Water concerns in Chaffee, private water company unresponsive
CHAFFEE, N.Y. (WIVB) — There are serious concerns about the water quality in a small community in southern Erie County. The county health department is monitoring the situation, but the owner of a private water company has gone silent.
Residents in Chaffee, on and near Allen Road, have been put in a very tough spot. They’re being forced to boil their water and they’re dealing with an independent water provider who’s been largely unresponsive.
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On Friday of last week, the Erie County Health Department sampled the drinking water in several locations and was unable to detect a chlorine reading. With concerns about drinking water not being disinfected, the county issued a boil water advisory.
The county health department said 200 people are affected by the situation in 85 homes. The water is provided by the Chaffee Water Works Company which is listed at an address on Allen Road. But, it has been very hard to get in touch with the owner of the company, Rodney Franz, and that’s concerning to residents.
“He’s very hard to get a hold of, we’ve called, I’ve left messages, and sometimes its happened before where I’ve called him and its taken weeks for him to get back to me,” said Charles Rhoades, a Chaffee resident.
Local officials and residents said that Franz has not been a good neighbor — town officials say that Franz has back taxes on some of his properties. For some reason, Chaffee Water Works hasn’t even billed customers for their water for months.
As far as adjusting to life with a boil water advisory, it has not been easy.
“I’ve been boiling water to cook and stuff like that, I also went and some of my camping buddies loaned me five gallon jugs and we filled them with their well water which is out of Chaffee Water Works, I’ve gone to my sister-in-laws to fill the jugs up,” Rhoades said.
It is important to point out no bacteria has been found, according to the health department. News 4 has reached out to Rodney Franz, numerous times by calling and emailing him, but we have not gotten a response. The health department has issued violations to Chaffee Water Works and a commissioner’s hearing will be held to get the owner of the company in compliance but a date hasn’t been set.
Residents are demanding answers from the town board in Sardinia. They plan to go there Thursday night and are calling on the town to take over the water supply.
Town of Sardinia officials have been telling residents to contact both the Erie County Health Department and the state Public Service Commission to file complaints against this company.
There have been water quality issues in other areas of Western New York, like in the Town of Bethany.
Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here.
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