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TIMELINE: How Fredonia cleans up its dirty water

Residents on six Fredonia streets have lived with dirty, discolored water for years. Now that loan money from the state is on the way to fix the problem, what's next. 2 On Your Side walks you through the steps.

FREDONIA — After years of dealing with dirty or discolored water, some village of Fredonia residents can look forward to getting this problem fixed.

For months, 2 On Your Side has been reporting on how aging, rust-prone cast iron water mains were deteriorated to the point where it colors the drinking water in homes on six streets in the northern section of the village.

Monday night, the Fredonia Village Board voted to accept a $1.4-million emergency loan from the New York State Health Department. That money will go to replace those old water mains.

The timeline forward looks like this:

-The loan paperwork (with Mayor Athansia Landis’ signature) will be forwarded to the Environmental Facilities Corporation which will review the documents and later forward the money to the village.

-Work on the project actually began a couple weeks ago. The targeted areas have been surveyed and mapped. Next an engineering firm will turn the measurements and job specifics into a proposal to be bid on.

-The village of Fredonia could have by-passed bidding on this project, but it remains eligible for other state grants and programs, the water main replacement project will be bid out. State municipal law requires a project be posted for a minimum of five days. Typically, it’s 30-90 days.

-Then, bids are opened and a winner is identified. Awarding contracts is typically finalized by a vote of the village board.

-What would be left is to break ground and complete the work. Mayor Landis said Monday she hoped to finish by year’s end. Just last week, village administrator Richard St. George told 2 On Your Side the completion target is October.

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