Cuomo, are working out the details for a plan to overhaul New York's failing water infrastructure system. This is due in part to the American Society of Civil Engineers' New York State Council having given the state's water infrastructure failing grades.

According to an article in the March 2, 2017, issue of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, a 2015 report evaluated the drinking water system and handed down a grade of "C," while the wastewater systems were graded a "D." The report noted that nearly 95 percent of improvement projects submitted to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program remain unfunded because there's not enough money, and that the estimated cost to update wastewater systems still being used well beyond their expected life would top $36.2 billion over two decades.

Monroe County executive, Cheryl Dinolfo, stressed the importance of infrastructure, particularly water systems, to the economy.