FREDONIA -- The Chautauqua County Health Department is asking all customers of the Village of Fredonia water supply to boil all water used for drinking and cooking.
A problem occurred at the Village's water treatment plant this morning that created a situation where the drinking water did not meet Health Department standards. A failure of a chemical feed pump caused finished water turbidity, which is a measure of water clarity, to exceed New York State Health Department standards. As a precaution, the Chautauqua County Health Department has issued this boil water order until further notice.
All Village water customers are advised to bring their water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water certified for sale by the New York State Department of Health. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills any bacteria and other organisms in the water.
Your water is routinely monitored for turbidity (cloudiness) to determine if it is being properly filtered. Water samples taken on Wednesday November 28, 2012 had turbidity levels of 1.0 turbidity units. This is above the allowable standard of 0.3 turbidity units. Because of the elevated turbidity, there is an increased chance that your drinking water may contain harmful microbes.
Harmful microbes in drinking water can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a special health risk for infants, some elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems. The symptoms above are not just caused by organisms in drinking water. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you may want to seek medical advice.
The chemical feed pump is being repaired and is expected to be operating properly by noon today. To make sure water in the distribution system is safe, the Village will be collecting water samples over the next several days and having them analyzed by a certified laboratory.
This boil water order is expected to continue until at least Friday. For more information, please contact the Village Hall at 679-2302 or 679-2303 or the Chautauqua County Health Dept. at 753-4481 or 363-4481.
Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.