FREDONIA — Fredonia Mayor Douglas Essek reaffirmed Monday that village water is safe to drink and use following a notice that a local state of emergency had been extended.

The declaration extension, issued Sunday and based on the recommendation of the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services, will help with the “fast-tracking” of state funding to assist the village with ongoing water projects and should a new emergency arise in the future.

“The water is perfectly fine to drink and use,” Essek said.

Turbidity issues at the water filtration plant resulted in a boil water order for village residents that began Sept. 10 and lasted 20 days. Members of the Chautauqua County Board of Health surmised in mid-September that a large algal bloom in the Fredonia reservoir a month prior may have been the root cause of the village’s water problems.

Essek wanted to reassure village residents Monday that there was no new boil water order from the county, noting that the declaration also helps the village should a new water emergency crop up.

In recent weeks, he pointed out, there had been three water main breaks.

“The infrastructure is so fragile that should we have something major go on, we would want to be ready,” Essek said.