FREDONIA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Fredonia Mayor Michael Ferguson said on Thursday that an employee "mishap" is what has led to the village being under a boil water order.
"Unfortunately, it was a mishap where an employee put too many chemicals in the water, and it caused extreme turbidity, which brought up all the silt from under the tank, so that's where we're at right now," said Ferguson.
Ferguson said that the employee has been fired. In the meantime, residents have been picking up cases of water to drink at the Fredonia Fire Department. Tops, Home Depot and other companies have been donating cases to distribute.
WATCH: Mayor: Ex-employee caused issue that led to Boil Water Order being issued in Fredonia
"It's terrible, we do it three to four times a year," said Paul Trusso.
Some families picked up extra cases for other family members, neighbors and friends. One mother told me she will never trust the tap water again, while another resident said he wants to move.
The ongoing boil water orders have been an issue in Fredonia. The mayor said the current reservoir is outdated, and finances stand in the way of connecting to Lake Erie through Dunkirk.
Ferguson said he's hopeful this can be resolved within the next year for future generations.
"We feel that the vote will take place somewhere in late August, early September, and when that happens, they should never have to go through this again," said Ferguson.
"We've always been independent with our with our own reservoir, but now the Town of Pomfret is building three new water districts as they continue to grow," said Ferguson. "The bottom line is to connect to Lake Erie again through those other connections with Dunkirk and the reservoir would be a nice natural park someday, we hope."
On Friday morning, officials said the village was able to distribute 2,200 cases of water through three rounds of distributions. In addition, turbidity levels in the water are "steadily improving," and access to additional bottled water supplies is currently limited, so there will be no further water distributions on Friday or over the weekend.
Officials said if it is determined that the current boil water order cannot be lifted by Sunday, July 13, or Monday, July 14, they will take action to secure additional bottled water supplies and prepare for another public distribution session on Monday, July 14.
