ALLEGANY — Progress has been made on new filtration systems for three municipalities with spring-fed public water supplies, said Eric Wohlers, Cattaraugus County environmental health director, at a recent meeting of the county Board of Health.

Lack of funding has hampered work on filtration systems. But surface runoff infiltrates the springs, and, under 1998 federal regulations, the county was ordered to begin enforcement actions.

Wohlers said Machias recently agreed to a Dec. 31 compliance date for converting to municipal wells.

Federal stimulus money and low-interest loans might enable a conversion to wells in the hamlet of West Valley, where talks are progressing on a municipal takeover and abandonment of the privately owned Crystal Water spring-fed source.

In Delevan, enforcement action appeared inevitable because village officials had refused to sign a commitment to improve a 100-year-old spring-fed system, which would have required borrowing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Then, officials received word last week that the village had received a $1.25 million stimulus grant to pay for all required upgrades to the village-owned springs except for some new distribution lines.

Delevan now plans to complete engineering, design and permitting of the new system this year, with construction to start next year.

“They are so relieved,” Wohlers said.