Long Island Schools Test Positive For Lead

Following the Flint, MI, lead contamination crisis, more than a half-dozen school districts on Long Island, NY, have tested positive for elevated lead levels in water from drinking fountains and sinks.

Few schools had thought to test their water until Newark, NJ, school officials announced in March that they had found high levels of lead in drinking water.

According to WYNC News, the school districts where drinking water has shown elevated lead levels include Valley Stream Central High School, Bayport Blue-Point, Port Washington, Elwood, Northport and East Northport, and Valley Stream 13.

“The health and safety of our students and staff remains our highest priority. We will continue to update the community as additional testing is conducted and work is completed,” Northport-East Northport Schools superintendent Robert Banzer said in a letter to parents, according to NBC New York.

At least 32 of the schools have initiated a testing plan, but many are on a wait list because there are not enough water engineers to go around.

Representatives from the affected Long Island school districts say they believe the elevated levels are caused by the plumbing inside drinking fountains and that they are moving to fix or replace the equipment entirely, WYNC News reported.

Some of the sources that tested positive for elevated lead levels included water fountains currently in use; others came from sinks and fountains that weren’t being used for drinking.

In Syosset, NY, NBC New York reported that a total of five fountains, three at Bayliss Elementary School and two at Robbins Lane Elementary, have already tested positive for elevated lead. The school district said that while they determine what to do, they’ve shut off fountains and installed refrigerated water coolers.

Syosset officials said the town normally tests water sources for copper and lead every three years and that its schools weren’t due for testing for another year. They decided to begin testing earlier than normal.

“Our testing is not yet complete, but we will inform the public of any additional findings. Meanwhile, we will also work to identify the source of the current contamination,” the district said in a letter to parents.

To read more about lead contamination visit Water Online’s Drinking Water Contaminant Removal Solutions Center.