Fredonia is still fuming over a boil order caused by bacteria and a mishandled test.

Fredonia’s latest boil order saga started Friday afternoon, when Chautauqua County initially reported that the village “received (test) results of two failing bacteria samples in the distribution system; one containing E. coli.”

However, the county backtracked on the E. coli report by Saturday. “A laboratory reporting error was discovered and the laboratory later confirmed that two locations contained total coliform but neither location contained E. coli bacteria,” the Chautauqua County Health Department stated in a press release.

“The presence of total coliform bacteria in two different points of the distribution system is cause for concern and a boil water order remains in effect,” the release added. Total coliform bacteria is usually harmless to humans – but its presence can indicate that harmful bacteria, such as E. coli, may be in a water system.

The boil order was lifted Sunday afternoon after the village cleared two tests of the water.

Fredonia Mayor Michael Ferguson said Tuesday the erroneous E. coli test was caused by the presence of bacteria on a faucet at a business that prepares food.

“(Health inspectors) do spot testing. They do it all the time,” he said. “They went to a local business that tests food. Put the (test) cup right up against a faucet and found E. coli when they tested it.”

The testers called the Chautauqua County Health Department and “they then went across the street and found what they thought was a coliform” at another food-preparing business, Ferguson continued. Both water samples were taken to a lab in Buffalo for further testing.

By that time, the county had issued the boil order, Ferguson said. “Half an hour later the lab in Buffalo called and said, ‘We got a problem. E. coli was on the faucet, but not in the water.’ ”

The mayor said he was confused as to why a boil order was necessary if a false test was involved. “It was just an erroneous testing. It had nothing to do with the treatment plant. I was happy the Health Department admitted to it.”

Fredonia’s system has subsequently experienced more problems on its own, however.

Ferguson said a fire at the treatment plant burned out one of the pumps over the weekend; it was repaired Monday. In addition, there was a major water main break on West Main Street. The problems led to brown water for many residents. Ferguson said that should subside as there was flush of the system Monday.

The latest boil order was the seventh for Fredonia in the last 32 months, and came just two months after Order 6. It also happened nine days after Fredonia’s trustees voted to decommission the water plant and reservoir, and acquire water from the North County Water District.

“I understand the frustration, but we’re doing our best to resolve this,” Ferguson said. “I just appreciate everyone’s patience on the situation.”

The North County Water District gets its water from Dunkirk’s treatment plant. Randy Woodbury, who oversees the plant as city Department of Public Works Director, said all monitoring at the plant “is with many state-of-the art full-time online instruments with readouts for our 24/7/365 staff of licensed operators, with the Chief Operator being Class 1, the highest rating by the New York State Department of Health.”

Fredonia sends its water testing out to Chautauqua County, but Woodbury said “Dunkirk has a full-time sanitary chemist continually testing distribution water at many locations. Her State DOH certified laboratory is on the second floor of the filter plant. Most testing is done there, but some to assure removal of nano levels of legacy compounds is done by contract but overseen by our chemist.”

At Dunkirk’s water plant, “disinfection of coliform and other possible pathogens is done twice,” Woodbury said. “Inlet water is disinfected with chlorine with the small byproducts of such being removed during sedimentation and filtration through activated carbon. The second disinfection is for residual protection in the distribution system, and is very effective in Dunkirk water because of its great clarity and because any dissolved organics or other micro particles are removed with the activated carbon filters.”

Woodbury stated that “Dunkirk’s inlet is a half mile into Great Lake Erie from Lighthouse Point (at Point Gratiot) and 30 feet under the surface. Water there is consistently very clear (about 4 turbidity units) and the plant processes further increase that clarity about 100 times even more to about 0.04 turbidity units at discharge to consumers.”

Woodbury said of Fredonia’s water system, “They do well with what they have, and we wish them well. We are ready and able to give more Dunkirk water to and through the North County Water District as officials may choose, but no hard push on that from us, just proud of our water and of our great people who make it so clear.”