For the moment, a ruling has allowed the village to move ahead with its Fredonia Water System Improvement Project. Last week, state Supreme Court Justice Grace Hanlon rejected claims by three village residents who sought to overturn a September resolution.

Another appeal may be in the works, but there is no denying the embarrassment that comes with constant boil-water orders — 10 in the last 37 months. The most recent, at the end of March, came at a very inopportune time for the State University of New York at Fredonia. During an open house for those who were admitted to the institution, bottled water had to be handed out to the more than 1,000 students and parents who were visiting.

That does not reflect well on the community or the college.

Last week, Mayor Michael Ferguson said if the water problems persist, the village will be a “ghost town.” That already has come to light for the campus.

In 2020, a three-week boil-water order did extreme harm to a major economic engine and employer to this region. Enrollment went from 4,400 in fall 2020 to around 3,000 today. It’s unfortunate but true.

Before Dunkirk became the main supplier for the North County Water District in 2014, the village of Fredonia had the opportunity to be in the loop as well. In its typical stubborn way of making decisions, leaders at the time decided to keep their own challenged and antiquated system — and not be in the district.

That’s a choice that haunts residents — and businesses to this day. Fredonia — over the last decade — had options to keep its system and reservoir by being a supplier. They chose a destructive path of being on their own.

There’s a segment of residents who do not want to look to past trustees or administrations. That, however, is unrealistic. It is exactly why Fredonia is in this uncomfortable and unforgiving spot today.