fighting to make sure our district’s needs are heard," Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Patchogue) said.

The funding announced Thursday is part of a so-called "minibus" of three annual appropriations bills passed by the House last week and that, following the Senate's passage, President Donald Trump is expected to sign.

Together, the legislation passed by the Senate on Thursday brings to six the annual spending bills approved so far for fiscal 2026 with a Jan. 30 deadline for Congress to act on the remaining six to avoid a partial government shutdown.

Most of those remaining bills are expected to be acted on in the next two weeks.

There are issues about whether agreement can be reached by the deadline on a bill covering the Department of Homeland Security amid controversies surrounding Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in cities and an immigration officer’s fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman.