For the fifth time since July 2009, the village of Fredonia is under a boil-water order. It is in effect through at least Tuesday.

Announced Sunday morning, all Fredonia water customers — including those outside of the village boundaries — must boil water used for cooking and drinking. The state alert noted there was a disruption in the disinfection treatment, “making the water not safe to drink. Bring all water used for drinking or cooking to a rolling boil, then cool before using. You will be notified when it is no longer necessary to boil water.”

A disruption in treatment at the water treatment plant led to water that was not adequately treated entering the distribution system; this water could contain harmful microbes. Boiling the water kills bacteria and other microbes that may be present.

Water customers must boil water used for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth and making coffee until further notice. Water must be brought to a rolling boil for one minute then cooled prior to use.

Once the treatment process has been fully restored to normal operations, the village will collect water samples on consecutive days to make sure the water is safe. If all goes as planned, the boil water order may be lifted late in the day Tuesday.

Unsurprisingly, water has been a hot topic for the Village Board in recent months. At a special Board of Trustee meeting in January, a discussion took place regarding leaks the village cannot account for. In March 2022, the village lost 20 million more gallons than it did the previous month. Loss rates were above 50% of water produced for most of 2022.

In addition, Fredonia is set to run a $543,688 deficit in its water fund for the 2022-23 fiscal year, according to budget documents available on Fredonia’s website. The deficit will apparently be made up with unreserved fund balance. The water fund’s unreserved balance dropped from $1,520,349 in fiscal year 2021-22 to $976,661 in 2022-23.

Adding angst to the current dilemma is the issue of a new Brooks-TLC Hospital System facility that could be potentially built in the village off East Main Street. Those who have opposed the health-care institution’s plan for its relocation from the city of Dunkirk to the village have criticized the history of inconsistent water quality in the village.

Poor water quality also has taken a toll on the State University of New York at Fredonia with students upset with the 2020 September crisis that lasted nearly three weeks. That boil-water order, as well as this one, also impacts the business community, specifically those running restaurants.

Fredonia, on more than one occasion since 2009, has opposed joining the North County Water District that has Dunkirk has the main supplier of water. The city has had two boil-water orders during the same period. One was tied to construction of a new treatment system in 2018, the other occurred after a major break on Lake Shore Drive in August 2021.

Those seeking more information were asked to call the village at 716-679-2307 or the county Health Department at 716-753-4481.