Women's Water Walk Against Constitution Pipeline to Walk from Sidney to Jefferson This Week

Group of Indigenous grandmothers, community members, farmers, faith leaders, artists, and more are walking 108 miles along the route for the proposed Constitution Pipeline, which would threaten New Yorkers' water and drive up energy bills

NY (09/21/2026) (readMedia)-- The Women's Water Walk, which began on Saturday September 19 with over 100 people, will travel more than 50 miles this week along the route for the proposed Constitution Pipeline. They are uniting communities, spreading awareness, and calling on Governor Hochul to stand firm and stop the Constitution Pipeline. Totaling 108 miles over two weeks, each day participants will educate and raise awareness in communities along the proposed pipeline route with public outreach and events, and they visit rivers, lakes, and streams to sing, pray, and gather water to deliver to Governor Hochul in Albany at the end of the walk. The schedule for this week is below, and see footage from Saturday's start to the walk here.

If built, the long-denied fracked gas Constitution Pipeline would be a disaster for New Yorkers, threatening our water, costing families more on their energy bills, and posing serious health risks to nearby communities. Trump and the gas industry are trying to circumvent New York State's authority and force the pipeline through, even though it was already rejected by the Department of Environmental Conservation in 2016 because of the threats it posed to water quality, a decision upheld by the courts. Thousands of New Yorkers protested the pipeline leading up to the 2016 rejection of the 401 water quality certificate by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and now, residents along the route are reviving the fight. Trump and the gas industry are pushing this dangerous pipeline, potentially to power new AI data centers.

Last week ahead of the walk, participants and organizers gathered on zoom with Karenna Gore, Mark Ruffalo, Dar Williams and more to share why they're walking and the dangers posed by the Constitution pipeline. Read about the event and watch the zoom here.

  • Monday, September 21 - Sidney to Unadilla
  • Tuesday, September 22 - Unadilla to Franklin
    • 4 PM community potluck meeting at 1532 Covered Bridge Road
  • Wednesday, September 23 - Franklin to Bee Sanctuary (Franklin)
    • 4 PM Water prayer at 167 Walley Road, hosted by Compressor Free Franklin
    • 6 PM Potluck dinner at Open Doors United Methodist Church
  • Thursday, September 24 - Bee Sanctuary to Bird Sanctuary (Oneonta)
    • 3:30 PM Potluck welcome event hosted by Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society at their bird sanctuary, 52 Grange Hall Rd. Spur, Oneonta
  • Friday, September 25 - Bird Sanctuary to West Davenport
  • Saturday, September 26 - West Davenport to Davenport Center
    • 4 PM Full moon celebration with music, community discussions, a potluck meal, and more at Hartwick College's Pine Lake Center at 1894 Charlotte Creek Rd, Oneonta
  • Sunday, September 27 - Davenport Center to Jefferson

The walk will continue the following week. See the complete schedule here. Updates from the walk will be shared on Facebook and Instagram.

WHO:

Participants include Karenna Gore, Executive Director, Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary; Dar Williams, long-time environmental advocate and musician; Bethany Yarrow, Co-Founder + Acting Director, Waterfall Unity Alliance and Organizer, Women’s Water Walk; Olivia “Liv” Watyana’li:yo Bigtree, Indigenous scholar and advocate; Tanja Konwinski, Resident, Warnerville, NY; Julia Walsh, Director, Frack Action; Grandmother Mona Polacca
WHAT:

 Group of Indigenous grandmothers, community members, farmers, faith leaders, artists, and more are walking 108 miles along the route for the proposed Constitution Pipeline, which would threaten New Yorkers’ water and drive up energy bills
WHEN: Monday September 21, 2026 at 12:00PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)
WHERE: Sidney, NY to Jefferson, NY
NOTES:

Background

The Williams Company, with President Trump's support, is trying to revive the long-denied Constitution Pipeline project. The 30 inch fracked gas mega pipeline’s planned route in 2016 was approximately 124 miles from Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania through New York’s Southern Tier, through the Western Catskills, and into the Capital Region. The Constitution Pipeline was denied in 2016 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation given the threats it posed to water quality including from dredging, erosion, sedimentation, and changes in turbidity, among other risks. These dangers could impair drinking water and sensitive streams, including high quality trout habitats.

New York State’s 2016 decision to deny the Constitution Pipeline was upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, a decision which the U.S. Supreme Court considered and let stand. Now the Williams Company and the Trump Administration are trying to circumvent New York State's authority and force the pipeline through by asking FERC to revive a decade old application, despite the fact that the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated it. Governor Hochul and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation have argued that the state must have water quality review authority over the pipeline under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act.

The Constitution Pipeline also poses significant costs to local residents, with industry insiders and analysts increasingly concerned about how the pipeline would raise ratepayer costs. Bloomberg News further reports that no utility has agreed to purchase the gas, and that the Constitution Pipeline could become a stranded asset. The pipeline is not needed to increase gas capacity.

There is major opposition to the Constitution Pipeline. Leading up to 2016, thousands of New Yorkers protested it and led a major movement to stop it. Now, residents along the route are again holding many information sessions and are seeing broad and deep opposition to the pipeline. In September of 2025, 40 state lawmakers sent a letter against the Constitution and NESE pipelines. As the state legislators noted, pipelines like the Constitution are very expensive, and ratepayers ultimately end up paying higher rates, along with threats to local economic engines including agriculture, small businesses, tourism, fishing, and recreation.