Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media that after six years, the town of Windham's $6.7 million water improvement project is in its final stages. The project included the new water lines and a new backwash system and a backup generator, completed in summer 2020. The improvements were motivated in part by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, Town Supervisor Thomas Hoyt said. “The town and villages were dry because of the flood,” Hoyt said, adding that pipes were broken and the well was damaged. “Windham Mountain had 4,000 gallons that could have been used but there was no mechanism to get them to the town,” he said. The upgrades allow the Windham water system to be connected with Windham Mountain and Hensonville, Hoyt said. New 10-inch lines were installed from the intersection of South Street and Route 12 and Route 296 to Hensonville, from Hensonville toward Maplecrest and to the Westwinds Water Treatment Plant. Delaware Engineering, of Albany, oversaw the project along with several local contractors including CDE Electric of Cairo, Evergreen Mountain Construction in West Kill, Hubbell Inc. of Margaretville and Schoenecker Construction of Schoharie. The project will be funded by a little more than $5 million from the Environmental Facilities Corporation as a 38-year interest-free loan and $1.7 million as a Water Infrastructure Improvement Act grant. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.