The summons filed in Chautauqua County Supreme Court on Friday, September 9 cited the desire to recover damages for the contamination of wells supplying the Village’s public water-supply system. The summons said the contamination was caused use of by aqueous film forming foam during certain training exercises held in the Village.

In February 2021, then County Health Department Water specialist Bill Boria reported to the village board that a state investigation said the fire training foam that was used near the former Mayville school between 2014 and 2018 appeared to have leached into the village water supply. He said this resulted in the high levels of perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) being discovered in three of the village’s water wells.

The discovery led to a do-not-drink advisory being issued for two weeks in December 2020 and ultimately forced the village to shut down one of the wells.

After the old well was shut down in December, the village brought online the new Well #4 located in a different aquifer that did not contain any PFNA.

Boria said that lab testing on animals has shown that high doses of PFNA have caused adverse effects on the liver, thyroid, and immune system, and also contributes to high blood pressure and high cholesterol. There’s also some evidence that it delays growth and development.

Boria added that because the fire training was only done during a five-year period, it’s unlikely there was a legacy contamination, meaning residents weren’t exposed for a significant period of time.

The chemicals that were used in firefighting foam, which caused the higher PFNA, have since been removed and are no longer used today.

The Village had previously filed a suit against 3M for contaminating the municipalities water supply in Jun 2021, but that filing was removed in July 2021.

Chautauqua County Environmental Health Director Bill Boria said a positive case of West Nile Virus was found in a horse in Ashville last week, “Also, there’s Eastern Equine Encephalitis, which is another virus that’s carried by mosquitoes. It’s not nearly as prevalent as West Nile Virus and there was a actual positive horse for what we call ‘Triple E’ in Conewango Valley in Cattaraugus County which isn’t far away from us.”

Senator Schumer said data shows this was one of the worst summers in terms of the mosquito population and that it could last well into fall.

He announced a two-pronged push to ensure the Environmental Protection Agency keeps resources coming to New York and an upcoming budget boost to increase the Centers for Disease Controls ‘vector borne disease’ dollars delivered by the agency to ensure New York State has the resources they need to survey, test, educate and respond to dramatic increases in the mosquito population, such as the one seen this summer, and could keep seeing into the future.

Boria said residents are asked to protect themselves by wearing insect repellent, long pants, socks, and long sleeve shirts to protect from mosquito bites. He said with the wet summer season, they also should remove any standing water from their property, “You know like buckets or wheelbarrows or kiddie pools – anything like that that could potentially be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.”

There is no commercially available human vaccine for either West Nile Virus or Eastern Equine Encephalitis. Vaccines are available for horses in consultation with a veterinarian.

Water specialist Bill Boria with the Chautauqua County Health Department reported to the village board this week that a state investigation says the fire training foam that was used near the former Mayville school between 2014 and 2018 appears to have leached into the village water supply, resulting in the high levels of perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) being discovered in three of the village’s water wells.
The discovery led to a do-not-drink advisory being issued for two weeks in December.

Boria said that lab testing on animals has shown that high doses of PFNA has caused adverse effects on the liver, thyroid, and immune system, and also contributes to high blood pressure and high cholesterol. There’s also some evidence that it delays growth and development.

Boria added that because the fire training was only done during a five-year period, it’s unlikely there was a legacy contamination, meaning residents were exposed for a significant period of time.

The chemicals that were used in firefighting foam, which caused the higher PFNA, have since been removed and are no longer used today.
Meanwhile, the village has switched to a new well and it continually has tested free of PFNA.

Village officials are exploring options for its water system so it’s not relying on only one well in the future.

The format for the contest was a blind taste test where each community’s water was assigned a number, then the public was invited to try each one and vote for their favorite.  Ronny Raindrop, the contest’s mascot, was present passing out balloons to kids and mingling with the volunteer judges adding to the festive atmosphere. The event is co-sponsored by the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services, the County Water Works Association and the County Water Quality Task Force.

Bill Boria, Senior Water Resource Specialist for the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services said, “Judging was very close making it tough for judges to decide which water was the best because they are all very good.  This really supports the fact that our water operators work very hard to deliver the highest quality water possible to their customers.  But water is all too often taken for granted until it becomes polluted or is not there when we turn on our taps.  We all have a responsibility to conserve and protect our water by being careful what we do around our homes and businesses.”

Jamestown will now go on to the regional competition and compete against other county winners from Western New York.  Schuyler and all of Chautauqua County wish Jamestown the best of luck as they compete for the title of Best Tasting Water in New York State.

For more information about your drinking water, ask your water provider for their most recent Annual Water Quality Report, which includes information about where your water comes, what it is tested for and the results of those tests.  You may also contact the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human services at (716) 753-4481 or visit http://www.healthyCHQ.com.

Pictured above, panelists of the Western New York Regional Harmful Algal Bloom Summit.

ROCHESTER – Chautauqua Lake was well represented at the Western New York Regional Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) Summit in Rochester on March 26.

County Executive George Borrello, County Legislator Pierre Chagnon, Water Resource Specialist Bill Boria, Soil & Water Conservation District Field Manager Dave Spann, and Watershed Coordinator Dave McCoy attended the 12-hour session on behalf of Chautauqua County.

They were joined by other lake organization representatives – including Erin Brickley from the Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance; as well as representatives from Chautauqua Lake Association, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Audubon Community Nature Center, and Chautauqua Lake Partnership.

The state held the summit as an effort to address the growing problem of algal blooms on New York Waterways.

As part of the state budget, Governor Andrew Cuomo included Chautauqua Lake in his $65 million HABs Initiative as one of twelve priority lakes in New York State.

Officials hope information collected during the summit will help them better address the HAB problem at the local level.