This week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul pronounced nearly US$500 million in grants for critical drinking water and sewer projects statewide, delivering on a $3.75 billion commitment in the 2027 Enacted State Budget. By providing grants to 106 projects totaling $1.4 billion in costs, the investment will help local governments modernize aging infrastructure, tackle legacy threats such as lead service lines and emerging contaminants, and lay the foundation for sustainable growth and economic development while creating jobs.

The grants are estimated to save communities $1 billion in debt service they would have faced if they had to finance the costs on their own, based on current market conditions. The full list of Water Infrastructure Improvement and Intermunicipal Water Infrastructure Grant awards is available on the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation’s (EFC) website. Highlights include:

• $119 million in enhanced grants for drinking water projects that bring systems in compliance with the New York’s strict standards for emerging contaminants, and wastewater and sewer projects in small, rural and disadvantaged communities. These enhanced grants include projects in Avon, Camden, Chenango, Elizabethtown and Friendship.
• $64 million to projects that identify and replace lead service lines, building on more than $600 million in grant commitments since 2021 to help get the lead out.
• $120 million awarded to municipalities that worked with EFC’s Community Assistance Teams. Governor Hochul expanded this technical assistance program in 2023 to help small, rural and disadvantaged communities complete applications, access funding and address their water infrastructure needs.

 “These grants will help remove lead service lines and combat harmful emerging contaminants from drinking water while protecting public health for years to come, said Dr. James McDonald, New York State health commissioner.

New York State continues to increase its investments in water infrastructure. The state fiscal year 2027 budget includes a $3.75 billion water infrastructure investment plan, building on $10.6 billion provided to clean water infrastructure projects since 2021. New Yorkers can track projects benefiting from EFC’s investments using the interactive project impact dashboard. EFC is currently accepting applications for $45 million in available funding for Green Resiliency Grants. EFC’s Community Assistance Teams are available for one-on-one consultations to help municipalities prepare strong applications.

An unusual early rise in flu cases ​on the West Coast has virologists working to understand the cause, Reuters reported. Typically, flu cases start in Southern states and move north. This year, it’s coming from the west, and scientists haven’t determined the reason.

In 2026, the predominant flu strain is H1N1, which caused the 2009 swine flu pandemic and is now a standard part of the flu shot. However, this year’s virus has a new mutation called G155E. Researchers believe people previously exposed to H1N1, either through infection or vaccination, would have only some residual protection from the older versions, Reuter said.

In turn, doctors are urging Americans aged 6 months and older to get vaccinated against the flu, especially since many younger Americans haven’t seen this year’s H1N1 strain. The 2026-2027 flu vaccines, approved by the FDA in August, ​target H1N1 and H3N2—the dominant strain last flu season—and one influenza B virus, Reuters reported.

While most children recover, flu can be deadly, especially for the very youngest and those with underlying health conditions. The vaccine’s effectiveness fluctuates depending on how well it matches circulating flu strains months in advance. During the past 10 years, it has been ​between 30% and 60% effective in reducing flu hospitalizations and deaths, according to Reuters. Last year, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 32 million Americans had the flu, 390,000 were hospitalized and 24,000 died.

Around half of US children got flu shots last ​year, compared with more than ​60% in 2019-20, according to CDC data.

Flu activity is low but has been rising since late August, CDC data showed. Clinical labs reported positive tests to the CDC last week, hitting a 10-year high for this time of year at 5%. On the West Coast, that figure was 10.7%, compared with 0.5% a year earlier. At peak flu, the rates are around 30%.