Brooks-TLC Hospital System leader Ken Morris is not sitting on the sidelines when it comes to water quality in Fredonia. With a potential relocation of the facility to the village possibly happening sometime down the road, there is no better time than the present to make your voice heard.

Morris, in a letter to the Village Board, endorsed a study that would include a look at increased connections with Dunkirk. “Furthermore, as the hospital pursues a relocation to Fredonia, it is imperative that we have a water system we can count on,” the chief executive officer wrote. “Our main water source will be primarily supplied through the village of Fredonia but will have a second connector which will provide us with water from the city of Dunkirk as a contingency should we need it.”

Unsurprisingly, two trustees scoffed at his comments.

But the water quality is not an accusation, it is a reality that was evident in February as well as for three weeks in September 2020. In fact, during the last election — in 2021 — it was the most important issue of the campaign. When residents are told they cannot drink water, it is an even larger crisis for businesses and restaurants.

Trustees can keep defending “bad water.” But it’s a reality — far too often — in this village.